Local Control Funding Formula for County Programs

Overview | County Program, County Served Students | County Program, Charter Served Students

Overview

A county office of education (COE) may operate various programs, as specified by applicable statutes, and enroll students residing in its own county or other counties within the State. County programs may be operated as COE schools, or as charter schools authorized by the COE pursuant to Education Code (EC) Section 47605.5.

The COE, or the county program charter school, reports data for students enrolled in its programs as follows:

• Enrollment and other student-level demographic data is submitted via the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS); this information is used by the California Department of Education (CDE) to derive the unduplicated pupil count (UPC).
• Average daily attendance (ADA), optional transfer rates and other data used in Principal Apportionment is submitted via the Principal Apportionment Data Collection Software (PADC) using specific reports, known as data entry screens.

Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) funding is credited to either the COE (and/or the county program charter school), or the district of residence. This distinction is based on the type of student being served rather than the type of school or instructional setting.

The following table lists the primary statutory references and summarizes reporting and funding for the COE programs; the questions and answers that follow provide detailed information on each component.

County Program, County Served Students

1. Which students served by a COE are included in the COE’s LCFF entitlement? (Updated 20-Feb-2020)
   
   Under LCFF COEs receive funding only for students that attend juvenile court schools operated by the COE [EC Section 2574(c)(4)(B)] and for students that attend other schools operated by the COE (referred to as County Funded Non-Juvenile Court School students), such as County Community Schools or special education classes and centers, who are enrolled pursuant to any of the following [EC Section 2574(c)(4)(A)]:
   
   
   1. Probation-referred pursuant to Sections 300, 601, 602, and 654 of the Welfare and Institutions Code;
   2. On probation or parole and not in attendance in a school;
   3. Expelled for any of the reasons specified in subdivisions (a) or (c) of EC Section 48915.
   
   COEs report ADA for students listed above in the Attendance COE data entry screen in the PADC Software. This ADA is used to calculate the COE Alternative Education Grant for COEs funded at the LCFF Target pursuant to EC Section 2575(g)(1) and is referred to as Alternative Education Grant ADA. For COEs funded pursuant to "hold harmless" provisions of EC Section 2575(g)(2), this ADA is included in the Adjusted Revenue Limit funding, as part of the County LCFF Floor.
   

2. Which students served by a COE are included in the district of residence’s LCFF entitlement? (Updated 20-Feb-2020)
   
   The funding for students who are served by the COE and for whom the funding is not included in the COE Alternative Education Grant is included in the LCFF funding of the student’s district of residence (referred to as District Funded County Program students) pursuant to EC Section 2576. This could include, for example, students attending County Community Schools or opportunity schools and classes that are not enrolled pursuant to the criteria listed in Question #1.

COEs report this ADA in the Attendance District Funded County Programs data entry screen in the PADC Software by district of residence. Pursuant to EC Section 2576(a) the ADA is credited to the district of residence and generates LCFF base, supplemental, and concentration grant for the school district.

Please see Illustration of ADA Served Under LCFF (PDF) for a flowchart of how students are funded by LEA type under the LCFF.

3. Does the COE report the average daily attendance (ADA) for District Funded County Program students, or does the district of residence? (Updated 20-Feb-2020)
   
   The COE reports District Funded County Program ADA to the CDE by district of residence. The CDE credits the ADA to the district of residence when it calculates the district’s LCFF entitlement. For accurate funding the COE must ensure that ADA reporting in the PADC Software is commensurate to CALPADS reporting. For example, if the COE reports ADA for a student for District of Residence A, the COE should also report the student using the applicable transfer code to the same District A in CALPADS. Refer to Questions #13 through #16 for general guidelines to validate ADA and CALPADS enrollment and transfer data for all students served by the COE.

4. Does the COE report the enrollment and other data elements for District Funded County Program students, or does the district of residence? (Updated 20-Feb-2020)
   

The COE reports the data for all students it serves in the CALPADS. EC Section 2576 requires the enrollment and unduplicated pupil data for any student not funded under the COE Alternative Education Grant to be transferred to the district of residence only for LCFF funding purposes.

