Management Bulletin 23-01

Early Education Division

Subject: Changes in Eligibility, Priority, and Non-Countable Income for the California State Preschool Program

Number: 23-01

Date: January 5, 2023

Expires: Until rescinded or superseded by regulations

Authority: Assembly Bill (AB) 210 (Chapter 62, Statutes of 2022); the California Education Code (EC) sections 8208, 8210, 8211, 8213, and 48000; AB 185 (Chapter 571, Statutes of 2022); SB 1047 (Chapter 923, Statutes of 2022); AB 321 (Chapter 903, Statutes of 2022)

Attention: Executive Directors and Program Directors of all California State Preschool Programs

Purpose

This Management Bulletin (MB) notifies and provides guidance to California State Preschool Program (CSPP) contractors of the changes to eligibility, priority for services, and the definition of “adjusted monthly income” for CSPP.

Policy

Eligibility

The following changes have been made to Part-day and Full-day CSPP effective July 1, 2022:

• All families enrolled, or beginning services, on or after July 1, 2022, shall receive 24 months of eligibility as described in the directive below
• The income eligibility threshold has been increased from 85 percent of the State Median Income (SMI) to 100 percent of the SMI.
• Three- and four-year-old children are eligible for CSPP services if the child has exceptional needs, as defined in the California Education Code (EC) Section 8205.
  • Only the children in the family who are children with exceptional needs may be enrolled under this eligibility criteria. Any other child in the family without exceptional needs may be enrolled pursuant to any of the other eligibility criteria.
  • NOTE: Children with exceptional needs are also known as children with disabilities. The language in this MB refers to children with exceptional needs to align with the statutory definition in EC. However, to align more closely with special education law and programs, the CDE encourages contractors to describe these children as children with disabilities at the local level in implementation.
• Effective September 27, 2022, CSPP Neighborhood School eligibility, pursuant to EC 8217, whereby a state preschool site within the attendance boundary of a public elementary school, except a charter or magnet school, where at least 80 percent of enrolled pupils are eligible for free or reduced-price meals (FRPM), may enroll children that live within the attendance area, is now open for three-year-old children as well as four-year-old children.

The following change has been made to Full-day CSPP effective September 27, 2022:

• Families with incomes that are up to 15 percent over the income threshold are now eligible for full-day CSPP. No more than 10 percent of the total contract may be children enrolled under this provision. These families are still required to have a need for services.

Changes in Effect January 1, 2023 for Part-day and Full-day CSPP:

Families who have a member of its household who is certified to receive benefits from Medi-Cal, CalFresh, the California Food Assistance Program, the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, the federal Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, Head Start, Early Head Start, or any other designated means-tested government program, as determined by the department, will have categorical eligibility as of January 1, 2023. At this time, the CDE has designated The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) as an additional means-tested government program. Children eligible for services pursuant to this subparagraph shall be prioritized by the income declared on the application for the means-tested government program.

Enrollment Priorities

Changes to priority, in effect now:

Beginning July 1, 2022, priorities have been added for children with exceptional needs, Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and kindergarten (K) age children enrolling in extended learning and care in part-day CSPP, and children from families with incomes that are no more than 15 percent above the income threshold in full-day CSPP. A full list of the priorities in order, with changes in bold italics, can be found in the directive section.

The following change will go into effect on January 1, 2023, for part-day and full-day CSPP:

Children from families in which the primary home language is a language other than English, when two or more families have the same income rank on the Income Ranking Table will be prioritized for services.

Non-Countable Income Changes

Effective July 1, 2022, the following types of income shall not be included as income for purposes of determining eligibility for CSPP pursuant to Section 8213:

• Payments made on behalf of a child pursuant to Section 11460, 11461.3, 11461.36, or 11461.4 of the Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC).
• Guaranteed income payments received by an individual. “Guaranteed income payments” mean unconditional, recurring, regular cash payments, whether publicly or privately funded, that are intended to support the basic needs of eligible recipients, including, but not limited to, payments provided through pilot programs and projects receiving funding from the California Guaranteed Income Pilot Program (Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 18997) of Part 6 of Division 9 of WIC).

Implementation Directives

24-Month Eligibility

Eligibility Categories

Enrollment Priorities

Non-Countable Income Changes

Changes to Reporting Through the Child Development Management Information System (CDMIS)

24-Month Eligibility

Part-Day CSPP

Beginning July 1, 2022, contractors operating part-day CSPP must certify a family eligible for the remainder of the current program year and the following program year when enrolling children, provided the child continues to meet age eligibility requirements. Note that contractors can begin enrolling families 120 days prior to the beginning of a new program year, and in those cases the child will be enrolled for two full program years.

Contractors must issue a Notice of Action (NOA) for each family currently enrolled for the 2022–23 program year to notify the family that their eligibility has changed from only the current program year to the remainder of the current program year and the next program year if the child remains age-eligible. Contractors must note on the NOA any breaks in service (e.g., summer break) in the comments section of the NOA.

