Mandate Block Grant FAQs

Application Deadline and Submission

1. What is the deadline for the Mandate Block Grant (MBG) Application?

   The statutory deadline to submit the MBG Application is August 30^th of each year. Local educational agencies (LEAs) that want to participate in the MBG should submit the MBG Application electronically to the California Department of Education (CDE) on or before this date.

2. How can the MBG Application be submitted?

   The MBG Application is web-based, therefore, LEAs will submit electronically to the CDE. Hard copy applications will not be accepted.

   LEAs will receive an email notification, addressed to the contact identified on the California School Directory, containing an informational letter which includes a link to the MBG Application and other important MBG details. On CDE’s Mandate Block Grant Request for Application web page LEAs may select the link titled “MBG Application” to find logon instructions and, if necessary, request a new password. LEAs that were issued a password for the Mandate Block Grant in a prior year may use the same password to access the current application.

   For technical assistance, please contact the CDE by email at mandate@cde.ca.gov.

3. Who is authorized to submit the MBG Application?

   It is up to each LEA to determine the authorized representative who will submit the MBG Application on the LEA’s behalf. Passwords for the MBG Application will be issued to the LEA’s contact identified on the California School Directory; this is typically the County or District Superintendent or Charter School Administrator. In addition, if an LEA has established a secondary contact in the current or prior year's MBG Application, the secondary contact may also submit the application and, if necessary, request a new password. If an LEA wishes to change or remove a secondary contact, updates can be made locally after login, or an email from the contact identified in the California School Directory may be sent to mandate@cde.ca.gov.

4. Does a signed MBG Application need to be submitted to the CDE?

   No. Only the electronic submission of the MBG Application is required. Please note that upon successful submission of the MBG Application, LEAs will be prompted to “Print Submission." The printed document includes a signature line and it is recommended that LEAs print, sign, and retain the electronic submission for their records. The signed document does not need to be provided to the CDE.

5. We did not receive instructions on how to access the MBG Application. How can we apply?

   An email notification was sent to each school district, county office of education (COE), and charter school with an informational letter including a link to the MBG Request for Application web page. The email was sent to the superintendent, administrator, or contact listed in the California School Directory as well as to secondary contacts submitted through the MBG application in the prior year. Please check the junk mail or spam folder of that email address and also make sure that the email was not rejected by your server. If you cannot locate the email, please send a request to mandate@cde.ca.gov.
   
   

   If the contact information on the California School Directory is incorrect, please notify the CDE of changes to ensure receipt of future correspondence. Updates to school and district information may be requested by authorized LEA personnel using the OPUS-CDS application, or the CDS forms posted on the CDE website.

   Once the contact information is confirmed, LEAs may select the link for “MBG Application” to find logon instructions and, if necessary, to request a new password. LEAs that have been issued a password for Mandate Block Grant in a prior year may use the same password to access the current year application.

6. How can we verify that the CDE has received our application?

   Upon electronic submission of the MBG Application, LEAs will receive an email confirmation indicating the submission was received by the CDE. LEAs may also check the Mandate Block Grant Application Participation Status web page to see an application status of Participating, Not Participating, or Not Submitted. If you have concerns, please contact the CDE by email at mandate@cde.ca.gov.

Funding

7. What are the 2024–25 MBG Funding Rates?

   The current MBG funding rates set forth in Item 6100-296-0001 of the annual Budget Act, current rates are as follows:
   

   LEA	Grade Span	2024–25 Funding Rate
   County Offices of Education (COE)	Grades K–8	$38.21
   COE	Grades 9–12	$73.62
   COE	Countywide1	$1.28
   School Districts	Grades K–8	$38.21
   School Districts	Grades 9–12	$73.62
   Charter Schools	Grades K–8	$20.06
   Charter Schools	Grades 9–12	$55.76

   ¹ Countywide ADA is defined as the aggregate number of units of ADA within the county attributable to all school districts for which the county superintendent of schools has jurisdiction pursuant to California Education Code Section 1253 , charter schools within the county, and the schools operated by the county superintendent of schools.

8. When will funding be apportioned?

   Pursuant to statute, funding for the MBG is paid in November each year to all eligible LEAs that submitted the MBG Application. The amount paid will equal 100 percent of each LEA’s entitlement.

Participation

9. Does an LEA need its governing board’s approval or a board resolution to participate in the MBG?

   Government Code (GC) Section 17581.6 does not specifically require governing board approval or a board resolution to participate in the MBG. However, each LEA may have its own policy for identifying items that require governing board action or approval.

10. Our LEA has elected to “not participate” in the MBG. Do we need to notify the CDE of our decision?

    An LEA is not required by statute to notify the CDE if it chooses not to participate in the MBG; however, it is helpful if LEAs logon to the MBG Application and elect to not participate or send an email to mandate@cde.ca.gov with the LEA name and county-district-school (CDS) code. The CDE will “follow up” via email with all LEAs that have not submitted the MBG Application; those LEAs who have submitted the MBG Application and declined to participate or sent an email to mandate@cde.ca.gov will not receive further contact.

11. If we participate in the MBG in FY 2024–25, will we be required to participate in the future?

    No. Participation in the MBG is an annual election. Therefore, if an LEA submits a 2024–25 MBG Application requesting funding for the MBG, it only applies to FY 2024–25.

Charter Schools

12. Do all charter schools need to submit a separate application for the MBG or can locally funded charter schools be included in the application of the district?

