The 2026-27 Budget: K-12 Proposals

Feb 19, 2026 - During times when school districts have constrained budgets and need to reduce programs, this may result in LEAs prioritizing community schools spending and making reductions in other areas (such as math tutoring), even if they believe t hese other activities would be more beneficial for  students.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5131

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

Feb 4, 2026 - In practical terms, this approach means being cautious about new commitments; building reserves and other buffers to protect existing school programs; and identifying proposals tha t the Legislature would be willing to delay, reduce, or reject.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5110

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

Mar 18, 2026 - Many of these changes will need to occur as a new Governor and new SPI are taking office. The complexity of the transition, however, is not by itself a reason to avoid making improvements. Further Governance Changes Could Be Warranted.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5165

The 2026-27 Budget: Child Care and State Preschool

Mar 19, 2026 - In 2021, the state increased rates and shifted most providers to the RMR, then began the process of developing a new child care reimbursement rate structure for all child care and State Preschool providers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5168

Assessing a Shift to Enrollment-Based School Funding

Jan 6, 2026 - In addition, the Legislature could require LEAs to offer absent students access to additional instructional support outside of t he school day, similar to what they might currently receive through attendance recovery programs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5100

The 2026-27 Budget: Re-Envisioning State Education Governance [Publication Details]

Mar 18, 2026 - In this brief, we examine the Governor’s proposal to restructure state governance. The first section explains how the current system evolved and describes the main entities and their responsibilities. The second section reviews previous governance studies and explains how governance works in other contexts.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5165