The 2026-27 Budget: Re-Envisioning State Education Governance

Mar 18, 2026 - Introduction California operates the nation ’s largest public school system, comprising 937 school districts, 1,257 charter schools, and 58 county offices of education. This year, these local agencies will educate nearly 5.8  million students, employ around 700,000 teachers and staff, and spend nearly $150  billion.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5165

A Review of the CalSTRS Funding Plan: State’s Future Responsibility for CalSTRS Uncertain

Feb 2, 2016 - Because theoretical assets that determine the state’s share of the unfunded liability fluctuate more than real world assets and because the state’s share of the unfunded liability ($15 billion) is much smaller than the district share ($58 billion), the state share will be relatively sensitive to changes in assets.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3336

A Review of the CalSTRS Funding Plan: Conclusion

Feb 2, 2016 - Meanwhile, that calculation, coupled with CalSTRS ’ treatment of the higher teacher contributions required by the funding law, have increased the school and community college district share from $47 billion to $58 billion.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3339

Assessing a Shift to Enrollment-Based School Funding

Jan 6, 2026 - (The version of Proposition   98 approved by voters in 1988 might have allowed the Legislature to make this change, but an amendment in 1990 —Proposition   111 —tightened the attendance requirement.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5100

The 2017-18 Budget: Overview of the Governor’s Proposition 98 Budget Package

Jan 13, 2017 - Proposition 111 established maintenance factor and set forth certain rules pertaining to it. The state creates a maintenance factor obligation when Test 3 is operative or the minimum guarantee is suspended.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3530

The 2022-23 Budget: Update on K-12 Student Attendance

May 11, 2022 - As Figure  4 shows, 55 of the 58 counties in California have experienced ADA declines during the pandemic. Of these 55  counties, 36 experienced two ‑year declines between 5  percent and 10  percent.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4595

The 2019-20 Budget: California Spending Plan—Education

Oct 17, 2019 - Of this amount, $4.7  billion (58  percent) is state General Fund, $3.3  billion (41  percent) comes from student tuition and fee revenue, and $64  million (0.8  percent) is other state funding (primarily lottery revenue).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4096

The 2024-25 Budget: The Governor’s Proposition 98 Funding Maneuver

Feb 15, 2024 - We estimate the administration addressed a $58  billion budget problem in the Governor ’s budget. Despite this significant deficit, there is a good chance that the administration ’s revenue projections are too low and the state will face an even larger budget problem in May.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4840

The 2024-25 California Spending Plan: Child Care and State Preschool

Sep 26, 2024 - The budget package includes $229  million ($117  million General Fund and $111  million federal funds) for 11,000 new General Child Care slots beginning October 1, 2024. (The full-year ongoing costs of the slots is $305  million.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4932

The 2016-17 Budget: Local Government Mandates--Reasonable Reimbursement Methodology

Mar 17, 2016 - Currently, there are 58 active education mandates and 22 active local government mandates for which the CSM has adopted Parameters and Guidelines. Of these, six mandates —Habitual Truants, Graduation Requirements, Behavioral Intervention Plans, Immunization Records (Pertussis), Peace Officers Procedural Bill of Rights, and Municipal Stormwater and Urban Runoff Discharge —use an RRM.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3395