Issue Briefs: Student Fees

Historical Context

The State’s Increased Burden for Financing Public Education after Proposition 13

The passage of Proposition 13 in 1978 not only drastically reduced revenues from property taxes but also prevented local school boards, including community college boards, from generating their own revenue through by means of local ad valorum property taxes. The role of State financing of public schools through the General Fund significantly increased. Proposition 98, which passed in 1988, amended the state constitution to guarantee a minimum funding level for public K-14 education.

All three segments have in recent years entered into partnership agreements with the governor and legislature in order to stabilize the portion of General Funds they receive. In exchange for providing evidence of responsiveness to state policy priorities, the state provides stable funding and funding of enrollment growth, as well as inflationary adjustments.