As students return to full in-person learning in 2021-22, California public schools face considerable challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Record-high funding distributed through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) will provide some of the resources that will be key to an equitable recovery. In order to examine how school districts distribute LCFF funding and how the formula affects student achievement, this study has assembled data on district finances, school finances, and student outcomes across the state's public K-12 system. The report begins with a brief overview of LCFF in the context of California school finance history and then documents how LCFF has affected district finances and where districts are choosing to spend their additional funding. The report provides new statewide evidence on whether resources are reaching the students and schools within districts that have the greatest student and academic needs. The study examines trends and changes in measurable student outcomes to determine the extent to which increased spending translates into improvements. A set of policy considerations and recommendations to improve LCFF and California's system of school finance to more effectively and equitably address disparities in student success is included. [This report was written with research support from Radhika Mehlotra. For the Policy Brief, see ED618047. For the technical appendices, see ED618048.]