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 2020-21 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 13, 2020 - Our office estimated the full ‑year savings —in 2022 ‑ 23 —of suspending these expenditures was $1. 7  b illion. The augmentations subject to suspensions were in a variety of state programs, including In ‑Home Supportive Services, developmental services, and Medi ‑Cal.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4135

The 2026-27 Budget: Fiscal Outlook for Schools and Community Colleges

Nov 19, 2025 - When the state faced significant revenue drops in 2022 ‑23 and 2023 ‑24, it used several tools to sustain ongoing school and community college programs. Most  notably, it withdrew $9.5  billion from the Proposition  98 Reserve.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5093

The 2025-26 Budget: Transitional Kindergarten

Feb 18, 2025 - These additional requirements were initially set to start August 2020, but have been delayed several  times. State Has Supported TK Expansion Through Several Initiatives. In 2021 ‑22 and 2022 ‑23, the state provided a total of $1.2  billion in one ‑time funding to support TK expansion.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4968

The 2022-23 Budget: Local Control Funding Formula

Jan 28, 2022 - (For 2022‑23, attendance would be based on the average of 2019‑20, 2020‑21, and 2021‑22.) The administration estimates that the proposal would increase LCFF costs by roughly $1.2 billion in 2022‑23—essentially offsetting the attendance‑related reduction that would occur under current law .
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4505

The 2025-26 Budget: Proposition 98 Guarantee and K-12 Spending Plan

Feb 13, 2025 - In late 2020, the families of several students living in Oakland and Los Angeles filed a lawsuit alleging the state had failed to ensure that schools provided adequate instruction during the pandemic ( Cayla  J.  
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4963

The 2023-24 Budget: State and Federal One-Time K-12 Funding

Mar 10, 2023 - The federal government provided funding in three rounds of grants (enacted in 2020 and 2021) through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund. (We provide more information regarding federal funding in our publication, Overview of Federal Relief for K-12 Education and Child Care .)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4734

Update on School District Budgets

Nov 16, 2020 - Figure  6 shows projected changes in district spending from 2020 ‑21 to 2022 ‑23 in several major expenditure categories. Districts project the largest increases ($1.4  billion) in employee benefits.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4301

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

May 11, 2022 - (The state did not collect ADA data in 2020 ‑21.) The declines in enrollment during the pandemic are steeper than changes in the school ‑age population, which suggests that the pandemic has affected enrollment in 2020 ‑21 and  2021 ‑22.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4595

The 2022-23 Budget: Fiscal Outlook for Schools and Community Colleges

Nov 17, 2021 - For the upcoming budget cycle, the Legislature has nearly $20 billion to allocate for new commitments, including $10.2  billion in one ‑time funds related to 2020 ‑21 and 2021 ‑22 and $9.5 billion in ongoing funds related to 2022 ‑23.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4473