Senate Bill (SB) 820 Funding for Growing LEAs

Senate Bill (SB) 820 (Chapter 110, Statutes of 2020) was signed by the Governor on September 18, 2020. SB 820 amended Education Code (EC) Section 43505 to permit growing local educational agencies (LEAs) to receive funding based on the projected or actual growth for FY 2020–21. The following FAQs are intended to provide an overview of the application requirements and apportionments for qualified LEAs for FY 2020–21.

Additional information about the Principal Apportionment, Instructional Time, Attendance Accounting, Attendance Reporting and the Form J-13A for fiscal year (FY) 2020–21 are available on California Department of Education's (CDE) 2020–21 Funding and Instructional Time FAQs web page.

1. What is the process for being funded on growth?
   LEAs must complete and submit the SB 820 Growth Funding Application (XLSX) on or before November 6, 2020. The application requires an LEA to describe its basis for eligibility and submit supporting documents. An LEA’s superintendent and board president must both certify the accuracy of the information submitted.
   
   
2. Are all LEAs required to submit the SB 820 Growth Funding Application?
   Only those LEAs that are eligible and growing (see question 3 and 4) should submit an SB 820 Growth Funding Application funding.
   
   
3. Which LEAs may request funding based on projected growth?
   School districts, county offices of education and continuing classroom-based charter schools may request funding based on projected growth. Pursuant to EC Section 43505(c)(1), charter schools that were nonclassroom-based as of the 2019–20 Second Principal Apportionment (P-2) certification are not eligible to request funding based on growth. A list of charter schools that were nonclassroom-based as of the 2019–20 P-2 certification (XLSX) is available.
   
   
4. What are the eligibility requirements to be funded on growth?
   School districts, continuing classroom-based charter schools and county offices of education are eligible for an apportionment calculation based on growth if the LEA’s most recent 2020–21 budget adopted by the governing board or body of the local educational agency on or before June 30, 2020, or its adopted 2019–20 second interim report explicitly shows growth in overall pupil enrollment or average daily attendance (ADA) from its actual 2019–20 level to its projected 2020–21 level.
   
   
5. How will growth funding be calculated?
   For the purpose of calculating apportionments for the 2020–21 fiscal year for an LEA deemed to have met the statutory criteria for funding based on growth, the department shall use the lesser of either:
   
   (A) the LEA’s certified CALPADS enrollment as of Information Day, October 7, 2020 reduced by the statewide average rate of absence for 2019–20, or
   
   (B) the LEA’s projected 2020–21 enrollment reduced by the statewide average rate of absence. If ADA is used to establish eligibility for growth funding, CDE will use the 2020–21 ADA projected by the local educational agency in its substantiating documentation.
   
   Under no circumstances shall an apportionment calculated for a local educational agency pursuant to this paragraph be less than the apportionment that would be calculated pursuant to subdivision (b) of EC Section 43502.
   
   
6. For LEA’s eligible for apportionment based on growth, what apportionments are affected and which ADA will be reflected in my LEA’s apportionment documents in 2020–21?
   The ADA used in the growth applicant’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) entitlement calculation pursuant to the criteria in subdivision (b) of EC Section 43505 will be the ADA used for all other apportionments for the 2020–21 fiscal year and for any other calculations that would be based on 2020–21 ADA. This ADA will appear in the growth applicant’s apportionment documents.
   
   See the 2020–21 Funding and Instructional Time FAQs for information on how this ADA will impact 2021-22 fiscal year LCFF calculations for a school district.
   
   
7. Will the additional funding provided for growing LEAs be apportioned separately?
   No. Funding provided to growing LEAs pursuant to EC Section 43505 (SB 820) shall be reflected in the regular Principal Apportionment certifications made by the Superintendent pursuant to EC sections 41332 (First Principal Apportionment) and 41335 (Second Principal Apportionment) and the funding will be part of the regular monthly payments pursuant to EC sections 14041, 14041.5, and 14041.6, commencing with the payment made in February 2021. As a result, the funding is subject to the deferrals that apply to Principal Apportionment payments.
   
   
8. How can an LEA estimate the amount of funding it will receive under this growth funding option?
   The FCMAT’s LCFF calculator can be used by LEAs to estimating funding under the growth funding methodology outlined in subdivision (b) of EC Section 43505.
   
   Information on the Principal Apportionment Payment Schedule, including deferrals, is available.
   
   
9. When will an LEA receive its apportionment for growth?
   The first calculation based on growth will occur with the First Principal Apportionment for Fiscal Year 2020–21 and LEA’s will begin receiving monthly payments in February 2021.
   
   
10. If a charter school has expanded to serve additional grade levels in 2020–21, and meets the requirements to be funding on growth, may it submit a 20-day Report in October to receive an apportionment of funds for this growth in the second Charter School Special Advance Apportionment?
    No. For Fiscal Year 2020–21, pursuant to subdivision (a) of EC Section 43505, the Charter School Special Advance Apportionment is limited to newly operational charter schools. A continuing classroom-based charter school that is growing may request funding for growth by submitting an SB 820 Growth Funding Application. Continuing nonclassroom-based charter schools are not eligible for growth funding. All continuing nonclassroom-based charter schools and continuing classroom-based charter schools that do not qualify for growth, will be funded in Fiscal year 2020–21 based on their 2019–20 ADA.