Insight into 2019-20 Budget Requests from California’s Higher Education Segments

Common Themes Appear in Higher Education Segments’ Budget Requests to the California State Legislature

Collectively, California’s public higher education systems are requesting an additional $1.6 billion in state funding.

With 2018 ending, the boards of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California have approved budget requests to the state legislature for the 2019-20 academic year. This begins a six-month negotiation process between the segments, the California legislature, and Governor-elect Gavin Newsom. At all three institutions, budget proposals called for increased spending across ongoing programs and one-time initiatives. Governor-elect Newsom and state legislators have shown interest in making higher education a policy priority for the upcoming year. Senate Bill 2 (Introduced, Glazer, 2018) and Senate Bill 3 (Introduced, Allen, 2018) focus on large-scale structural improvements to the state’s higher education system including a dedicated coordinating body and a longitudinal student data system. The California Student Aid Commission has also demonstrated commitment to significantly expand financial aid for students.

As appetite for higher education reform in California intensifies, the 2019-20 budgets proposed by each segment are strong statements that they cannot reach their committed goals without sustained investment in their students, their faculty and staff, and their infrastructure.