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Education Publications

To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.


 




Handout

Workforce Education And Training

February 26, 2015 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee

Handout

California K-12 Funding in Context

February 24, 2015 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance

Handout

Overview of Proposition 98 Budget Proposals

February 24, 2015 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance

Report

The 2015-16 Budget: Proposition 98 Education Analysis

February 18, 2015 - The Governor's budget includes $7.8 billion in Proposition 98 funding increases for schools and community colleges, including $5 billion for programmatic increases and $2.8 billion for retiring outstanding obligations. In this report, we recommend the Legislature improve some of the Governor's specific Proposition 98 proposals and reject others. Most notably, though we recommend the Legislature adopt the Governor's proposal to provide $500 million for adult education consortia, we recommend making various programmatic improvements, folding some of the Governor's other proposed workforce funding into the adult education program, and rejecting a couple of the Governor's career technical education proposals. We also recommend rethinking the Governor's Internet infrastructure proposal. Additionally, we have various recommendations relating to the Local Control Funding Formula, county offices of education, and education mandates.

Post

Funding for Major Internet-Related Programs Since 2000

February 17, 2015 - Summarizes major state and federal funding for Internet-related programs.

Report

The 2015-16 Budget: Rethinking How the State Funds School Facilities

February 17, 2015 - This report analyzes the state's system for financing school facilities and raises concerns with the existing system. We recommend the Legislature replace the state's current system for financing school facilities with a new system. Specifically, we recommend the Legislature: (1) establish an annualized "expected facility cost" based on the replacement cost of existing school buildings; (2) provide an annual per-student grant that reflects a specified minimum state share of cost; (3) adjust the grant for differences in local resources; (4) adjust the grant during the transition period for prior state investments in school facilities; (5) provide one-time funding to address the existing backlog of school facility projects; and (6) require grant recipients to adopt five-year facility accountability plans.

Handout

Implementation of LCFF and LCAPs

January 21, 2015 - Presented to: Senate Education Committee

Report

Analysis of School District Reserves

January 21, 2015 - Last year the state adopted legislation to (1) cap school district reserves following deposits in the state school reserve recently established by Proposition 2 and (2) require districts to disclose additional information about their reserves each year. This report analyzes how district reserve levels have changed over time and describes some of the key factors that cause reserve levels to vary from district to district. After assessing recent changes, this report recommends the Legislature repeal the reserve caps and modify the disclosure provision.

Report

Review of School Districts' 2014-15 Local Control and Accountability Plans

January 20, 2015 - This report examines Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs) for 50 school districts to evaluate whether they reflect thoughtful strategic planning and meet statutory requirements. We find that fulfilling all of the statutory LCAP requirements is a challenging undertaking for districts. Requiring districts to cover every area required in statute—regardless of local conditions—reduces the time and energy districts can spend on areas in need of greatest attention. We recommend the Legislature allow districts to focus their plans on their highest priority areas rather than require them to address all eight state-specified priority areas. We also find that the information in districts’ LCAPs related to the services they will provide to EL/LI students is often unclear and difficult to understand. We recommend several changes that would improve the quality of this information. We also recommend the Legislature clarify the metrics districts can include in their plans. Additionally, we recommend the state disseminate model LCAPs to help districts improve their plans moving forward.

Post

Snapshot of Internet Usage in Schools

January 13, 2015 - Provides information about schools’ Internet speeds, service providers, and the number of devices per student.

Post

An Overview of Internet in Schools

January 7, 2015 - Describes key aspects of schools’ Internet connections, including physical infrastructure, connection speeds, Internet service providers, devices used to display Internet content, and networking equipment.

Presentation

California's Fiscal Outlook

December 15, 2014 - Presented to California School Boards Association, Annual Education Conference

Presentation

California's Fiscal Outlook

November 20, 2014 - Presented to: California Association of School Business Officials

Report

The 2015-16 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook

November 19, 2014 - The 20th annual edition of the LAO's Fiscal Outlook—a look at possible state revenue and spending trends over the next five years—reflects anticipated progress in building budget reserves under the recently approved Proposition 2. Specifically, absent new budget commitments, we estimate the state would end 2015-16 with $4.2 billion in total reserves, $2 billion of which would result from Proposition 2's new reserve rules. A $4 billion reserve would mark significant progress for the state, but maintaining such a reserve in 2015-16 would mean little or no new spending commitments outside of Proposition 98, the funding formula for schools and community colleges. Our higher General Fund revenue estimates translate to $6.4 billion available in 2015-16 for the state's Proposition 98 priorities. The report also discusses choices facing the state in implementing Proposition 2, such as choices about which budgetary and retirement debts to repay with dedicated Proposition 2 funds over the next 15 years.

Report

Review of the California Department of Education

August 28, 2014 - The core responsibility of the California Department of Education (CDE) is to administer federal and state education programs. Our review found the department currently is adequately positioned to fulfill this core mission. We also found, however, that the scope of CDE’s responsibilities—and the associated need for staff and funding—change frequently based on shifting state and federal policies. In order to maintain the department's capacity to meet its responsibilities, we recommend the Legislature ensure that additional responsibilities placed on CDE in the future are paired with additional resources. Similarly, should the Legislature notably reduce CDE’s responsibilities, we recommend it make a conforming reduction to associated CDE positions and funding. We also believe CDE could find ways to make its existing services more valuable to districts and integrate state and federal accountability activities. Finally, we recommend that the Legislature repeal some CDE reporting requirements that provide limited value.

Education Staff

Jackie Barocio
(916) 319-8333
Child Care, Expanded Learning, School Facilities, and Teachers
 
Sara Cortez
(916) 319-8348
Special Education, Preschool, and Child Nutrition
 
Kenneth Kapphahn
(916) 319-8339
Proposition 98, School District Budgets, School Transportation
 
Lisa Qing
(916) 319-8306
California State University, Student Financial Aid
 
Paul Steenhausen
(916) 319-8303
California Community Colleges
 
Ian Klein
(916) 319-8336
University of California; College of the Law, San Francisco; California State Library
 
Michael Alferes
(916) 319-8338
Local Control Funding Formula, Charter Schools, Alternative Schools, High School Career Technical Education
 
Edgar Cabral
(916) 319-8343
Deputy Legislative Analyst: K-12 Education
 
Jennifer Pacella
(916) 319-8332
Deputy Legislative Analyst: Higher Education