The 2026-27 Budget: Child Care and State Preschool

Mar 19, 2026 - A federal court initially granted a temporary restraining order that was followed by a preliminary injunction, ordering that funds continue to be available pending resolution of  the case. Governor’s Budget Proposes $7.5   Billion for Child Care Programs in 2026 ‑27.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5168

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

Mar 18, 2026 - 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/Report/5165

The 2026-27 Budget: K-12 Proposals

Feb 19, 2026 - As we discuss in the “Overview ” section of this report, we recommend the Legislature be cautious about new spending commitments in order to provide a cushion in case the state faces a decline in revenues.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5131

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

Assessing a Shift to Enrollment-Based School Funding

Jan 6, 2026 - Consider Setting Specific Rules Around How Enrollment Is Funded. If the Legislature were to adopt enrollment‑based funding, it may want to consider setting specific rules around how enrollment is counted for funding purposes.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5100

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

Feb 4, 2026 - For schools, these actions create new uncertainty about when and how the state will allocate Proposition  98 funding. Recommendations Alternative Approach Makes Difficult Decisions Now but Reduces Future Budget Challenges.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5110

The 2026-27 Budget: Fiscal Outlook for Schools and Community Colleges

Nov 19, 2025 - During budget deliberations, the Legislature will likely want to consider (1)  how much to allocate for budget resiliency versus new one ‑time programs, (2)  whether additional one ‑time funding could complement any existing initiatives or programs, and (3)  how these funds could improve student outcomes or local budgets beyond the upcoming year.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5093

The 2025-26 Budget: Department of Developmental Services

Mar 5, 2025 - For example, the administration has not yet provided details on how it plans to prioritize the Master Plan ’s recommendations when developing near ‑term versus long ‑term proposals. In order to understand the full scope of the Master Plan and its implications for the developmental services system, the Legislature will want to request this information from the administration.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5008

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

Nov 10, 2025 - These reports must describe how funds were used to employ coaches and improve school literacy programs, how expenditures impact student literacy, an d how the LEA plans to continue to support literacy coaches past the award period.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5087

The 2022-23 Budget: School Nutrition

Feb 8, 2022 - In order to receive funding, LEAs were required to indicate to the California Department of Education (CDE) their interest in receiving the funds. The department collected this information on January 24, 2022.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4519