Charter 20 Day Instructions, FY 2024–25

The Charter School Special Advance tab of the Charter School Funding web page provides additional information on the requirements to receive an apportionment and on the overall apportionment process.

Use the following instructions to complete the Charter 20 Day report to receive a Charter School Special Advance apportionment. Pursuant to Education Code (EC) Section 47652, a charter school that submitted a Pupil Estimates for New or Significantly Expanding Charters (PENSEC) report for state funding must also complete a Charter 20 Day report.

Logon

The logon drop down lists are populated based on schools that filed the 2024–25 PENSEC report. If your charter is not in the drop down lists but is eligible for and wants to file the Charter 20 Day, please send your request by email to csspecialadvance@cde.ca.gov and include your charter school name, number, and 14-digit county-district-school (CDS) code. NOTE: A charter school MUST have a complete CDS code to participate in the Charter 20 Day.

County

Use the County drop down list to select the county associated with the charter school.

District

Use the District drop down list to select the charter school’s authorizing agency.

School

Use the School drop down list to select the charter school.

PIN

Enter the charter school’s personal identification number (PIN). The Charter 20 Day PIN is the same PIN that was provided by the California Department of Education (CDE) for use with the PENSEC report.

For assistance with a PIN, please send your request by email to csspecialadvance@cde.ca.gov and include your charter school name, number, and 14-digit CDS code.

Report Sections

The four sections of the Charter 20 Day report are:

• Section 1 – General Information
• Section 2 – Funding Data Elements (Average Daily Attendance (ADA) and/or pupil demographic data)
• Section 3 – Average Daily Attendance by District of Residence
• Section 4 – Review, Submit and Certify, the Data

Sections 1, 2, and 4 are completed by all charter schools submitting the Charter 20 Day report. Section 3 – Average Daily Attendance by District of Residence, is only required of county program or countywide charter schools authorized pursuant to EC sections 47605.5 or 47605.6, respectively, and California State Board of Education (SBE) authorized charter schools pursuant to EC Section 47605(k).

Section 1 - General Information

Using the charter status reported in the PENSEC, the Charter 20 Day report will automatically provide data screens based on whether the charter is new or expanding. Contact information for the person completing the report is required to be entered.

Contact Information

Provide contact information for the person completing the Charter 20 Day report, including name, telephone number, facsimile (FAX) number, and email address. The telephone number (required) must include the area code and be in the format of 999-999-9999. The email address must be in a commonly recognized format such as sample@example.com.

Section 2 - Funding Data Elements

The Charter 20 Day report collects various types of data including actual enrollment, ADA, unduplicated pupils, and other demographic data. This information is needed to calculate an advance on Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and Education Protection Account (EPA) State Aid funding. Section 2 will automatically display the questions relevant to either a new or expanding charter school.

New Charter School

Enrollment Data

1a. Enrollment: An enrollment count is needed for new charter schools. Enter the actual count of pupils who were enrolled in the charter school on the 20^th day of student instruction.

Enter the actual enrollment count as a whole number and include:

• All grade levels (K–12)
• Transitional Kindergarten (TK) students who will have their fifth birthday between September 2 and June 2 during the school year
• Ungraded elementary (any student in kindergarten through grade 8 in an ungraded program including special education students in special day classes)
• Ungraded secondary (any student in grades 9 through 12, except adults in a K–12 program in an ungraded program including special education students in special day classes)
• Students over the age of 19 who have been continuously enrolled in public school and working toward a high school diploma
• Students over the age of 19 and participating in a program that provides instruction exclusively in partnership with entities specified in EC Section 47612.1

1b. Start Date: Enter the date student instruction began using the format mm/dd/yyyy.

Attendance Data – Average Daily Attendance

ADA is the measure of actual student attendance, which differs from the number of students signed-up (enrolled) to attend school. For most programs, ADA is defined as the total number of days of student attendance divided by the total number of days in the regular school year. Include only days of attendance in the calculation, not absences (excused or unexcused).

When calculating attendance specific to the Charter 20 Day, the 20 days of attendance counted should only include student attendance, not staff development days or holidays.

2a. ADA: Provide the charter school’s actual ADA, by grade span, for the first 20 days of student instruction (see Title 5, Section 11960, Article 1 ), Charter School Regular Average Daily Attendance). Include with the regular 2024–25 ADA any Extended Year Special Education Special Day Class and Extended Year Special Education, Nonpublic, Nonsectarian Schools ADA per EC sections 56366(a)(7) and 56836.168. ADA is reported to two decimal places. Do not use estimated values.

