PUBLICATIONS AND INFORMATION TO HELP UNDERSTAND THE CURRENT PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM IN CALIFORNIA AND IDEAS FOR REFORM

Background/Primer
To start to understand the current public education system in California, you need to have a basic understanding of how our state works. The first link gives a great overview of how the economy and state budget work. Cal Facts, from the Legislative Analyst Office, January 2011 With a state as big, as populous, and as complex as California, it would be impossible to quickly summarize how its economy or state budget works. The purpose of Cal Facts is more modest. By providing various "snapshot" pieces of information, we hope to provide the reader with a broad overview of public finance and program trends in the state. Cal Facts consists of a series of charts and tables which address questions frequently asked of our office. We hope the reader will find it to be a handy and helpful document. http://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2011/calfacts/calfacts_010511.aspx EdSource. Educate Our States favorite website we direct people to for an in-depth understanding of the education system in California is EdSource. EdSource is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization whose mission is to clarify complex education issues and to promote thoughtful policy decisions about public school improvement. This is their home page, which can take you to a variety of topics and issues. http://www.edsource.org/home.html For a good overview of the K-12 educational system, see http://www.edsource.org/sys_edsystem.html School Finance Highlights 2010-11, from EdSource, January 2011 This EdSource report discusses the budgetary decisions made in 201011 that affected K12 education that year and moving forward. It also makes clear how tightly linked school funding and the budget are in California. http://www.edsource.org/pub11-school-finance-highlights.html A Decade of Disinvestment: California Education Spending Nears the Bottom, from the California Budget Project, October 2011 This School Finance Facts compares state and local funding on public schools in California with the rest of the US and shows that Californias education spending ranks near the bottom according to several measures. Lawmakers have repeatedly cut state spending in recent years in response to the dramatic decline in revenues caused by the most severe economic downturn since the 1930s. As a result, 2010-11 estimated General Fund spending was lower as a share of the states economy than in 35 of the prior 40 years. As California has cut spending for schools to help close the perennial state budget shortfalls, the gap between California spending for education and that of the rest of the U.S. has widened. http://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2011/111012_Decade_of_Disinvestment_%20SFF.pdf Ed-Data. Another great site for those who want to dig deep into the numbers is Ed-Data. This site will answers questions such as how does your school/district compare with other schools/districts, how much do elementary districts typically spend on books and supplies, what are AYP and API all about? You can easily find answers to these and other frequently asked questions on this site. In addition to a vast amount of data, there is also information on important topics in public education. http://ed-data.org/welcome.asp

