blog post California K–12 Enrollment Declines Continue to Exceed Expectations By Julien Lafortune, Emmanuel Prunty Apr 21, 2022 K–12 public school enrollment statewide has fallen for five straight years, with a decrease of more than 270,000 students over the past two years alone. Examining the variation across regions provides insights into this enrollment decline.
blog post Californians Favor Funds for School Construction By Dean Bonner Sep 18, 2019 On prior PPIC Statewide Surveys, majorities of Californians across regions supported bonds for K-12 and higher education construction projects.
Report Storing Water for the Environment By Sarah Null, Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray, Kristen Dybala ... Aug 22, 2022 Large reservoirs are essential for managing water in California’s highly variable climate—but over the years, the construction and operation of these reservoirs have had significant environmental costs. Our new research outlines how reservoir operations could be changed to improve the health of the state’s fragile freshwater ecosystems.
blog post Better Data for Better California Health Policy By Shannon McConville, Paulette Cha Dec 10, 2019 As state leaders work to create a health care payments database for California, PPIC is providing research on how policymakers and others could use the database to inform key policy decisions.
Report Achieving Universal Broadband in California By Joseph Hayes, Niu Gao, Darriya Starr, Amy Gong Liu Mar 29, 2023 In 2021, California invested over $6 billion to expand broadband infrastructure, address affordability, and promote digital literacy. This report examines barriers to installing broadband in underserved communities and offers recommendations as the state aims to close the digital divide.
press release Local Fees, Largely Hidden From Homebuyers, Greatly Increase Cost Of Building, Buying New Homes In California Jul 14, 1997
Policy Brief Policy Brief: Equitable State Funding for School Facilities By Julien Lafortune, Niu Gao, Mary Severance Mar 14, 2022 Funding for school facilities comes mostly from local sources and depends on local property wealth. California provides some funding through the School Facility Program (SFP), but many have noted that SFP privileges wealthier districts. Policymakers will need to identify equitable funding streams that give all students access to safe and effective learning environments
Report California’s New School Funding Flexibility By Margaret Weston May 11, 2011 To ease the pain of deep budget cuts to K–12 education in 2009, school districts were allowed to use some restricted funds for general education. The new rules, which expire in 2015, helped, but created other problems. This paper offers specific recommendations for an overhaul of the restricted funding system, balancing the needs of certain groups of students against the fiscal flexibility that school districts now enjoy. This research was supported with funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