If the child is age-eligible for CSPP for any additional program years beyond the initial enrollment for the current program year and following program year, the contractor will complete an initial certification for the family at that time before the new program year.

Full-Day CSPP

Contractors operating full-day CSPP must initially certify or recertify all families for 24-months beginning July 1, 2022. Contractors that initially certified or recertified families on or after July 1, 2022 for only 12 months of eligibility must issue a NOA to notify the family that their 12-month eligibility has been extended to 24 months of eligibility. If the child was enrolled prior to July 1, 2022, the contractor must wait until recertification to certify the family for 24-months; however, parents can voluntarily request to recertify early in order to extend their eligibility to 24-months sooner. If a child is no longer age-eligible for CSPP during the 24-month period, the contractor will notify the family of the date the child will be disenrolled from the CSPP.

In the event that the eligibility period ends before the end of a program year, eligibility shall be extended until the end of the program year, as long as applicable age-eligibility requirements are met. While the program year operates from July through June, the California Code of Regulations, Title 5 (5 CCR) section 17749(c) allows children that were enrolled in full-day CSPP prior to June 30, to remain enrolled in CSPP for the summer immediately preceding their enrollment into kindergarten until September 30 or the start of kindergarten, whichever is sooner.

If the child is age-eligible for CSPP for any additional program years beyond the initial 24-month eligibility, the contractor will recertify the family within 50 days of the end of their 24-month eligibility pursuant to 5 CCR 17753.

All contractors are required to follow all current regulations including, but not limited to:

• The family’s requirement to report when income exceeds the statutory threshold if the family is eligible based on income (5 CCR 17755)
• The contractor’s requirement to assess, and collect (when applicable), family fees for full-day CSPP (5 CCR 17734)
• The family’s right to voluntarily request changes (5 CCR 17756)
• The 50-day recertification timeline for full-day CSPP (5 CCR 17753)

Eligibility Categories

Three- and four-year-old children may be eligible for part-day or full-day CSPP if the child or family meets one of the following:

• The family is a current aid recipient
• The family is income eligible (New income threshold: 100 percent of the SMI)
• The family is experiencing homelessness
• The child is a recipient of child protective services, or has been identified as being abused, neglected, or exploited, or at-risk of being abused, neglected or exploited
• The child has a disability; only the children in the family with a disability may enroll under this eligibility category (New eligibility category)
• Beginning January 1, 2023: Families who have a member of its household who is certified to receive benefits from Medi-Cal, CalFresh, the California Food Assistance Program, the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, the federal Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, Head Start, Early Head Start, or any other designated means-tested government program, as determined by the department, will be categorically eligible. The CDE has determined that CalWORKs is a means-tested government program that families can use also under this provision to get categorical eligibility. (New eligibility category beginning January 1, 2023)

The following are two additional circumstances in which children can now be enrolled in part-day and full-day CSPP:

• The family has an income that is no more than 15 percent above the income eligibility threshold; this allowance is limited to 10 percent of the total contract (New eligibility category for full-day)
• Three- and four-year-old children can access CSPP Neighborhood School eligibility based on neighboring school FRPM status pursuant to EC section 8217 (New, updated to allow 3-year-old children)

Note: Children enrolled in TK and K may be enrolled in part-day CSPP for Extended Learning and Care if the child or family meets one of the eligibility criteria above (Children in TK and K can no longer be enrolled in full-day CSPP).

The new changes to CSPP eligibility are expanded on below:

Income Eligibility

Beginning July 1, 2022, the income eligibility threshold has been increased to 100 percent of the SMI. Families with income up to 100 percent of the SMI will still be prioritized in income ranking order, where applicable, and be assessed a family fee. Contractors can review the new Schedule of Income Ceilings and the Income Ranking Table in the SMI MB that can be found at: https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/mb2205.asp

Children with Exceptional Needs (Part-day and Full-day)

Three- and four-year-old children are eligible for CSPP services if the child has a disability, as defined in EC Section 8205. Only the children in the family who are children with exceptional needs may be enrolled under the eligibility criteria. Any other child in the family without exceptional needs may be enrolled pursuant to any of the other eligibility criteria. Families receiving full-day services must still establish a need for services, except that after all eligible families meeting the need criteria have been enrolled, a contractor may enroll families without a need criterion pursuant to EC Section 8208(d)(4), which would include children with exceptional needs. The certified schedule for full-day CSPP will be based on the family’s need for services.

The family data file shall contain documentation of a child’s disability if a child is enrolled under this eligibility category (5 CCR 17758 & 17770[a]).

Due to the change in the definition of “children with exceptional needs” in EC section 8205, the additional documentation previously required by 5 CCR section 17770(b) to demonstrate that the child requires special attention of adults is no longer required.

CSPP Neighborhood School Eligibility Based on Neighboring School FRPM Status (Part-day and Full-day)

CSPP Neighborhood School Eligibility (based on neighboring school FRPM status), pursuant to EC 8217, has been amended to include three-year-old children. A contractor operating a state preschool program site within the attendance boundary of a public school, except a charter or magnet school, where at least 80 percent of enrolled pupils are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, may now enroll three- and four-year-old children.

