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May 28, 2009 - Seventy-five percent of California foster youth perform below grade level standards, and by third grade 83 percent of foster youth have had to repeat a grade. We believe the state and local programs must reprioritize the way existing funds are spent in order to improve educational opportunities for foster youth. We recommend changing guidelines to provide certain services to all current and recent foster youth, expanding programs to include academic counseling and completion of education passports, and consolidating programs at County Offices of Educations. We also suggest convening a workgroup to address the transportation needs of K-12 and postsecondary foster youth.
May 19, 2009 - Presented to the California School Boards Association's Legislative Action Conference. May 18, 2009.
May 13, 2009 - This web-based presentation is designed to help state-level policymakers understand the essential elements of the state’s school funding formula. The presentation lasts roughly 20 minutes and provides viewers with background on Proposition 98, detail on how the funding formulas work, and a discussion of how the measure affects policymakers’ annual budget decisions.
May 12, 2009 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 On Education Finance
April 21, 2009 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
April 17, 2009 - Presented at the EdSource 32nd Annual Forum on California Education Policy, April 17, 2009. (The HTML link above opens the Powerpoint presentation.)
March 26, 2009 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
March 18, 2009 - Presented at a Joint Hearing of the Assembly Education Committee and Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
March 16, 2009 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
February 20, 2009 - The Supplemental Report of the 2007-08 Budget Act directed our office to reexamine the state’s teacher recruitment goals and assess the effectiveness of teacher recruitment programs designed to meet those goals. This report details our findings. Although the state has spent over $1 billion in teacher recruitment activities, virtually no information exists on the effectiveness of these programs. Research on the teacher workforce, however, suggests that improving teacher support and addressing uncompetitive salaries are the most promising strategies for recruiting and retaining teachers. Thus, we recommend education agencies focus their teacher efforts in these two areas.
February 20, 2009 - Presented to the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) Chief Business Officers (CBO) conference.
February 3, 2009 - The Governor’s budget reflects major reductions to school spending in 2008-09 and 2009-10. In this report, we outline ways for the Legislature to achieve budget-ary savings while minimizing the adverse effects on core educational programs. In contrast to the Governor’s approach of cutting K-12 revenue limits (districts’ most flexible source of funding), we recommend that the Legislature make targeted spending reductions. We develop a three-tiered approach to making these reduc-tions, first identifying cuts that would have the least programmatic effect. To help districts respond to these reductions, the administration proposes to permanently suspend most categorical program requirements and all but three K-14 mandates. In contrast, we recommend that the Legislature adopt a more strategic approach that provides districts with additional categorical program flexibility but also simpli-fies, streamlines, and improves the existing system. We also recommend undertak-ing substantive mandate reform.
January 6, 2009 - California’s economically disadvantaged (ED) students are failing to meet federal and state academic standards and generally perform below their non-economically disadvantaged peers. This trend appears in all grade levels, with nearly two-thirds of second grade ED students and nearly three-fourths of eighth grade ED students performing at low levels. Given these shortcomings, we believe the state needs to be both more strategic and more flexible in its approach to supporting ED students. Specifically, we recommend: redefining the conversation to focus on the barriers impeding academic success; simplifying the system for all involved; refining funding formulas to reflect the pervasiveness and severity of students’ academic challenges; strengthening overall accountability by measuring year-to-year growth in student achievement; and, identifying and facilitating the sharing of best practices.
December 11, 2008 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
December 1, 2008 - The role of the Legislative Analyst's Office is to review state programs and make recommendations to the Legislature as to how the state can operate more effectively and efficiently. This report summarizes various changes to law that we have recommended in recent years. Recommendations in this report include, among many others: (a) Simplify and Consolidate K-12 General Purpose Funding, (b) Promote the Adoption of Health Information Technology in California, (c) Fund Inmate Education Programs Based on Actual Attendance, and (d) Increase and Index the State Gas Tax.