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.
