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

Mar 18, 2026 - Previous Studies of California Governance First Major Governance Study Published in 1920. The state ’s first systematic study of governance was the Report of the Special Legislative Committee on Education , published in 1920.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5165

Assessing a Shift to Enrollment-Based School Funding

Jan 6, 2026 - Independent Study. Currently, LEAs generate ADA from independent study programs when students participate in synchronous instruction and complete coursework. If  LEAs were funded based on enrollment, they would receive funding regardless of how much independent study students participate in instruction and complete work.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5100

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

Nov 10, 2025 - The budget also includes $5  million for a study of ultra-processed foods and restricted foods being offered in school meals in California. CDE is to provide three reports to the Legislature on the findings of the study —by June 1, 2029, January 1, 2031, and January 1, 2033.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5087

The 2026-27 Budget: Re-Envisioning State Education Governance [Publication Details]

Mar 18, 2026 - In this brief, we examine the Governor’s proposal to restructure state governance. The first section explains how the current system evolved and describes the main entities and their responsibilities. The second section reviews previous governance studies and explains how governance works in other contexts.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5165

The 2025-26 Budget: Department of Developmental Services

Mar 5, 2025 - The rate study initiated in 2016 was undertaken, in part, because the historical rate structure did not result in funding levels for service providers that kept pace with system growth or supported an adequate supply of providers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5008

The 2025-26 Budget: Department of Developmental Services [Publication Details]

Mar 5, 2025 - This brief provides a short summary of the Governor’s proposed budget for the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) before addressing four issues that warrant legislative oversight: (1) quality incentives as part of service provider rate reform, (2) the Master Plan for Developmental Services, (3) DDS’s ongoing information technology project, and (4) the phaseout of subminimum wage employment.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5008

The 2026-27 Budget: K-12 Proposals

Feb 19, 2026 - Consistent with the previous studies, the Learning Policy Institute recently released a report assessing student outcomes of Cohort 1 of community schools grantees. The  report found that schools in this initial cohort showed gains in student outcomes, particularly in reduced chronic absenteeism rates and suspension rates, compared with similar schools that did not receive funding.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5131

The 2025-26 Budget: Educator Workforce

Mar 7, 2025 - The study also found that participant four ‑year retention rates (75  percent) were slightly lower than the state average retention rate at the time (78  percent). These results are in line with a 2023 study on a federal loan forgiveness program, which found that the program did not have any effect on teacher employment decisions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5012

Review of the Funding Determination Process for Nonclassroom-Based Charter Schools

Feb 29, 2024 - (See  the  box nearby for more detail regarding current independent study rules.) Independent Study Independent study programs provide students an alternative to traditional classroom ‑based instruction.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4870

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

Sep 16, 2024 - Allows students to sign independent study written agreements at any point during the school year. (Previously, students were required to sign written agreements within ten school days of starting short-term independent study.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4929