§ 43521. — 43521. (Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 252, Sec. 12.)

California § 43521.

• Jurisdiction: California
• Code EDC: Education Code - EDC
• Div.: 3.
• Title 2.: DIVISION 3. LOCAL ADMINISTRATION
• Part 24.6.: PART 24.6. Instruction Support Grants
• Ch. 1.: CHAPTER 1. In-Person Instruction and Expanded Learning Opportunities Grants

Text

(a)
The sum of four billion five hundred forty-one million one hundred thirteen thousand dollars ($4,541,113,000) from the General Fund, and the sum of two billion sixteen million three hundred thirty thousand dollars ($2,016,330,000) from the Federal Trust Fund, are hereby appropriated to the Superintendent for apportionment in the 2020–21 fiscal year pursuant to this chapter. Funds apportioned to eligible local educational agencies from the Federal Trust Fund pursuant to this subdivision shall be used for costs dating back to March 13, 2020, and be consistent with the terms, tracking and reporting requirements, and period of fund availability in accordance with federal law for all of the following:
(1)
Six hundred seventy million nine hundred sixty-three thousand
dollars ($670,963,000) from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund pursuant to the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021, (Public Law 116-260) available for obligation through September 30, 2023, unless otherwise provided in federal law.
(2)
One hundred fifty-three million nine hundred ninety-two thousand dollars ($153,992,000) from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund pursuant to the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021, (Public Law 116-260) available for obligation through September 30, 2023, unless otherwise provided in federal law.
(3)
Four hundred thirty-seven million three hundred ninety thousand dollars ($437,390,000) from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund pursuant to the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2) available
for obligation through September 30, 2024, unless otherwise provided in federal law. For the purposes of Section 2001(f)(4) of the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2), this constitutes the state’s reserve of funds for emergency needs.
(4)
Seven hundred fifty-three million nine hundred eighty-five thousand dollars ($753,985,000) from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund state level reservation to address learning loss, pursuant to the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2) available for obligation through September 30, 2024, unless otherwise provided in federal law. For the purposes of Section 2001(f)(1) of the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2), this constitutes the state’s reserve of funds to carry out activities to address learning loss.
(b)
Of the amount appropriated pursuant to
subdivision (a), four billion five hundred fifty-seven million four hundred forty-three thousand dollars ($4,557,443,000) shall be apportioned to local educational agencies and state special schools in the following manner:
(1)
A local educational agency shall receive one thousand dollars ($1,000) per homeless pupil enrolled in the 2020–21 fiscal year as reported in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System as of the 2020–21 Fall 1 Submission.
(2)
A state special school shall receive seven hundred twenty-five dollars ($725) for each unit of average daily attendance as of the 2020–21 second principal apportionment certification. The average daily attendance for each state special school shall be deemed to be 97 percent of the enrollment as reported in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System as of the 2020–21 Fall 1 Submission.
(3)
(A)
The funds remaining after the apportionments in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be apportioned proportionally on the basis of a local educational agency’s local control funding formula entitlement determined as of the 2020–21 second principal apportionment certification, pursuant to Sections 42238.02 and 42238.025, or subdivision (e) of Section 2574 or subdivision (a) of Section 2575, as applicable. For purposes of this paragraph, entitlements shall include apportionments allocated pursuant to Section 41544 and Article 7 (commencing with Section 48300) of Chapter 2 of Part 27.
(B)
Consistent with Section 2576, a county office of education’s local control funding formula entitlement for purposes of subparagraph (A) shall include funding that the Superintendent transferred to the county where a pupil is enrolled, equal to the amount calculated for the school
district of residence pursuant to Section 42238.02 for each unit of average daily attendance credited to the school district of residence as of the 2020–21 second principal apportionment certification.
(c)
(1)
Of the amount appropriated from the General Fund pursuant to subdivision (a), two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000) shall be apportioned to local educational agencies, excluding a charter school classified as a nonclassroom-based charter school as of the 2019–20 second principal apportionment certification pursuant to Section 47612.5, based on the apportionment methodology described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b).
(2)
(A)
A local educational agency’s apportionment of funds pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be reduced pursuant to subparagraph (B) if the local educational agency does not provide in-person instruction pursuant to
paragraph (3).
(B)
(i)
