Special Report
Education

California

January 04, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

California provides money for education through several grants and entitlements. The largest, often referred to as “revenue limit funding,” supplies general-purpose aid to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools. The formula for that aid is a modified foundation formula, in which the foundation level varies from district to district based on several factors. The per-pupil base-revenue limit was first established in the 1970s and has been adjusted each year for inflation. The revenue-limit entitlement is met with both state aid and state-controlled local property taxes. About 60 districts in California have local property taxes that exceed their revenue-limit entitlements and so do not receive any state aid for general-purpose funding. General-purpose aid is adjusted for unemployment insurance, employer-retirement costs for classified employees, and additional support for small schools. California had about 50 categorical programs totaling $10 billion in fiscal 2004. The five largest provided support for class-size reduction, transportation, special education, preschool and child-development programs, and the state’s Targeted Instructional Improvement program. Last fall, though, the state consolidated more than 20 of the categorical programs into six block grants. As the result of a lawsuit settled last summer, Williams v. State, the state also passed legislation to increase school facilities funding.

In March 2024, Education Week announced the end of the Quality Counts report after 25 years of serving as a comprehensive K-12 education scorecard. In response to new challenges and a shifting landscape, we are refocusing our efforts on research and analysis to better serve the K-12 community. For more information, please go here for the full context or learn more about the EdWeek Research Center.

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read