Report School Resources and the Local Control Funding Formula: Is Increased Spending Reaching High-Need Students? By Julien Lafortune Aug 7, 2019 Six years after state policymakers enacted a new funding formula for California’s public schools, significant additional resources are going to high-need districts. However, allocating resources specifically to high-need students remains a challenge.
Report Dual Enrollment in California By Olga Rodriguez, Niu Gao Oct 18, 2021 Dual enrollment provides opportunities for high school students to take college courses and earn college credit. The pandemic has fueled a nationwide surge in participation, and equity-centered legislation has raised dual enrollment’s profile in California. As dual enrollment expands, state leaders can take steps to promote equitable access and outcomes.
Report Fiscal Realities: Budget Tradeoffs in California Government By Jon Sonstelie, Tracy Gordon, Patrick Murphy, Ping Zhang Jan 31, 2007 The authors of Fiscal Realities: Budget Tradeoffs in California Government examine California’s entire revenue and spending picture in a way different from traditional, program-based analyses. Through a broad budgetary lens, and by looking at years of public opinion surveys, they evaluate what it would take to make Californians’ stated desires for their state a reality. In many cases, doing so would be extremely expensive. Reducing class size so that teacher-student ratios match ratios in other states would cost California governments an additional $15 billion per year. What services would Californians be willing to forego to pay for this? The report should help spark a broad public conversation about the tradeoffs Californians make now and those they might have to make to attain the kind of California they want.
Report District Spending of One-Time Funds for Educational Recovery By Julien Lafortune, Laura Hill, Niu Gao, Joseph Herrera ... Jun 28, 2023 To address COVID-19 disruptions to education, federal and state programs directed billions in stimulus aid to K–12 schools. These programs allocated greater funding to lower-income and high-need districts—and California districts applied their early funds to health, safety, and technology. More recently, spending has prioritized learning recovery.
Report Educating California: Choices for the Future By Hans Johnson Jun 2, 2009 The bad news is that California is facing a "skills gap” - a shortage of college graduates - that threatens its economic future. But the good news is that modest improvements in college enrollment, community college transfers, and the college completion rate, particularly in the California State University system, could help to narrow that gap substantially. These improvements will not only help California’s young adults succeed in an increasingly high-skill economy but will also benefit the state by increasing tax revenues and allowing for greater economic growth.
Report COVID-19 Emergency Funding and California’s Higher Education Systems By Jacob Jackson, Kevin Cook, Darriya Starr Nov 16, 2022 Federal dollars offered timely, substantial support to the state’s higher education systems during the worst of the pandemic. Funding for students, online instruction, and social distancing measures made up key spending allocations.
Report Accounting for California’s Water By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Brian Gray, Henry McCann Jul 20, 2016 Understanding California’s balance sheet for water—how much there is, who has claims to it, and what is actually being "spent”—is key to effectively managing the state’s limited water supply in support of a healthy economy and environment. This report compares California’s water accounting systems to those of 11 other western states, Australia, and Spain. It identifies gaps in California’s water information systems, and proposes a dozen ways to bridge them. Read a summary of the report’s policy recommendations. This research was supported with funding from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Water Foundation, an initiative of the Resources Legacy Fund.
Report Managing Wastewater in a Changing Climate By Caitrin Chappelle, Henry McCann, David Jassby, Kurt Schwabe Apr 16, 2019 California’s wastewater sector helps protect public health and the environment. It is also the source of recycled water. But climate change is bringing water scarcity and other pressures to the sector. Shifts in policy and planning can help prepare the sector for a more volatile future.
Report Improving College Access and Success through Dual Enrollment By Olga Rodriguez, Daniel Payares-Montoya, Iwunze Ugo, Niu Gao Aug 21, 2023 At one time, mainly high-achieving high school students took college courses through dual enrollment; but access has widened under the College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) program. While CCAP students are benefiting from the program—they enroll in community college at high rates and reach key milestones—CCAP has room to improve.
Report Managing California’s Freshwater Ecosystems: Lessons from the 2012-16 Drought By Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray, Caitrin Chappelle, Greg Gartrell ... Nov 12, 2017 The 2012–16 drought caused unprecedented stress to California’s ecosystems and pushed many native species to the brink of extinction. It also tested the laws, policies, and institutions charged with protecting the environment.
