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

Mar 18, 2026 - This structure does not guarantee a district is well managed or eliminate conflict, but it clearly defines the local board as the final authority and allows voters to hold the school board accountable for the district ’s performance.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5165

The 2026-27 Budget: Child Care and State Preschool

Mar 19, 2026 - Three ‑ and four ‑year old children are generally eligible for State Preschool if their family earns at or below the state median income ($109,904 annual income for a family of three and $127,338 annual income for a family of four).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5168

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

Feb 4, 2026 - Under the Governor ’s budget, the state would make four adjustments that increase the reserve balance to $4.1  billion ( Figure  4 ). The  largest adjustment is a $3.8  billion mandatory deposit in 2024 ‑25, driven by significantly higher capital gains revenue since June.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5110

The 2026-27 Budget: K-12 Proposals

Feb 19, 2026 - Through CCSPP, the state ’s system of technical assistance has provided support to about 2,500 schools over four cohorts. The Governor ’s proposal would essentially create a fifth cohort of grantees that could be as large as 3,700 schools in 2026 ‑27.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5131

Assessing a Shift to Enrollment-Based School Funding

Jan 6, 2026 - The dashboard currently uses chronic absenteeism rates as an indicator of student engagement for grades TK ‑8, while the four ‑year graduation rate is used for high schools. Based on conversations with the State Board of Education, our understanding is that the state excluded high school absenteeism rates as part of its negotiations with the federal government to ensure compliance with federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5100