From April 1, 2021, to May 15, 2021, inclusive, a local educational agency’s apportionment of funds pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be reduced by 1 percent for each day of instruction provided for in the school calendar that the local educational agency does not provide in-person instruction pursuant to paragraph (3), as identified in the school calendar adopted for the 2020–21 school year that is in effect on March 1, 2021.
(ii)
If a local educational agency does not provide in-person instruction pursuant to paragraph (3) on or before May 15, 2021, it shall forfeit all funds apportioned pursuant to paragraph (1).
(iii)
If a local educational agency does not offer continuous in-person instruction for pupils pursuant to subparagraphs (A) to (C), inclusive, of paragraph (3)
from when it commences offering in-person instruction through the end of the scheduled 2020–21 school year, unless otherwise ordered by a state or local health officer, it shall forfeit all funds apportioned pursuant to paragraph (1). The scheduled school year is the adopted school calendar for the 2020–21 school year that is in effect on March 1, 2021.
(3)
For purposes of this subdivision, a local educational agency shall be considered to be offering in-person instruction if it does at least all of the following:
(A)
For a local educational agency in a county in the purple tier pursuant to the State Department of Public Health’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy that is neither open nor eligible to open as defined in the COVID-19 industry sector guidance for schools and school-based programs, the local educational agency offers optional in-person instruction pursuant to the State
Department of Public Health’s Guidance Related to Cohorts to all pupils who are individuals with exceptional needs, if consistent with each pupil’s individualized education program, and to all prioritized pupil groups described in paragraph (4), unless the number of pupils in the prioritized pupil groups seeking in-person instruction exceeds the practical capacity of a local educational agency to maintain health and safety pursuant to its COVID-19 safety plan, in which case the local educational agency may limit the number of pupils within the prioritized pupil groups that receive in-person instruction to its maximum practical capacity.
(B)
For elementary schools, for kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, as applicable, the following applies:
(i)
For a local educational agency in a county in the purple tier pursuant to the State Department of Public Health’s Blueprint for a
Safer Economy, when eligible pursuant to COVID-19 industry sector guidance for schools and school-based programs, the local educational agency offers optional in-person instruction to all pupils required to be offered in-person instruction pursuant to subparagraph (A), and to all pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 and 2.
(ii)
When eligible pursuant to COVID-19 industry sector guidance for schools and school-based programs to provide in-person instruction for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, the local educational agency offers optional in-person instruction to all pupils required to be offered in-person instruction pursuant to clause (i), and to all pupils in grade 3 through the highest elementary school grade, up to grade 6, inclusive.
(C)
For middle schools and high schools, for grades 6 to 12, inclusive, as applicable, when eligible pursuant to COVID-19 industry
sector guidance for schools and school-based programs to provide in-person instruction for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, the local educational agency offers optional in-person instruction to all pupils required to be offered in-person instruction pursuant to subparagraph (A), and to all pupils in at least one full grade level.
(D)
(i)
Except as provided in clause (ii), for a local educational agency in a county in the purple tier pursuant to the State Department of Public Health’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, the local educational agency conducts asymptomatic testing for staff and pupils participating in in-person instruction consistent with the state-supported cadences set forth in the COVID-19 industry sector guidance for schools and school-based programs.
(ii)
The requirement in clause (i) does not apply if, on or before March 31, 2021, the
local educational agency is providing in-person instruction or the governing board or body of the local educational agency has adopted a plan to provide in-person instruction and has publicly posted its COVID-19 safety plan on its internet website. A local educational agency in a county that moves from the purple tier into the red, orange, or yellow tier pursuant to the State Department of Public Health’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, is not required to maintain asymptomatic testing for staff and pupils participating in in-person instruction consistent with the state-supported cadences set forth in the COVID-19 industry sector guidance for schools and school-based programs.
(4)
For the purposes of this subdivision, “prioritized pupil groups” shall include all of the following:
(A)
Pupils at risk for abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
(B)
Homeless pupils.
(C)
Foster youth.
(D)
English learners.
(E)
Pupils without access to a computing device, software, and high-speed internet necessary to participate in online instruction, as determined by the local educational agency.
(F)
Disengaged pupils.
(5)