If the school will operate multiple tracks, calculate the ADA for each track separately by grade span and then sum each track’s ADA to report as one number for the Charter 20 Day. For example, if the grades Transitional Kindergarten/Kindergarten-3 (TK/K-3) ADA for Track A is 19.50, and grades TK/K-3 ADA for Track B is 17.00, then you would report grades TK/K-3 ADA of 36.50 in the Charter 20 Day.

2b. Of the new grade level TK/K-3 ADA reported, enter the charter school’s ADA attributable to students enrolled in transitional kindergarten (TK) pursuant to EC Section 46300 for the first 20 days of student instruction. In accordance with EC Section 48000 , for the 2024–25 school year, a child who will have their fifth birthday between September 2 and June 2 shall be admitted to a transitional kindergarten program maintained by the charter school at any time during the school year. If the student turns five between September 2 and June 2, then the charter school may claim ADA beginning the first day of the school year. If the student turns five after June 2, then the charter school may claim ADA once the student has attained their fifth birthday, regardless of when the student was admitted during the school year. ADA may not be retroactively claimed from the start of the school year.

Pupil Demographic Data

3a. Free and Reduced Price Meals: Using the 2024–25 Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines , enter the number of students as of the last day of the first 20 days of student instruction, ages 5–17, that are eligible based on their family income for the free and reduced price meals program for FY 2024–25.

3b. English Learners: Enter the number of students as of the last day of the first 20 days of student instruction that are English learners (EL) in FY 2024–25. An EL is a student who is aged 3 through 21 and has been determined to lack the clearly defined English language skills of listening, comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing necessary to succeed in the school’s regular instructional program. To be designated an EL, there must be a report of a primary language other than English on the “Home Language Survey” and a determination from the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California.

3c. Immigrant Students: Enter the number of students as of the last day of the first 20 days of student instruction, that are Immigrant students in FY 2024–25. An Immigrant student is a student who (a) is aged 3 through 21, (b) was not born in any state, and (c) has not been attending one or more schools in any one or more states for more than three full (cumulative) academic years. Section 3201(13) (PDF) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) defines State as each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Note that the Immigrant enrollment data includes only those Immigrant students who have not been attending a U.S. school for more than three full academic years. Immigrant students who have been enrolled longer than three years (cumulative) are not included in the data.

3d. Unduplicated Pupil Count: Enter the number of students as of the last day of the first 20 days of student instruction that met the definition of an Unduplicated Pupil. An Unduplicated Pupil is a student who is classified as an English Learner, is eligible for a free or reduced-price meal, or is a foster youth. If the student qualifies in more than one category, count them only once for the Unduplicated Pupil Count.

Charter Physical Location

4. Charter School Physical Location: Select all school districts where the charter school is physically located or has a school facility. The districts selected are to be based on the charter school’s physical locations and may include districts that are in addition to, or differ from, the charter school’s authorizing district consistent with the provisions of EC sections 47605.1 and 51747.3. A charter school with a single location that falls within the boundaries of multiple districts, such as if their location/facility falls within both an elementary and a high school district, should report both districts in their list of physical location data. A charter school that is a county program charter or a countywide charter pursuant to EC sections 47605.5 or 47605.6, respectively, is required to report physical location data. For additional information, see Charter School Funding Frequently Asked Questions. NOTE: These examples are for clarification and are not intended to restrict the definition of physical location.

Pursuant to EC Section 42238.02(f)(2), when calculating the Unduplicated Pupil Percentage for Concentration Cap, the CDE will automatically include in the charter school’s list of physical locations its authorizing district, or the district that initially denied the petition if the charter school was approved by the county office of education (COE) or the SBE on appeal. Therefore, if the charter school’s authorizing or denying school district is the only school district in which the charter school is located, it is not necessary to report physical location data in the Charter 20 Day.

To add school districts, do the following sequence until all districts applicable to the school's physical locations have been added:

County

Select the county where the district is located using the drop down list.

School District

Select the district where the charter school is physically located or has a school facility using the drop-down list. This list is school districts only; COEs are not applicable.

A list of school districts selected and saved will display in a table following the data entry section. To delete a school district previously entered, click "Remove."

Expanding Charter Schools

Grade Level Expansion

1a. New Grades: For expanding charter schools, indicate the grade level(s) that are new in FY 2024–25. NOTE: If a grade level had any funded ADA in the prior year, including if it was only a minor amount or was for independent study, that grade level may not be reported in the Charter 20 Day report as a new grade level. Also, TK and kindergarten are considered the same grade level for purposes of attendance reporting.

1b. ADA: Charter schools expanding to add one or more grade levels will have previously reported to the CDE their FY 2023–24 Second Principal Apportionment (P-2) ADA by grade level in the PENSEC. This FY 2023–24 P-2 ADA, which identifies the individual grade levels and ADA served by the charter school in the prior year, is shown for informational purposes in the Charter 20 Day.

