Official Letter
Official Letter
Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:
Mandate Block Grant Application for Funding
Fiscal Year 2020–21
The purpose of this letter is to notify local educational agencies (LEAs) that the 2020–21 Mandate Block Grant (MBG) Application has been released. The MBG funding is available to county offices of education (COEs), school districts, and charter schools (both direct and locally funded) that elect to participate. MBG funds are specifically intended to fund the costs of mandated programs and activities identified in Government Code (GC) Section 17581.6(f). The list of programs has been amended for 2020–21 to remove the Academic Performance Index.
The MBG Application and other important details, including this informational letter, the list of mandated programs and activities supported by the MBG, and the notification of suspended mandates, may be accessed on the MBG Request for Application (RFA) web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r14/mandatebg20rfa.asp.
Pursuant to GC Section 17581.6, LEAs make an annual choice to receive funds for specified mandated programs and activities, either through the MBG or through the claim reimbursement process pursuant to GC Section 17560. Because the claims process does not include charter schools, the MBG is the only vehicle for charter schools to receive such funding.
In fiscal year 2020–21, each LEA will notify the California Department of Education (CDE) of its decision to participate in the MBG by submission of the web-based MBG Application, which serves as the Letter Requesting Funding. On the MBG RFA web page, select the link titled “MBG Application” to find logon instructions or to request a new password. LEAs that have maintained their prior year password for the MBG Application may use the same password to access the 2020–21 application.
Submission of the MBG Application must be completed by August 31, 2020, to receive 2020–21 MBG funding.
An election not to participate may be communicated to the CDE by submitting the MBG Application with a selection of non-participation or by sending an email to mandate@cde.ca.gov with the LEA’s name and county-district-school code. Prior to the application deadline, follow-up emails will be sent to LEAs that have not notified the CDE of their election. The participation status of all LEAs eligible for the 2020–21 MBG may be found on the MBG web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/mandatebg.asp.
The 2020 Budget Act appropriates $241,516,000 for the MBG program. Allocation of funds is based on average daily attendance (ADA) calculated as of the 2019–20 Second Principal Apportionment. Specific categories of ADA used to calculate funding are available on the CDE’s MBG web page.
The 2020–21 funding rates set forth in Item 6100-296-0001 of the 2020 Budget Act are displayed in the table below. If available funds are insufficient to apportion funding to participating LEAs at the established rates, funding rates shall be reduced proportionally.
| LEA Type |
Grade Span |
2020–21 Funding Rate |
|---|---|---|
| COE |
Grades K–8 |
$32.18 |
| COE |
Grades 9–12 |
$61.94 |
| COE |
Countywide |
$1.08 |
| School Districts |
Grades K–8 |
$32.18 |
| School Districts |
Grades 9–12 |
$61.94 |
| Charter Schools |
Grades K–8 |
$16.86 |
| Charter Schools |
Grades 9–12 |
$46.87 |
MBG Frequently Asked Questions are available on CDE’s website at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/mandatebgfaq.asp.
If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Julie Klein Briggs, Fiscal Consultant, Categorical Allocations and Audit Resolution Office, or Tonya Holmes, Fiscal Analyst, Categorical Allocations and Audit Resolution Office, by email at mandate@cde.ca.gov.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Dearstyne, Director
School Fiscal Services Division
ED:jkb