The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 13, 2025 - The Governor has signaled interest in changing the state ’s reserve policy by: (1)  increasing the cap on BSA required deposits from 10  percent of General Fund taxes to 20  percent of General Fund taxes, and (2)  excluding the state ’s reserve deposits from the state appropriations limit.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4951

The 2023-24 California Spending Plan: Child Care and State Preschool

Nov 17, 2023 - This post summarizes the state’s 2023-24 spending package for child care and preschool. It is part of our Spending Plan series, which contains posts focused on each major sector of the state budget. Update (12/20/23): Corrected total child care program costs in Figure 1.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4817

The 2022-23 Budget: State Preschool

Feb 22, 2022 - In 2019 ‑20, the state served 89,000 students through TK. Head Start. Many schools and community ‑based organizations operate Head Start —a school readiness program for children ages three to five. The program is targeted to families living below the poverty line.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4555

The 2023-24 Budget: Transitional Kindergarten and State Preschool Proposals

Feb 14, 2023 - In some cases, the lower staffing ratio would also mean a school district would need to hire additional credentialed teachers to move from classrooms of 24 to classrooms of 20. Given that only 23  percent of school districts reported having enough TK teachers, dropping to the lower ratio likely will make implementation more  challenging.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4682

The 2023-24 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

Jan 13, 2023 - Less  than 20  percent of the total spending solutions are reductions. Cost Shifts In addition to spending solutions, we estimate the Governor ’s budget includes $4.3  billion in cost shifts. Cost shifts occur when the state moves costs between entities or fund sources.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4662

Overview of Federal Relief for K-12 Education and Child Care

Apr 29, 2021 - In contrast to prior rounds of funding, which provided broad discretion for use of ESSER funds, schools are required to spend at least 20  percent of their ESSER grants from ARP to address learning loss through activities such as summer school, after school programs, and additional instructional time.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4419

The 2023-24 Budget: Child Care Proposals

Feb 9, 2023 - With this funding, GCC providers could begin filling about 8,800 slots (or roughly 20  percent of total new slots). We understand that DSS is still in the process of finalizing contracts with many of these GCC providers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4672

The 2021-22 Budget: Child Care Proposals

Feb 11, 2021 - Since 2019 ‑20, however, State Preschool has been funded entirely from the state General Fund and no longer has to comply with federal CCDBG requirements. The state has an opportunity to revisit the state ‑level oversight and support providers receive.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4363

A Review of Child Care and Preschool Program Flexibilities in Certain Counties

May 13, 2021 - In 2019 ‑20, the Legislature increased the income eligibility threshold to 85  percent of the state median income for all counties. Authorizing pilot counties to implement new policies at a smaller scale allows the state to determine whether the policy is effective and provide guidance for better statewide implementation.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4431