The Governor’s Budget Proposal and Getting Down to Facts II

Governor Newsom’s first Budget Proposal increases funding for education in California. There are areas of substantive overlap in the Budget Proposal and research findings from the Getting Down to Facts II (GDTFII) research project, released in September 2018, which built an evidence base on the current status of California education and implications for paths forward. As the Budget moves from proposal to reality, it is critical that the evidence from GDTFII continues to inform the policy process, particularly in response to these key findings:

1. adequately fund schools,
2. improve access to high-quality early childhood education
3. address large unfunded pension liabilities,
4. develop data systems to inform educational improvement,
5. increase funding for Special Education,
6. fund school facility construction and modernization, and
7. build capacity to support continuous improvement.