Staff
- Jackie Barocio
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(916) 319-8333
Child Care, Expanded Learning, School Facilities, and Teachers - Sara Cortez
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(916) 319-8348
Special Education, Preschool, and Child Nutrition - Kenneth Kapphahn
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(916) 319-8339
Proposition 98, School District Budgets, School Transportation - Lisa Qing
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(916) 319-8306
California State University, Student Financial Aid - Paul Steenhausen
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(916) 319-8303
California Community Colleges - Ian Klein
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(916) 319-8336
University of California; College of the Law, San Francisco; California State Library - Michael Alferes
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(916) 319-8338
Local Control Funding Formula, Charter Schools, Alternative Schools, High School Career Technical Education - Edgar Cabral
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(916) 319-8343
Deputy Legislative Analyst: K-12 Education - Jennifer Pacella
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(916) 319-8332
Deputy Legislative Analyst: Higher Education
Publications
Education
To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.
Proposition 98: Overview of Conference Issues
- Format:
June 4, 2014 - Presented to: Budget Conference Committee
High School Career Technical Education: Overview of Conference Issues
- Format:
June 4, 2014 - Presented to: Budget Conference Committee
Proposition 98: May Revision Overview
- Format:
May 15, 2014 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
Review of School Transportation in California
- Format:
May 8, 2014 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education Finance
Child Nutrition
- Format:
May 1, 2014 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
Local Libraries' Internet Services
- Format:
April 29, 2014 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
Commission on Teacher Credentialing
- Format:
April 29, 2014 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
Local Libraries' Internet Services
- Format:
April 23, 2014 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
Independent Study
- Format:
April 22, 2014 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
The 2014-15 Budget: Maintaining Education Facilities in California
April 11, 2014 - Due to a combination of poor budgeting practices and competing funding priorities, all of the state's education segments currently have a backlog of deferred maintenance projects. The Governor’s budget includes a package of proposals to begin addressing this backlog. While we commend the administration for highlighting deferred maintenance as a problem, we have concerns with the Governor's specific proposals and recommend the Legislature consider various alternatives. Looking beyond 2014-15, we believe the state should have a long-term strategy for properly maintaining education facilities. While a one-size-fits-all response very likely is not appropriate for such a diverse array of education segments, segment-specific plans likely could be very helpful. To this end, we recommend the Legislature require the education segments to develop plans that detail how much they set aside annually for scheduled maintenance, how they plan to eliminate their existing deferred maintenance backlogs over the next several years, and how they plan to avoid creating new backlogs thereafter. (In contrast to the other segments, we believe the state should not impose additional maintenance requirements on elementary and secondary schools at this time. The different approach for schools acknowledges the state’s recent decision to shift fiscal decision making and accountability for many aspects of schools’ operations—including maintenance—to the local level.)
The 2014-15 Budget: Specialized Secondary Programs and Agricultural Education Grants
- Format:
April 7, 2014 - To be presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
State Economic Outlook
- Format:
- PowerPoint
April 3, 2014 - Presented to: California Association of Chief Business Officers
The 2014-15 Budget: The Commission on Teacher Credentialing
March 28, 2014 - In this report, we analyze the Governor's two main 2014-15 budget proposals for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC). The Governor proposes to allow CTC to transfer revenue from its test fee account to its primary budget account to help cover cash shortfalls midyear. The Governor also proposes to expand CTC's fee authority by allowing it to begin charging fees for the regular activities it undertakes in accrediting existing teacher preparation programs. Although the Governor's proposal to allow 60-day fund transfers among accounts would provide some cash relief, we recommend the Legislature instead consolidate CTC's revenues into a single, combined account. We also recommend the Legislature work with the administration and CTC to refine budget documents such that fee revenues can be more easily linked with associated expenditures. Additionally, we recommend the Legislature adopt the Governor's proposal to expand accreditation fees, as it is consistent with prior state actions that aim to keep CTC self-supporting. We are concerned, however, that the Governor's proposal does not make any changes to CTC's current costly, labor-intensive accreditation process. We recommend the Legislature require CTC to streamline its process to ensure (1) teacher preparation program standards are clear, concise, and aligned to state academic content standards; (2) accreditation incorporates data on program outcomes; and (3) accreditation is self-supporting.
The 2014-15 Budget: An Analysis of Local Libraries' Internet Speeds
March 27, 2014 - In this report, we assess the Governor's proposal to provide state funds for the California State Library to contract with the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) in an effort to increase Internet speeds at local libraries. We find that the Governor’s plan is unlikely to increase speeds at many libraries and lacks adequate cost information. We recommend the Legislature reject the Governor’s proposal and instead focus on improving existing state programs designed to increase Internet speeds for libraries as well as other entities.
Governor’s 2014-15 Assessment Proposals
- Format:
March 20, 2014 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance