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

May 11, 2022 - As Figure  4 shows, 55 of the 58 counties in California have experienced ADA declines during the pandemic. Of these 55  counties, 36 experienced two ‑year declines between 5  percent and 10  percent.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4595

The 2024-25 Budget: The Governor’s Proposition 98 Funding Maneuver

Feb 15, 2024 - We estimate the administration addressed a $58  billion budget problem in the Governor ’s budget. Despite this significant deficit, there is a good chance that the administration ’s revenue projections are too low and the state will face an even larger budget problem in May.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4840

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

Mar 18, 2026 - Introduction California operates the nation ’s largest public school system, comprising 937 school districts, 1,257 charter schools, and 58 county offices of education. This year, these local agencies will educate nearly 5.8  million students, employ around 700,000 teachers and staff, and spend nearly $150  billion.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5165

The 2026-27 Budget: Child Care and State Preschool

Mar 19, 2026 - Funding increases for State Preschool in 2021‑22 and 2022‑23 were primarily due to rate increases. In 2023‑24 and 2024‑25, the state made one‑time reductions to the program in recognition that funding provided exceeded the amount necessary to fund all State Preschool contracts.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5168

The 2022-23 Budget: Special Education Proposals

Jan 25, 2022 - The 2022-23 Budget: Special Education Proposals The 2022‑23 Budget Special Education Proposals Summary. This post provides background on various special education programs, describes the Governor ’s proposals related to these topics, and offers associated recommendations and issues for the Legislature to consider.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4494

The 2022-23 California Spending Plan: Proposition 98

Oct 24, 2022 - For COEs that are funded a bove their LCFF targets (33 of 58 COEs in 2021-22), the budget package establishes an ongoing add-on equal to the annual statutory COLA that COEs funded at their target receive.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4641

The 2026-27 Budget: K-12 Proposals

Feb 19, 2026 - From 2022 ‑23 through 2024 ‑25, the state appropriation remained at $4  billion annually, while the Tier 1 rate and overall Tier 1 TK ‑6 attendance increased. As a result, funding available for Tier 2 rates decreased.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5131

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

Feb 4, 2026 - Most notably, this law was part of the rationale for the complicated funding maneuver the state adopted to address the unexpected drop in the 2022 ‑23 guarantee. It also prompted a complex law that excludes certain school spending from Proposition  98 calculations when the state overestimates the guarantee due to tax ‑filing extensions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5110

The 2024-25 Budget: Proposition 98 and K-12 Education

Feb 15, 2024 - Figure 15 shows lunches served by category in 2018 ‑19 compared to 2022 ‑23. Although the total number of lunches served was relatively stable, schools served 78  million more lunches in the paid category in 2022 ‑23 compared to 2018 ‑19.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4839