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 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 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Proposition 98 and K-12 Education

Nov 10, 2025 - The June 2023 budget reduced funding for the Zero-Emission School Bus and Infrastructure Program but expressed the Legislature ’s intent to provide additional funding in the future, including a $500  million appropriation in 2025-26.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5087

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

Feb 4, 2026 - The S &P 500, for example, has risen about 40  percent over the last two years. Several signs, however, suggest that the stock market has become overvalued. For example, the ratio of stock prices to corporate earnings (a measure of how expensive stocks are) is near historically high levels ( Figure  5 ).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5110

The 2025-26 Budget: Transitional Kindergarten

Feb 18, 2025 - Figure 3
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4968

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 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: Child Care and State Preschool

Mar 19, 2026 - As a result of the pandemic, State Preschool enrollment experienced a significant decline of roughly 65,000 students in 2020 (Figure 3). While enrollment has increased since 2020, it remains significantly below pre‑pandemic levels.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5168

The 2025-26 Budget: Proposition 98 Guarantee and K-12 Spending Plan

Feb 13, 2025 - Districts would be able to spend the grant through 2028 ‑29. $500   Million for Math and Literacy Coaches. Of the total, $250  million is for math coaches that will support teachers with implementing math instruction and interventions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4963

Assessing a Shift to Enrollment-Based School Funding

Jan 6, 2026 - Assessing a Shift to Enrollment-Based School Funding Share of Increase Coming From Base 80% — 36% Alternatives 2 and 3 Provide More Targeted Funding to Support High ‑Needs Students. As Figure   18 shows, compared to enrollment ‑based funding and alternative 1, alternatives 2  and  3 provide more of the funding increases through grants targeted for English learners, low ‑income students, and foster youth.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5100