In 2021, California committed to providing universal prekindergarten (UPK) for all 4-year-olds and income-eligible 3-year-olds by 2025-26. UPK includes several early learning programs, including transitional kindergarten (TK), the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Head Start, and expanded learning opportunities to provide full-day early…

In 2021, California committed to providing universal prekindergarten (UPK) for all 4-year-olds and expanding access for income-eligible 3-year-olds by 2025-2026. California UPK includes several early learning programs, including transitional kindergarten (TK), the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Head Start, and locally funded early…

State appropriations for higher education are highly cyclical, with downturns in funding during difficult financial times followed by increases in funding when state finances improve. This policy brief shares recent research about whether the duration of recoveries from cuts in appropriations for higher education has changed over time and which…

This issue brief is part of a larger study of California continuation high schools begun in 2007. While the first phase of the study examined various alternative education options throughout the state, this second phase focused on 23 higher performing continuation high schools in California selected based on multiple student outcome measures. This…

Argues that educational provision components satisfying private demands almost invariably prevail over their public goods components. People find educating other people's children more onerous than educating their own. This effect diminishes the supply of social benefits and stifles social mobility. The condition of black, inner city, and…

While the California State Department of Education (SDE) holds the primary responsibility for the success of the California educational system, the Federal Government also supports state and local educational activities. The intent of this document is to assist local educators in understanding federal education programs and communicating with the…

After being placed on the back burner during the 1980s, school finance is again a major issue. In the 1970s, reliance on property taxes created school district disparities because of unequal tax bases. Legislative reforms enacted between 1971 and 1985 had the following characteristics: school finance formulas were revamped; the state role in…

The present monograph has been "written with a view" to presenting in a simple and concise manner to the general educational public the most significant conclusions reached in the course of an extensive study of school finance, continued for several years and covering a number of states. Some of the data have been taken from bulletins of…

This policy analysis presents the "new-school" finance, one that, in contrast to most discussions about funding that have concentrated on spending patterns only, asks how resources are used within schools and classrooms, and whether they are used in ways that can enhance educational outcomes. The analysis, directed toward policymakers…

This report provides selected statistics on enrollments, units of average daily attendance (ADA), and finances for the California community college districts. After a general summary and a table giving selected data and rankings by district, part I presents fall 1986 headcount enrollments by college. Part II provides data on the student workload…

Suggests alternative support sources and marketing techniques for school districts whose adult education budgets were slashed by California's property tax cutting initiative, Proposition 13. (SJL)

This issue of "Forum," a journal designed to provide a marketplace of ideas for California community college faculty, contains six articles on current educational concerns. The first article, "Model Curriculum Committee: Santa Monica College," by Randal Lawson and Darroch Young, discusses the process of curriculum development…

A project was undertaken to develop a model for establishing normative costs and budget guidelines for California's community colleges. The model was developed using adaptations of microcomputer software and tested using data from the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges and from the Marin Community College District (MCCD).…

Examines how school financial policies affect economic incentives and working conditions for teachers and how these policies might serve to make the teaching profession more attractive to new and experienced teachers. Particular consideration is given to the California public school system. (DR)

The two papers in this document focus on two different major educational reforms and their continuing central issues in California's comprehensive school finance legislation of 1981. The first report, "The Waiver Process for California's Educational Code," by David R. Pacheco, examines the legislation that delegated to nonelected board…