    All charter schools, both locally funded and direct-funded, must apply independent of their authorizing agency in order to receive MBG funds. Each charter school will receive notification of the MBG Application which must be completed and submitted electronically to the CDE. Charter schools are encouraged to contact their authorizing agency if there is uncertainty about who should submit the MBG Application on the charter school’s behalf. 

    Apportionments for locally funded charter schools will be included in the payment issued to the authorizing agency and apportionments for direct-funded charter schools will be issued to the charter school.

13. Are charter schools that begin operation in FY 2024–25 eligible for the MBG?

    Charter schools that begin operation in FY 2024–25 as a new school are not eligible to receive MBG funding in the first year of operation. Funding for FY 2024–25 is based on the ADA as of the 2023–24 Second Principal (P-2) Apportionment calculations. New charter schools did not have ADA funded at P-2 and therefore are not eligible to receive funds for the 2024–25 MBG.

    Effective July 1, 2020, a newly numbered charter school is eligible for the MBG if it meets the criteria to be treated as continuing pursuant to Part 26.8 of the Education Code, as amended by Assembly Bill (AB) 1505 (Chapter 486, Statutes of 2019) and AB 1507 (Chapter 487, Statutes of 2019), and further defined by Senate Bill 98 (Chapter 24, Statutes of 2020). Information regarding AB 1505 and AB 1507 implementation is available Legislation Impacting Charters web page.

14. In the current year, two of our district schools were converted to charter schools. How will our MBG apportionment be calculated?

    For FY 2024–25 the MBG is calculated using the ADA as of the 2023–24 P-2 Principal Apportionment calculations. This means the district would receive MBG funding in FY 2024–25 based on the total ADA at P-2, including the conversion charter schools, multiplied by the applicable rates for each grade span. The two new charter schools are not eligible to receive separate funding in FY 2024–25 since those schools were not funded in the P-2 Principal Apportionment.
    
    Conversely, if two charter schools closed at the end of FY 2023–24 and the students returned to district schools, the district would only receive funding based on the district’s 2023–24 P-2 ADA, which would not include the ADA reported by the two closed charter schools.

Compliance and Audits

15. Does an LEA need to be in compliance with all of the mandates listed in the MBG in order to receive funds? If an LEA elects not to participate in the MBG, does it still have to perform the mandates?

    COEs, school districts, and charter schools are all legally required to provide or perform all applicable mandated activities. Participation or non-participation in the MBG does not alter that requirement. The MBG funding is specifically intended to fund the costs of the applicable mandated activities identified in GC Section 17581.6(f).

16. If an LEA participates in the MBG, will a compliance audit for the specific MBG mandates be performed during the annual audit? If so, what required documentation would need to be kept?

    The 2024–25 Audit Guide includes audit procedures for the Comprehensive School Safety Plan, Immunizations and the School Accountability Report Card, all of which are mandated programs funded by the MBG. Although other mandated programs covered by the MBG may be subject to review in the overall annual compliance audit per California Education Code Section 41020, no additional procedures are currently included for 2024–25.

    If audit procedures are added to future Audit Guides, those added procedures are required to be published prior to the start of each fiscal year. By knowing the audit procedures prior to the start of a fiscal year, an LEA has an opportunity to discuss the required documentation with its own external auditor. If an audit found an LEA to be out of compliance with a mandate requirement, the LEA would be required to take corrective action; however, the LEA would not be required to forfeit any MBG funding.

Reimbursement Claims

17. May an LEA file a mandate reimbursement claim with the State Controller’s Office (SCO) for 2024–25 mandates not included in the MBG?

    Yes. If the mandate program is not suspended or specifically listed in GC Section 17581.6(f), an eligible LEA may file a mandate reimbursement claim with the SCO for FY 2024–25. However, a mandate reimbursement claim may only be paid when the Legislature appropriates funds for it.
    
    See FAQ #21 below for the current program available for reimbursement.

18. If there are new mandate claim programs approved during the year, could a separate reimbursement claim be filed or would those programs become part of the MBG?

    Legislation would be required to add any new mandates to the MBG. Unless that occurs, a mandate reimbursement claim can be filed with the SCO for any mandate program or newly approved active mandate program not specifically listed in GC Section 17581.6(f).

19. In the past, COEs included some of its districts’ reimbursement costs (those under $1,000) as part of the COEs’ mandate reimbursement claim. If the COE elects to participate in the MBG and participating districts do not, is there a vehicle available for those districts to still receive reimbursements for the mandates?

    According to the SCO, even if a COE elects to participate in the MBG, the COE may still submit a reimbursement claim on behalf of districts that do not elect to participate in the MBG. The reimbursement claim should identify the districts included in the claim, clearly state that the COE is participating in the MBG, and state that the COE is filing on behalf of districts that did not elect to participate in the MBG.

Mandated Programs and Activities

20. Which programs are included in the MBG?

    GC Section 17581.6(f) contains a list of mandated programs and activities that the MBG is specifically intended to fund. This list of Mandates Supported by the MBG is also posted on the MBG Programs and Activities web page.

21. Which programs are NOT included in the MBG?

    The following school district mandate is not included in the 2024–25 MBG list and is eligible to file a reimbursement claim through the SCO for costs incurred in FY 2024–25. However, funds must be appropriated for this mandated program before any reimbursement claims can be paid.

    Current Program Name	Program Number
    Teacher Incentive Program	252

    
    

22. Which state–mandated activities are suspended in the current fiscal year?

    The Department of Finance provides an annual notification of mandates specifically suspended in the current year per the respective Budget Act. Please refer to the heading titled Suspended Mandates on the Mandate Block Grant web page.