On or before June 1, 2021, a local educational agency shall certify its compliance with paragraph (3) using a form the State Department of Education shall provide for this purpose. The State Department of Education shall make this form available publicly on its internet website on or before May 1, 2021.
(6)
(A)
The State Department of Education’s calculation of a local educational agency’s apportionment of remaining state funds pursuant to subdivision (f) shall include a reduction equal to the amount of funds reduced pursuant to clause (i) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) or forfeited pursuant to clause (ii) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2).
(B)
Any funds reduced pursuant to clause (i) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) or forfeited pursuant to clause (ii) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) shall be redistributed in the calculations made pursuant to paragraph (1).
(d)
A local educational agency receiving funds pursuant to this section shall comply with the requirements of Section 43503 for all pupils participating in distance learning, instructional time requirements pursuant to Section 43501 for the 2020–21 school year, and
applicable instructional day requirements pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 46100) of Part 26 of Division 4 for the 2021–22 school year.
(e)
Within 15 days of March 5, 2021, the State Department of Education shall notify each local educational agency and state special school of its estimated apportionments under subdivisions (b) and (c), as applicable.
(f)
(1)
State funds apportioned to a local educational agency or state special school pursuant to this section shall be provided by the Controller to the local educational agency or state special school as follows:
(A)
In May 2021, an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount determined under subdivision (e) for the local educational agency or state special school using 2020–21 first principal apportionment certification data and
2020–21 preliminary California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System Fall 1 data.
(B)
On or before December 31, 2021, the remaining amount of state funds owed under this section, after reductions pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (c), to the local educational agency or state special school using 2020–21 second principal apportionment data and 2020–21 final California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System Fall 1 data. If based on the final data, the amount paid by the Controller in May 2021 exceeds the amount of state funding owed to a local educational agency, the State Department of Education may offset the local educational agency’s monthly principal apportionment payment to recover the overpayment of state funds.
(2)
State funds apportioned to a local educational agency or state special school pursuant to this section shall be available for expenditure through
September 30, 2024. Federal funds apportioned to a local educational agency or state special school pursuant to this section shall be available for expenditure pursuant to the period of fund availability specified in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (a).
(g)
Neither the funding conditions or other requirements established in this chapter or Article 8 (commencing with Section 32090) of Chapter 1 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1, nor the issuance of any nonmandatory guidance by the State Department of Public Health shall be construed as creating or establishing an affirmative obligation for a local educational agency to revise its completed COVID-19 safety plan that is publicly posted on its internet website on or before March 31, 2021.
(h)
Notwithstanding subdivisions (b) and (c), a charter school that has ceased operation on or before March 5, 2021, shall not be
allocated funding pursuant to this section.
(i)
For purposes of apportionments made pursuant to this section from federal funds described in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (a), funding for a locally funded charter school shall be included in the apportionment of the chartering authority.
(j)
(1)
For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, of the amount appropriated from the General Fund in subdivision (a), one billion three hundred sixty-four million nine hundred thirty-one thousand dollars ($1,364,931,000) shall be deemed to be “General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202, for the 2019–20 fiscal year, and included within the “total allocations to school districts and community college districts from General Fund
proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII
B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202, for the 2019–20 fiscal year.
(2)
For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, of the amount appropriated from the General Fund in subdivision (a), three billion one hundred seventy-six million one hundred eighty-two thousand dollars ($3,176,182,000) shall be deemed to be “General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202, for the 2020–21 fiscal year, and included within the “total allocations to school districts and community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII
B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202, for the 2020–21 fiscal year.

Legislative History

Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 252, Sec. 12. (AB 167) Effective September 23, 2021. Inoperative June 30, 2026, pursuant to Section 43525. Repealed as of January 1, 2027, pursuant to Section 43525.