In the Charter 20 Day you must enter the 2024–25 ADA for the first 20 days of instruction for the new grade level(s).

• Columns 1 and 2 display for information only, the FY 2023–24 P-2 ADA previously reported by grade level. The total of each column equals the certified FY 2023–24 P-2 ADA
• Enter in columns 3 and 4 the actual FY 2024–25 ADA for the first 20 days of student instruction for the new grade levels selected in Question 1a. As noted previously, you will not be able to enter FY 2024–25 ADA for a grade if any prior year P-2 ADA was reported for that grade. Include with the FY 2024–25 regular ADA, by grade level, Extended Year Special Education Special Day Class and Extended Year Special Education, Nonpublic, Nonsectarian Schools EC Sections 56366(a)(7) and 56836.168. ADA is reported to two decimal places. Do not use estimated values.

Pursuant to EC Section 47652(b), when the state Second Charter School Special Advance is calculated, the ADA funded for the new grade levels will be capped at the P-2 ADA  for the charter school’s highest grade served in FY 2023–24. Note that the cap is determined by the highest grade level served and not the grade level with the highest count of ADA. For example, if a charter school is adding Grade 11 with 150 ADA in the Charter 20 Day, and it served Grade 9 with 130 ADA and Grade 10 with 120 ADA in the prior year, the new Grade 11 ADA will be capped in the Charter School Special Advance at 120 because Grade 10 was the highest grade served. Report the full new grade level ADA in the Charter 20 Day and the CDE will cap the ADA, as necessary, before calculating the Second Charter School Special Advance funding for LCFF State Aid.

1c. Of the new grade level TK/K ADA reported, enter the charter school’s ADA attributable to students enrolled in transitional kindergarten pursuant to EC Section 46300 for the first 20 days of student instruction. In accordance with EC Section 48000, for the 2024–25 school year, a child who will have their fifth birthday between September 2 and June 2 shall be admitted to a transitional kindergarten program maintained by the charter school at any time during the school year. If the student turns five between September 2 and June 2, then the charter school may claim ADA beginning the first day of the school year. If the student turns five after June 2, then the charter school may claim ADA once the student has attained their fifth birthday, regardless of when the student was admitted during the school year. ADA may not be retroactively claimed from the start of the school year.

Pupil Demographic Data

2a. Enrollment: An enrollment count is needed for significantly expanding charter schools. Enter the actual count of pupils who were enrolled in the charter school on the 20^th day of student instruction.

Enter the actual enrollment count as a whole number and include:

• All grade levels (K–12)
• Ungraded elementary (any student in kindergarten through grade 8 in an ungraded program including special education students in special day classes)
• Ungraded secondary (any student in grades 9 through 12, except adults in a K–12 program in an ungraded program including special education students in special day classes)
• Students over the age of 19 who have been continuously enrolled in public school and working toward a high school diploma
• Students over the age of 19 and participating in a program that provides instruction exclusively in partnership with entities specified in EC Section 47612.1

2b. Free and Reduced Price Meals: Using the 2024–25 Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines, enter the number of students as of the last day of the first 20 days of student instruction, ages 5–17, that are eligible based on their family income for the free and reduced price meals program for FY 2024–25.

2c. English Learners: Enter the number of students as of the last day of the first 20 days of student instruction that are EL in FY 2024–25. An EL is a student who is aged 3 through 21 and has been determined to lack the clearly defined English language skills of listening, comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing necessary to succeed in the school’s regular instructional program. To be designated as EL, there must be a report of a primary language other than English on the “Home Language Survey” and a determination from the ELPAC.

2d. Immigrant Students: Enter the number of students as of the last day of the first 20 days of student instruction, that are Immigrant students in FY 2024–25. An Immigrant student is a student who (a) is aged 3 through 21, (b) was not born in any state, and (c) has not been attending one or more schools in any one or more states for more than three full (cumulative) academic years. Section 3201(13) (PDF) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) defines State as each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Note that the Immigrant enrollment data includes only those Immigrant students who have not been attending a U.S. school for more than three full academic years. Immigrant students who have been enrolled longer than three years (cumulative) are not included in the data.

2e. Unduplicated Pupil Count: Enter the number of students as of the last day of the first 20 days of student instruction that met the definition of an Unduplicated Pupil. An Unduplicated Pupil is a student who is classified as an English Learner, is eligible for a free or reduced-price meal, or is a foster youth. If the student qualifies in more than one category, count them only once for the Unduplicated Pupil Count.