In order to ensure the transfer of student counts is done accurately, it is necessary for the COE to determine which students enrolled on Census Day in COE schools are to be funded directly through the COE, or to be attributed back to their district of residence. Once the students are identified to either category, the Student Enrollment (SENR) file for enrolled students must be completed, specifically:

• Student School Transfer Code field (Field 1.31) determines whether funding generated for a student remains at the COE, is attributed back to the student's district of geographic residence, or remains with the charter school.
• District of Geographic Residence Code field (Field 1.32) determines, for students who generated funding that will be attributed back to their district of geographic residence, to which school district the funding will be attributed.
  

A CALPADS report, Certification Report 1.19, COE LCFF – Count that captures transfer information reported by the COEs is used by CDE to determine enrollment and UPCs for students in county programs. The report is also available to COEs for validation, including ADA comparisons.

5. Could a district’s percentage of unduplicated pupils used in the LCFF calculations be affected by students that the COE serves? (Updated 16-Mar-2017)
   
   Yes, prior to calculating a district’s and COE’s unduplicated pupil percentages, the CDE will increase the district’s enrollment and unduplicated pupil counts for any District Funded County Program students and decrease the COE’s.
   
   
6. What transfer data are COEs and school districts required to report, and why? (Updated 16-Mar-2017)
   
   Please reference the CALPADS Frequently Asked Questions available on CDE’s website, and select Inter-and Intra-District Transfers under the General Topics, as well as the (Use of) County Office of Education Transfer Data in the Local Control Funding Formula, also located under the General Topics. Refer to Questions #13 through #16 for general questions and guidelines for a COE to validate ADA and CALPADS enrollment and transfer data for all students served by the COE. Specifically, these validation guidelines will help the COE ensure that the student’s ADA reported in the Principal Apportionment Data Collection (PADC) Software aligns with the transfer of that student’s Enrollment and Unduplicated Pupil Count (UPC) data reported in CALPADS.
   
   
7. How should a COE report ADA and CALPADS data for each type of student served by a COE? (Updated 19-Nov-2018)
   
   

   Type of Student	PADC Entry Screen Where ADA is Reported?	How Identified in CALPADS?
   District Funded County Program Student (students that do not meet the criteria in Question #1)	Attendance District Funded County Program	Student School Transfer Code field (Field 1.30) is either a 1-4 or 6 and District of Residence Code field (Field 1.31) is completed.
   County Funded Alternative Education Grant – Non-Juvenile Court School (students that meet the criteria in Question #1)	Attendance COE	Student School Transfer Code field (Field 1.30) is a 5 and District of Residence Code field (Field 1.31) is completed.
   County Funded Alternative Education Grant – Juvenile Court School (students that meet the criteria in Question #1)	Attendance COE	Based on school ownership code in CDS directory. COE is not required to complete fields 1.30 or 1.31 in CALPADS.

8. Which students for whom funding used to be included in the County Revenue Limit, are now funded with the district of residence? (Updated 10-Dec-2015)
   
   

   Students in opportunity schools and classes, students enrolled in Specialized Secondary Schools, students attending a school out of state, and students who do not have a school district of attendance (e.g., homeless) enrolled in a County Community School pursuant to EC Section 1981(d), that do not meet the requirements to be funded through the COE Alternative Education Grant, are now District Funded County Program students.

9. Does the CDE apportion funds to the COE or to the district of residence for District Funded County Program students? (Updated 20-Feb-2020)
   
   

   The CDE will apportion funds to the district of residence. For fiscal years 2014–15 through 2018–19, there was an option to automatically transfer funding to the COE if both the COE and district of residence agreed to the transfer.

   Starting with the 2019–20 fiscal year, EC Section 2576, as modified by Assembly Bill 2235 (Chapter 99, Statutes of 2018), requires CDE to transfer funds from the district of residence to the COE for all District Funded County Program ADA. The amount of transfer shall be equal to the ADA attributed to the district of residence multiplied by the district’s LCFF rate, comprised of the LCFF base, supplemental and concentration grant per ADA. The base rate is the same for all school districts. Current year statewide rates are published on the CDE website on the Funding Rates and Information web page. Supplemental and concentration grant rates are determined using each school district’s unique unduplicated pupil percentage.