Reform Ideas and Policy Papers and Legislation

Getting Down to Facts: School Finance and Governance in California Susanna Loeb, Anthony Bryk, and Eric Hanushek Stanford University March 2007 Getting Down to Facts is the largest independent investigation ever of how California governs and funds public education. It was commissioned at the request of a bipartisan group of California leaders, including the Governors Advisory Committee on Educational Excellence, the President Pro Tem of the California Senate, the Speaker of the California Assembly, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the state Secretary of Education. The purpose of this unprecedented project is to describe Californias school finance and governance systems, identify aspects of those systems that hinder the effective use of resources, and estimate costs of achieving a range of student outcome goals. The project is not designed to advance specific policy recommendations, but rather aims to provide a common factual ground to promote informed conversation among policymakers and the public as they consider necessary reforms. http://irepp.stanford.edu/projects/cafinance.htm Getting Beyond the Facts: Reforming California School Finance Alan Bersin, Michael W. Kirst, & Goodwin Liu April 2008 Californias school finance system is long overdue for reform. We propose a new system that is more rational, more equitable, and, we believe, politically feasible. At its core, our proposal aims to link district revenue to student needs and regional costs while ensuring that all districts are held harmless at current funding levels. A reformed finance system is not a complete solution to improving student achievement. Changes in governance, incentives, and accountability are also required. But a rational funding mechanism provides an essential backdrop for discussion of broader reform issues. This policy brief discusses the background of the problems, the principles and concepts that guide our reform, and various simulations of how our reform might work in practice. We show that significant improvement in the finance system can be achieved with modest new investment. http://www.hewlett.org/uploads/files/KirstLiuBersin_GettingBeyondtheFacts.pdf Students First: Renewing Hope for Californias Future Governors Committee on Education Excellence November 2007 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger created the Governors Committee on Education Excellence in April 2005 to examine K12 education in California and recommend an action plan to improve performance in the states public schools. The Committee seeks to promote the best system of schools, in which all students achieve at high levels and are being prepared for success in continued education and, ultimately, their careers and lives. The Governor charged the Committee to analyze current impediments to excellence, to explore ideas and best practices relevant to California, and to recommend long-term and short-term changes and reforms. The Committee was charged with focusing its inquiry and recommendations on four inter-related issues: Finance. Analyze the distribution, efficient and effective use, and sufficiency of education funding to support student learning and meet Californias education standards. Governance. Examine the functioning and effectiveness of governance structures and make recommendations to simplify structures and promote public accountability and transparency. Teacher recruitment, education, and distribution. Examine issues across the professional continuum that impact Californias ability to provide a well-qualified and motivated teacher for every classroom. Administrator preparation and retention. Explore current and potential preparation practices and analyze impediments to successful leadership careers to enhance school leadership throughout the state. http://www.edsource.org/assets/files/gcee/GCEE_Report_2008.pdf School Finance Reform, Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Margaret Weston November 2010 Californians are very concerned about funding for their K12 public schools. They consistently say that K12 education should be protected from spending cuts over and above any other area of the state budget. But Californias system of school finance is in trouble. Many studies have found it to be inequitable, with wide variation in per-pupil funding. Prominent critics charge that schools do not receive enough resources from the state to enable all students to meet Californias academic standards. And the system is governed by such a complex array of laws and formulas that only a few experts truly understand how it works. This At Issue will describe Californias school finance system, review its key challenges, offer principles for reform, and outline pathways toward a more equitable, adequately funded, and transparent system. http://www.ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=943

Pathways for School Finance in California, Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Heather Rose, Jon Sonstelie, and Margaret Weston with contributions from Hans Johnson November 2010 This report demonstrates how California can improve its school finance system steadily over time as economic and demographic conditions permit. The improvements we suggest here are derived from our analysis of Californias current system using the following five principles: Meet resource needs: Schools should have the resources necessary for their students to meet state academic standards, and the cost of those resources may vary from school to school for a variety of reasons. Structure incentives properly: The formulas allocating revenue to schools should not give schools incentives to deviate from actions in the best interest of students and taxpayers. Allocate funds transparently: The formulas for allocating revenue to schools should be clear and relatively simple. Treat similar districts equitably: When the state has chosen the factors that determine the revenue a school district receives, school districts with the same values for those factors should receive the same revenue. Balance state and local authority: Restrictions on the use of funds must properly balance the state objectives with the realities that schools differ widely across the state and that school administrators have unique knowledge about local conditions. http://www.ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=923 Marylands Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act of 2002 The Bridge to Excellence Act was a new education funding system to achieve educational adequacy and equity for all students in each county by 2008. Based on the Commission on Education Finance, Equity and Excellence Report the commission was established in 1999 and charged with examining the States education finance system and accountability measures. The commissions final report was submitted in January 2002. The commissions recommendations are founded on the concept of standards-based school financing. In this approach, the role of the State is to set academic performance standards for students, ensure that schools have sufficient resources to achieve the standards, and hold schools and school systems accountable when they fail to meet standards. The Bridge to Excellence Act of 2002 is an adequate, equitable, consolidated, flexible, and accountable state funding system. http://mlis.state.md.us/other/education/public_school_facilities/Presentation_091802.pdf

Consequences of Inaction
The Economic Losses from High School Dropouts in California Clive R. Belfield and Henry M. Levin, California Dropout Research Project Report #1 August 2007 http://www.accessednetwork.org/resource_center/research/CADropout-Research1.pdf Californias High School Dropouts Examining the Fiscal Consequences David A. Stuit, Jeffrey A. Springer September 2010 This report analyzes the economic and social costs of the high school dropout problem in California from the perspective of a state taxpayer. Our analysis considers the consequences of this problem in terms of labor market, tax revenue, public health, and incarceration costs. Our quantification of these costs reveals the sizeable taxpayer benefits that stand to be gained by aggressively combating the states dropout problem. http://www.edchoice.org/Research/Reports/California-s-High-School-Dropouts---Examining-the-FiscalConsequences.aspx

Updated February, 2012

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