Section 3 – Average Daily Attendance by District of Residence

A new charter school reporting ADA in the Charter 20 Day report that is a county program charter or a countywide charter pursuant to EC Sections 47605.5 or 47605.6 , respectively, or a charter school approved on appeal by the SBE pursuant to EC Section 47605(k) must also report the ADA by school district of residence. The total ADA entered by district of residence must balance to the ADA entered in Section 2 – Funding Elements.

To add a district of residence, do the following sequence until all districts applicable to the charter school have been added:

County of Residence

Select the appropriate county of residence using the drop down list.

District of Residence

Select the appropriate district of residence using the drop down list.

Data Entry

Enter the charter school's actual FY 2024–25 Charter 20 Day ADA applicable to the district of residence selected, then select “Save District.” Continue the sequence until the total enrollment has been entered by district of residence.

To modify data previously entered, select “Edit,” then modify the data and click "Save District." To delete a district, select "Edit," then select “Delete District.”

The data entered for all districts will display in the table following the data entry section. If error messages indicate that the ADA entered in Section 3 – District of Residence, does not match ADA entered in Section 2 – Funding Data Elements, correct the data in either section so that they balance.

Section 4 - Review, Submit and Certify the Data

Once data entry is complete, the Charter 20 Day report should be printed, reviewed for accuracy, and then submitted online to the CDE. After submission, a certification will automatically be made available. For FY 2024–25, the certification should be printed, signed by all parties with original wet signatures, saved as a PDF file and then transmitted to the CDE electronically to csspecialadvance@cde.ca.gov. Please do not send in hard copies of the certification.

Data with signed certifications received by the CDE by October 31, 2024, will be included in the 2024–25 second Charter School Special Advance apportionment and second quarter EPA apportionment. Data or certifications received by the CDE after October 31, 2024, may cause the charter school to wait until a later apportionment to receive state funding.

Review the Data

The data entry screens cannot be accessed once the data is submitted to the CDE so it is important that the data be carefully reviewed prior to submission. To review the data, select the “Print Charter 20 Day Report” button. The report will display on the screen and can be downloaded by clicking "Create PDF (Recommended) or printed by clicking "Print." After closing the print window, if corrections to the data are needed, select “Return to Data Entry” and navigate to the data that needs correcting. Make sure to save or print another copy of the Charter 20 Day report if changes are made.

Submit the Charter 20 Day Report

Once the data is correct and ready to submit to the CDE, select “Submit Charter 20 Day Data to CDE.” You will be asked to confirm the submission. If “Yes” is selected, the data is submitted online to the CDE.

After the data has been submitted the data entry screens are no longer accessible, but the data report and certification may be accessed and printed. If corrections to the data are needed, please send a request to re-open the report by email to csspecialadvance@cde.ca.gov and include your charter school name, number, and 14-digit CDS code.

Data Certification

Charter 20 Day reports that have a successful data submission will automatically be provided with a “Print Data Certification” button in the Charter 20 Day. Funding data elements entered for the school will automatically be included in the certification. Submissions will not be considered complete until the fully signed certification with wet signatures is received by the CDE electronically as a PDF file.

As the first level approver, the charter school representative must sign the Data Certification in the certification block in order for the data to be processed. Second and third level approvers (e.g., school districts, COEs, SBE Charter Oversight Unit) must also sign the Data Certification in either the certification or non-certification signature blocks. If non-certification is signed, the reasons for this must be delivered to the CDE along with the Data Certification for further review.

• Charter schools whose authorizer or overseeing LEA is a school district or COE:
  1. A printed copy of the Charter 20 Day Data Report, which is separate from the Data Certification, may be requested by and provided to your authorizer, but it does not need to be delivered to the CDE.
  2. Ensure your approver(s), e.g., school district and/or COE, have ample time to review, sign and deliver your original Data Certification fully signed with wet signatures to the CDE’s Principal Apportionment Section electronically as a PDF file by October 31, 2024.
  3. Deliver the Data Certification fully signed with wet signatures to: csspecialadvance@cde.ca.gov

Address questions about district- or COE-authorized charter schools to the Principal Apportionment Section at csspecialadvance@cde.ca.gov or 916-324-4541.

• Charter schools whose authorizer and overseer is the SBE:
  1. A printed copy of the Charter 20 Day Data Report must be delivered with your certification.
  2. Your printed Data Certification, signed by your charter authorizer with a wet signature, must be delivered to the CDE's SBE Charter School Oversight Unit. Ensure that the SBE Charter Oversight Unit has ample time to review and sign the Data Certification by October 31, 2024.
  3. Deliver the Data Certification signed by the charter with a wet signature, plus a copy of the Charter 20 Day Report, electronically to: SBEOVERSIGHT@cde.ca.gov

Address questions about SBE-authorized charter schools to the SBE Charter Oversight Unit at SBEOVERSIGHT@cde.ca.gov or 916-322-6029.