The 2026-27 Budget: Child Care and State Preschool

Mar 19, 2026 - Although reducing funding would run counter to the Legislature’s stated goal of increasing child care slots over the long term, this could help the state avoid reductions to other programs that would result in a reduction in the level of services provided to Californians.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5168

Assessing a Shift to Enrollment-Based School Funding

Jan 6, 2026 - Overall, our analysis finds that shifting to enrollment ‑based funding would be somewhat more predictable and reduce some administrative burdens for LEAs, but likely would have a negative effect on student attendance over the long run.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5100

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

Mar 18, 2026 - Considering Adding Legislative Appointees to the SBE. The Legislature could consider adding two legislative appointees to the SBE. These appointees could enable greater legislative oversight of the new governance system and ensure the SBE ’s policies are consistent with legislative intent.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5165

The 2026-27 Budget: K-12 Proposals

Feb 19, 2026 - The phasing out of targeted funding also provides LEAs with an opportunity to build strong local buy ‑in to help ensure their community will support the model over the long run. (In some cases, LEAs may decide the model was not a good fit for their specific schools.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5131

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

Feb 4, 2026 - The proposal effectively shifts that cost from this year to future budgets —helping address the current budget problem on a one ‑time basis, but adding to the large budget deficits the state is projecting over the next several years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5110