The 2025-26 Budget: School Nutrition

Mar 4, 2025 - State law sets a state rate for free meals, which supplements the federal rate for free meals. For paid and reduced ‑priced meals, the state provides funds to match the combined state and federal rate for free meals.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5001

The 2026-27 Budget: K-12 Proposals

Feb 19, 2026 - Frees Up Current Funding for Extension Grants. Trailer legislation proposes to free up the $485  million allocated in prior budgets that is set aside for the two ‑year extension grants. Current community schools grantees would no longer be required to submit requests for extensions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5131

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

Nov 10, 2025 - Trailer legislation specifies that EL counts in TK will be calculated by applying a fact or to TK enrollment equal to the share of ELs enrolled in kindergarten who are not eligible for free or reduced-price meals and not a foster youth.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5087

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

Mar 18, 2026 - This  shift would free up the SBE to focus on broader policy issues while making state administrative functions more efficient. Considering Adding Legislative Appointees to the SBE. The Legislature could consider adding two legislative appointees to the SBE.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5165

The 2022-23 Budget: School Nutrition

Feb 8, 2022 - Trailer legislation as part of the 2021 ‑22 budget package requires that, beginning in 2022 ‑23, all schools provide one free breakfast and one free lunch per school day to any student requesting a meal.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4519

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

Feb 15, 2024 - Federal Reimbursement Rates Schools reimbursed at free, reduced, or paid rate. Based on meal count and student household income. ISP is multiplied by 1.6 to determine the share of meals served that will be reimbursed at the free rate.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4839

The 2025-26 Budget: Transitional Kindergarten Multilingual Learner Screeners

Feb 26, 2025 - The administration indicated that its intent is for the California Department of Education (CDE) to contract with an external entity that would provide the screener and necessary training to schools free of charge.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4990

The 2024-25 California Spending Plan: Proposition 98 and K-12 Education

Sep 16, 2024 - The selected COE must report and make th eir research, guidance, support, and resources available to the public by June 30, 2027, as well as through widely available and free trainings and convenings for LEAs and teachers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4929

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

Feb 15, 2024 - LAO Assessment Creates a New Type of Budget Solution: Effectively an Interest ‑Free Loan From the State ’s Cash Resources. Under this proposed maneuver, the state would generate budget savings by not recognizing a budgetary expenditure, despite the fact that the cash has gone out the door.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4840

The 2025-26 Budget: Expanded Learning Opportunities Program

Feb 20, 2025 - This would mean districts have less ELOP  funding for programming beyond the minimum requirements, but free up several hundreds of millions of dollars that could be redirected to other education priorities.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4977