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The resources listed below provide information on issues related to school finance. The links included here lead primarily to each organization’s home page, so you may need to use the search engines furnished on the site to find specific information.
In providing this list, EdSource does not endorse the contents of the sites or the viewpoints of individual organizations.
California Resources
California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO)
www.casbo.org
CASBO works to empower individuals and organizations involved in school business through leadership, training, legislative and regulatory advocacy, communication, mentoring, and research and development.
California Budget Project
www.cbp.org
The California Budget Project engages in independent fiscal and policy analysis to increase public understanding of the state budget, and to show how budget and related policy decisions can affect the lives of low- and middle-income Californians.
California Department of Education (CDE)
www.cde.ca.gov
The CDE website provides a wealth of information about California school finance. Sections that are particularly useful include:
Finance & Grants
www.cde.ca.gov/fg
The Finance & Grants Division of the CDE provides reports on the state's education budgets and related legislation, and also provides guidance for local educational agencies to use in accounting and financial reporting.
Financial Information
www.cde.ca.gov/ds/fd
This page provides links to revenue, expenditure, and fiscal program data for local educational agencies.
California Department of Finance (DOF)
www.dof.ca.gov
The Department of Finance serves as the governor's chief financial adviser, and publishes California's official budget. The DOF's Demographics Research Unit is also the single official source of demographic data for state planning and budgeting.
California Education Code
www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html
(At www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html, Check the box next to "Education Code" and click on "Search")
State laws governing public schools, school districts, and county offices of education are generally found in the Education Code. (Some sections of the Code apply to community colleges as well.) Bills enacted by lawmakers generally amend, add, or repeal sections of the Education Code.
California School Finance & Governance: Getting Down to Facts
irepp.stanford.edu/projects/cafinance.htm
"Getting Down to Facts" is a project of the Institute for Research on Education Policy & Practice (IREPP), an affiliate of Stanford University. This project, consisting of 20+ studies, is designed to provide California's policy-makers and other education stakeholders with comprehensive, research-based information on California's current school finance and governance systems. The project was released in March 2007.
Decent Schools for California: Williams v. State of California
www.decentschools.org
This site, maintained by the coalition of civil rights organizations, public interest law groups, and private law firms that originally brought the Williams lawsuit, includes updates on the implementation of various provisions of the 2004 settlement.
Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT)
www.fcmat.org
FCMAT provides fiscal advice, management assistance, training, and other related school business services to Local Education Agencies in California.
Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO)
www.lao.ca.gov
The Office of the Legislative Analyst is a nonpartisan office within the state government that gives fiscal and policy advice to the California Legislature. The LAO provides analyses of proposed and adopted state budgets. The LAO's Cal Facts online provides charts and tables to address questions frequently asked of their office on such topics as public and education finance.
Office of Public School Construction (OPSC)
http://www.opsc.dgs.ca.gov
The Office of Public School Construction implements and administers the School Facility Program and other programs of the State Allocation Board (SAB). The OPSC is responsible for verifying that all applicant school districts meet the criteria for that funding and also prepares recommendations for the SAB's review and approval.
Official California Legislative Information (LEGINFO)
www.leginfo.ca.gov
The LEGINFO site is sponsored by the Legislative Council of California, pursuant to California law. It contains full text of California bills and laws, which you can search either by bill number or key words, as well as legislative publications and information on current events in the Legislature.
Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC)
www.ppic.org
The Public Policy Institute of California is a private, nonprofit organization that conducts research on economic, social, and political issues in the state.
School Services of California
www.sscal.com
School Services of California assists school districts, county offices, and community colleges in California to meet their management, governance, and fiscal responsibilities. With assistance from FCMAT, School Services also provides free, "User-Friendly Budget" software to help school districts prepare and display their budgets: www.sscal.com/ufb.htm
UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access (IDEA)
www.idea.gseis.ucla.edu
IDEA is a research and advocacy network whose mission is to make high quality public schooling and successful college participation routine occurrences in low income neighborhoods of color.
