The 2026-27 Budget: Child Care and State Preschool

Mar 19, 2026 - While enrollment has increased since 2020, it remains significantly below pre‑pandemic levels. In October 2024, State Preschool enrollment was roughly 40,000 students lower than October 2019 enrollment.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5168

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

Feb 4, 2026 - The Governor ’s budget estimates that the 2025 ‑26 guarantee has increased to $121.5  billion but provides only $115.9  billion for schools and community colleges (slightly above the June 2025 enacted budget level).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5110

The 2026-27 Budget: K-12 Proposals

Feb 19, 2026 - Assess Funding Level for Technical Assistance Centers. The Legislature may want to assess whether the proposed funding level for technical assistance is sufficient given the increased number of schools that will be supported on an ongoing basis.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5131

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

Mar 18, 2026 - The Governor ’s budget, however, does not propose any specific fiscal changes to implement the proposal or identify the new funding levels for CDE, SBE, and the Office of the SPI. New Role for the SPI Is Not Clearly Defined.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5165

Assessing a Shift to Enrollment-Based School Funding

Jan 6, 2026 - These performance levels are based on a combination of overall status and change in performance over the past year. In 2025, 108 (out of over 900) school districts were assigned the lowest performance level in chronic absenteeism for their total student population, while another 388 school districts were assigned the lowest performance level for at least one subgroup.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5100