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

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

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

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

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

The 2026-27 Budget: Child Care and State Preschool

Mar 19, 2026 - As a result of the pandemic, State Preschool enrollment experienced a significant decline of roughly 65,000 students in 2020 (Figure 3). While enrollment has increased since 2020, it remains significantly below pre‑pandemic levels.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5168

The 2026-27 Budget: Proposition 98 Guarantee and K-12 Spending Plan

Feb 4, 2026 - The Proposition  98 reserve is particularly powerful because it (1)  can be accessed relatively quickly, (2)  can support any school or community college activities, and (3)  avoids disrupting district cash flow (unlike payment deferrals).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5110

Assessing a Shift to Enrollment-Based School Funding

Jan 6, 2026 - Assessing a Shift to Enrollment-Based School Funding Share of Increase Coming From Base 80% — 36% Alternatives 2 and 3 Provide More Targeted Funding to Support High ‑Needs Students. As Figure   18 shows, compared to enrollment ‑based funding and alternative 1, alternatives 2  and  3 provide more of the funding increases through grants targeted for English learners, low ‑income students, and foster youth.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5100

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

Mar 17, 2016 - Current law allows (1) multiple parties to submit RRM proposals for the same mandate, (2) parties to submit arguments for and against RRM proposals, and (3) any CSM decision to be challenged in court.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3395