The law allows the CDE to transfer an alternative amount calculated at the per-ADA rate agreed upon by the COE and the district of residence. If the COE reports a rate of zero and the school district concurs, there will be no transfer of funds for a particular type of ADA for a specified school district of residence through the Principal Apportionment. The procedures for COE reporting and the school district concurrence are contained in the Data Reporting Instruction Manual to be used in conjunction with the PADC Software for the applicable fiscal year.

10. How much funding does a district need to provide to the COE for pupils served by the COE but for whom the funding is credited to the district of residence? (Updated 20-Feb-2020)
    
    Statute does not prescribe an amount. Effective 2019–20 fiscal year, EC Section 2576 directs CDE to use the school district’s per-ADA LCFF rate to transfer funds from the district of residence to the COE but COEs and districts may make local arrangements for District Funded County Program students and use the alternative per-ADA rate option to accommodate local arrangements in addition to or in lieu of the CDE’s transfer of funds process.
    
    
11. Is other funding, such as Lottery apportionments or special education (AB 602) apportionments, affected by the LCFF transfer? (Updated 20-Feb-2020)
    
    No, EC Section 2576 only requires the transfer of ADA, enrollment, and unduplicated pupil data for the purposes of the LCFF calculations.
    
    
12. How should the funding for District Funded County Program students be accounted for in the Standardized Account Code Structure? (Updated 20-Feb-2020)
    
    Districts should record payments to COEs for district students in programs operated by the COE using Goal 0000 and Object 7142, Other Tuition, Excess Costs and/or Deficit Payments to County Offices. COEs should record the payment received from districts using Object 8710, Tuition. COEs should record the expenditures associated with providing services to these students using the associated instructional goal.
    
    

    For funding transferred from the school district of residence to the COE through the Principal Apportionment, the payments must be accounted in the same manner as local transactions described above.

13. How can a COE validate that a student’s ADA reported in the PADC Software aligns with the transfer of that student’s enrollment and unduplicated pupil count data in CALPADS? (Updated 20-Feb-2020)
    
    

    COEs can perform the following aggregate analysis to ensure students have been appropriately assigned Student School Transfer Codes, Field 1.30 in CALPADS using the CALPADS Report 1.19, COE LCFF – Count and ADA reported by the COE.

    Type of COE Student	If…	Then…
    District Funded County Program (students that do not meet the criteria in Question #1)	A COE did not report any ADA under a district of residence in the Attendance District Funded County Program entry screen of the PADC Software;	All of the COE’s enrollment and unduplicated pupil should remain with the COE and it should not have transferred out any of its student enrollment or UPC data to districts of residence (i.e. no student should have a Student School Transfer Code, Field 1.30 of 1-4 or 6 in CALPADS).
    District Funded County Program (students that do not meet the criteria in Question #1)	A COE transferred enrollment and UPC counts using a Student School Transfer Code, Field 1.30 of 1-4 or 6 and identified a district of residence in CALPADS;	The COE should have claimed ADA in the Attendance District Funded County Program entry screen of the PADC Software under that district of residence. Note: Because enrollment and UPC data is a point in time data collection, unlike ADA, it is possible for a COE to claim ADA for a student under a district of residence but not have identified that district of residence in CALPADS (e.g. if the student was enrolled newly in the COE after Census Day).
    Alternative Education Grant Non-Juvenile Court School (students that meet the criteria in Question #1)	A COE did not report any Alternative Education Grant Non-Juvenile Court ADA in the Attendance COE entry screen of the PADC Software;	All COE student enrollment and UPC data should be transferred out to resident districts (i.e. no COE student should have a Student School Transfer Code, Field 1.30 of 5 in CALPADS).

    Additional validations include:
    

    • COEs should also validate the transfer codes at the student level using the Report 1.20, COE LCFF – Student List. This report can also be used to address any issues discovered during the COE's aggregate analysis.
    • At the beginning of each school year, COEs should review accuracy of the district of geographic residence in their student information systems to ensure that the student still resides in the district and update accordingly. The COE should verify that district code is still valid (i.e., consider district reorganizations).
      