Nationwide Resources
ACCESS
www.schoolfunding.info
The ACCESS Project website provides national and state-by-state information and analysis of key school finance issues, including school funding litigations, education policy and NCLB. ACCESS is a project of the advocacy group, Campaign for Fiscal Equity, Inc.
American Education Finance Association (AEFA)
www.aefa.cc
The AEFA publishes an annual yearbook, quarterly journal, and other publications devoted to scholarly research and commentary on education finance, policy, and governance.
American Institutes for Research (AIR)
www.air.org
AIR is an independent nonprofit organization that performs basic and applied research, provides technical support, and conducts analyses in the behavioral and social sciences, including education.
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
www.annenberginstitute.org
The institute provides extensive resources to help school districts and schools evaluate their expenditures and implement student-based budgeting policies.
Association of School Business Officers International (ASBO)
www.asbointl.org
ASBO is a professional association that provides programs and services to promote high standards for school business management and the effective use of educational resources.
Brookings Institution
www.brook.edu
The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions on a wide variety of topics including education. The Brookings Institution Press publishes books and journals that result from the Institution's own research and works of a similar nature written by outside authors.
Committee for Economic Development (CED)
www.ced.org
The Committee for Economic Development is a business-oriented organization that addresses national priorities that promote sustained economic growth and development to benefit all Americans. Education policy is a key component of their work.
Education Commission of the States (ECS)
www.ecs.org
ECS offers a wealth of research and information on over 100 education issues and, for all 50 states, ECS also gathers, analyzes, and disseminates information about current and emerging issues, trends, and innovations in state education policy through its website and print publications.
Fordham Foundation
www.edexcellence.net
The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation supports research, publications, and action projects of national significance in elementary/secondary education reform, including sponsoring charter schools in Ohio. In 1996 it assumed primary sponsorship of the Education Excellence Network headed by Chester E. Finn, Jr.
Fund the Child
http://www.edexcellence.net/fundthechild/
This project of the Fordham Foundation advocates weighted student funding as a school finance solution they say would ensure that students who need the most receive it, empower school leaders, and open the door to public school choice.
Institute for Research on Education Policy and Practice (IREPP)
irepp.net
The mission of IREPP, a Stanford University affiliate, is to support multi-disciplinary empirical research that focuses on enduring and pressing questions in education policy. The "California School Finance & Governance: Getting Down to Facts" research project is housed at IREPP.
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) - publications search
nces.ed.gov/pubsearch
Use this search engine to locate publications on education topics, including school finance.
School Finance Redesign Project (SFRP)
www.schoolfinanceredesign.org/index.shtml
SFRP studies government policies, finance structures, and professional practices to develop and assess policy options for school finance redesign and examine how K-12 finance can be redesigned to better support student performance.
Data-Rich Websites
Education Data Partnership (Ed-Data)
www.ed-data.k12.ca.us
Ed-Data is a joint venture of the Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE), the California Department of Education (CDE), EdSource, and the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT). This interactive database includes demographic and performance data for each California school, school district, county, and the state as well as detailed financial data at the school district, county, and statewide levels. The site contains user-friendly search functions for comparing schools and districts, trend data for tracking changes over time, and the results of districts' parcel tax and bond elections. Helpful for parents, policymakers, reporters, and educators, the Ed-Data Website turns data into useful, clear information.
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
nces.ed.gov
NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the United States and other nations. This site features data from school and district locator tools; numerous compendia of education statistics; publications; and a searchable database of NCES tables and figures.Education Finance Statistics Center
nces.ed.gov/edfin
This site provides education finance information for elementary and secondary public and private education in the United States. The site features a search tool that allows users to compare the finances of one school district with that of districts sharing similar characteristics. In addition, users can view and download featured graphics of school finance data, as well as order the Common Core of Data (CCD) CD-ROM, a comprehensive, annual, national statistical database of information on all public elementary and secondary schools and districts.
SchoolMatters
www.schoolmatters.com
SchoolMatters provides a national, easily searchable clearinghouse for education information and analysis, including financial, performance, and demographic data for school districts and states throughout the U.S.
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