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Targeted K–12 Funding and Student Outcomes

By Julien Lafortune

As students return to the classroom, record-high funding through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) will help California districts address gaps after a year of remote learning. In this report, we examine school and district spending against trends in student outcomes to offer insight into whether the LCFF is meeting its goal of improving equity in education.

Policy Brief

Policy Brief: Targeted K–12 Funding and Student Outcomes

By Julien Lafortune, Stephanie Barton

Under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), more money now reaches high-need districts, and these districts spend most of that money on schools with greater need. Students are seeing some benefits from the LCFF, as seen in higher test scores, though disparities by student income, race, and language status remain large.

blog post

Geography of College Enrollment in California

By Cesar Alesi Perez, Hans Johnson, Vicki Hsieh

While increases in state funding and initiatives to improve access have helped increase enrollment at the University of California and California State University, disparities in college access remain.

Report

Groundwater and Urban Growth in the San Joaquin Valley

By Andrew Ayres, Ellen Hanak, Henry McCann, David Mitchell ...

As the San Joaquin Valley addresses groundwater overdraft under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), its urban utilities face unique challenges. Learn how to ensure a smooth transition for the region’s residents.

Policy Brief

Policy Brief: Groundwater and Urban Growth in the San Joaquin Valley

By Andrew Ayres, Ellen Hanak, Henry McCann, David Mitchell ...

This policy brief distills the key takeaways from our report about the challenges urban utilities in the San Joaquin Valley will face as they address groundwater overdraft under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Learn how to ensure a smooth transition for the region’s residents.

Report

Distance Learning Strategies in California Schools

By Niu Gao, Laura Hill, Julien Lafortune

Learning gaps are a growing concern after a year of online instruction. During the pandemic, uneven distribution of resources may have widened gaps and led to learning loss for some students. Our survey outlines how California school districts addressed remote learning and their strategies to improve instruction in the 2020–21 school year.

Report

Getting to Graduation on Time at California State University

By Jacob Jackson

Students who take more than four years to graduate incur added costs—from paying extra tuition to forgoing years in the workforce. This report examines how a strategy of taking more courses in the first year at California State University may influence on-time graduation, while exploring how different groups benefit from a full course load.

Report

Funding California Schools When Budgets Fall Short

By Julien Lafortune, Radhika Mehlotra, Jennifer Paluch

Even as districts prioritize safety amid COVID-19, they face hard choices as they try to maintain services and balance budgets. By examining district reserves and spending, this report aims to understand how the Great Recession affected K–12 funding and how prepared districts are now to manage future cuts.

blog post

How Prevalent Is Policing in California Schools?

By Andrew Lee, Joseph Hayes

Across California, two-thirds of high school students, a quarter of middle-schoolers, and about one in ten elementary-grade students attend schools that use school resource officers (SROs), sworn police officers with the legal authority to make arrests.

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