      
14. When should a COE validate the CALPADS transfer data? (Updated 16-Mar-2017)
    
    COEs should review and validate these data prior to the CALPADS Fall 1 certification deadline. A calendar of CALPADS deadlines is available on the CDE website. COEs will also have an opportunity to correct and recertify CALPADS data during the Fall 1 amendment window. COEs that meet the December Fall 1 certification deadline will receive a private preview CALPADS data. This is an opportunity for COEs to view their COE LCFF transfer data, which will show how the counts will be used in determining the Unduplicated Pupil Percentage for both the COE and affected districts when calculating LCFF funding. Using the data validation guidelines from Question #13, COEs can compare the private preview data with the COE’s report of first period (P-1) ADA.
    
    
15. In addition to the CALPADS reports 1.19 and 1.20, are there any other resources available to a COE that show the impact of District Funded County Program students on the COE’s LCFF funding? (Updated 20-Feb-2020)
    
    Yes. Once the Principal Apportionment has been certified, resources will be available from the Principal Apportionment web page. Select the appropriate fiscal year, then either the First Principal Apportionment or Second Principal Apportionment.
    
    • To access the LEA’s certified Unduplicated Pupil Percentage exhibit that will show the transfer of enrollment and unduplicated pupil counts in the aggregate, select Funding Exhibits under the LEA Funding Detail header. Navigate the drop down selections to access the exhibit.
    • To access an Excel file that will show the transfer of ADA, enrollment, and unduplicated pupil counts by district of residence, select Funding Excel Files and then select the Report of Attendance and CALPADS Enrollment/Unduplicated Pupil Count Transfers for District Funded County Program Students.
      
      
16. Is there a way for a COE to correct data after the Fall 1 CALPADS Amendment Window deadline? (New 10-Dec-2015)
    
    If a COE determines that their certified data were inaccurate, then a COE may submit a data correction through the PADC Software. To submit a data correction, the COE must report, by district of residence, the net change to CALPADS data identified in the COE’s audit finding or auditor’s letter of concurrence for students served by the county and not funded pursuant to EC sections 2574(c)(4)(A) or (B). Once the adjustment is confirmed by the auditor and submitted through PADC, the net adjustment will be reflected as a prior year adjustment at the next principal apportionment. Any change submitted through the PADC Software will only affect LCFF funding and will not affect other programs that use CALPADS enrollment or unduplicated pupil data.

County Program, Charter Served Students

17. Will county program charters be funded under the county Alternative Education Grant or through the charter LCFF funding? (Updated 09-Dec-2014)
    
    It depends on whether or not the student meets the conditions to be funded as part of the Alternative Education Grant. The funding for ADA for students enrolled pursuant to the criteria listed in Question #1 above will be included in the county’s LCFF calculations.
    
    
18. Does the COE report the ADA for county program charters, or does the charter school? (New 09-Dec-2014)
    
    The charter school will report the ADA in either the Attendance COE Charter School entry screen or the Attendance Charter Funded County Programs entry screen of the PADC Software. The CDE will credit the ADA for students enrolled in the charter school pursuant to Question #1 above and reported in the Attendance COE Charter School entry screen to the COE when it calculates the COE’s Alternative Education Grant. The CDE will credit all other ADA reported by the charter school in the Attendance Charter Funded County Programs to the charter school when it calculates the charter school’s LCFF entitlement.
    
    
19. Does the COE report the enrollment and other data elements for county program charters, or does the charter school? (New 09-Dec-2014)
    
    The enrollment and unduplicated counts will be included in the charter school’s CALPADS counts, but the data for students that will be funded under the COE’s Alternative Education Grant will be transferred to the COE to calculate LCFF funding. Data for all other students will remain with the charter school.
    
    
20. Could a charter’s percentage of unduplicated pupils used in the LCFF calculations be affected by students in county programs? (New 09-Dec-2014)
    
    Yes, prior to calculating a charter’s and COE’s unduplicated pupil percentages, the CDE will increase the COE’s enrollment and unduplicated pupil counts for any student funded under the COE’s Alternative Education Grant and decrease the charter’s.
    
    
21. What transfer data are COEs and charter schools required to report, and why? (New 09-Dec-2014)
    
    Please reference the CALPADS Frequently Asked Questions available on CDE’s website, and select Inter-and Intra-District Transfers under the General Topics, as well as the (Use of) County Office of Education Transfer Data in the Local Control Funding Formula, also located under the General Topics.