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Education Learning Lab asks for restored funding; LAO recommends winding down amid budget pressures
Summary
The California Education Learning Lab requested permanent restoration of $4 million for grantmaking and highlighted a $12 million AI challenge; the Legislative Analyst’s Office recommended rejecting the governor’s proposal to retain the program given projected deficits and competing priorities.
The California Education Learning Lab asked the Assembly Budget Subcommittee 5 to restore its budget on a permanent basis and to move the program administratively into the Government Operations Agency, arguing the grant program supports intersegmental faculty projects and student success.
Lark Park, director of the Learning Lab, said the program has funded more than 120 projects and that the governor’s proposal would restore $4 million in ongoing funding. Park highlighted projects including a $12 million AI challenge designed to study generative AI’s effect on teaching and learning and named a $1.5 million grant co‑led by UC Davis professor Mark McArthur focused on student writing and critical thinking in the age of AI.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office, represented by Natalie Gonzalez, recommended the subcommittee reject the governor’s proposal to retain Learning Lab funding. The LAO cited the state’s projected structural deficit in 2027‑28 and argued faculty professional‑development work could continue at the segments or through the newly created California Education Interagency Council without maintaining state funding for Learning Lab in its current form.
Why it matters: The request ties to broader state education workforce and post‑secondary priorities, including how the state invests in AI readiness for faculty and students. Members voiced both support for innovation and concern about ongoing fiscal pressures.
What’s next: The committee said it would hold the item open; the Interagency Council and related GovOps staffing requests were discussed subsequently as possible vehicles for coordination.