Contractors are still required to follow all current regulations including, but not limited to:

• Contractors must obtain written approval from CDE to operate as a FRPM site and enroll children under this provision (5 CCR 17729) by completing the Site Verification Form for FRPM which can be found at: https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/documents/frpmsiteverificationform.pdf and submitting it to FRPMSiteApproval@cde.ca.gov.
• Within this eligibility category, families must be enrolled in income ranking order (5 CCR 17746 & 17747) and four-year-old children must be enrolled before three-year-old children.
  
• Families enrolled under this provision are only required to provide proof of address documentation to determine eligibility (5 CCR 17774)
• The family must self-certify their income in order to determine priority and be assessed a family fee (5 CCR 17734; EC 8210 & 8211)
• Families enrolled in full-day CSPP are limited to no more than 10 hours per day and no more than 5 days a week; if the family needs more hours, then they can provide additional need documentation (5 CCR 17754)

Incomes 15 Percent Over the Income Threshold for Full-day CSPP

Full-day contractors are now allowed to enroll families with incomes that are up to 15 percent over the income threshold; this provision is limited to 10 percent of children enrolled in the program’s total contract. Children with exceptional needs from families with incomes above the income eligibility threshold as described in EC 8213, shall not count towards the 10 percent limit of families above the income eligibility threshold as stated in EC 8208(a)(3). Contractors are still required to follow all current regulations including, but not limited to:

• Full-day families are required to have a need for services (5 CCR 17751)
• Families that are eligible based on income (including this provision) are required to report when income exceeds the statutory threshold; the statutory threshold for these families is more than 15 percent over 100 percent of the state median income (5 CCR 17755)
• Families enrolled under this provision are required to be assessed a family fee (5 CCR 17734)

Extended Learning and Care for Part-day CSPP

Children that are enrolled in an education program as a transitional kindergarten or kindergarten pupil can be enrolled in a part-day CSPP for less than four hours, if their families meet the eligibility requirements for part-day CSPP.
Contractors should refer to the upcoming MB on extended learning and care for additional information on flexibility for operational hours and enrollment periods.

Categorical Eligibility for Families Receiving Benefits from Governmental Programs (Beginning January 1, 2023)

Families who have a member of its household who is certified to receive benefits from Medi-Cal, CalFresh, the California Food Assistance Program, the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, the federal Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, Head Start, Early Head Start will be categorically eligible. The CDE has also designated CalWORKs as a means-tested government program

Children eligible for services pursuant to this eligibility criteria shall be prioritized by the income declared on the application for the means-tested government program. Families will need to provide the documentation that demonstrates the family is certified for a governmental program as well as the application for the government program with the family’s income for purposes of prioritization. Three and four-year-old children in this eligibility category will be prioritized by income within priorities 3 and 4.

Families qualifying for eligibility under this provision shall provide documentation of the income declared on the application for the means-tested government program as it will be used by the contractor as income documentation for the purposes of prioritizing enrollment and calculating family fees

If the applications for means-tested government programs are not be available, contractors shall have the family self-certify that they do not have access to the application, and to the best of their recollection, the income declared on the application for the means-tested government program.

Pursuant to newly-added EC section 8213.5, "A member of the household who is certified to receive benefits from Medi-Cal, CalFresh, the California Food Assistance Program, the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, the federal Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, Head Start, Early Head Start, or any other designated means-tested government program, as determined by the department” means either of the following:

1. A member of the household has been certified as eligible to receive benefits or services in any of those programs. The family shall provide documentation of current enrollment in the program, unless the contracting agency has, and elects to use, other means of obtaining verification of that enrollment.
   
   
2. A contracting agency has determined a member of the household is eligible for Head Start or Early Head Start services.

Note: “Household” means the same as “Family”, as defined in 5 CCR 17700. “Family” means the parents and the children for whom the parents are responsible for, who comprise the household in which the child receiving services is living.

Enrollment Priorities

As a reminder, pursuant to Assembly Bill (AB) 2626 (Chapter 945, Statutes of 2018) contractors are no longer required to have half of their enrollment for CSPP be 4-year-old children.

Part-day Enrollment Priorities

Part-day contractors must follow priority order as listed below (new changes to priority are in bold italics):

1. The first priority for services shall be given to three-year-old or four-year-old children who are recipients of child protective services or who are at risk of being neglected, abused, or exploited and for whom there is a written referral from a legal, medical, or social service agency.
2. Once the set-aside for children with exceptional needs is filled, the second priority for services shall be given to all three- and four-year-old children with exceptional needs from families with incomes below the income eligibility threshold. This priority is for children with exceptional needs that are enrolling in CSPP after the percent of funded enrollment set-aside pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of EC Section 8208, is filled.
3. The third priority for services shall be given to eligible four-year-old children who are not enrolled in a state-funded transitional kindergarten program. This priority does not include children eligible based on having exceptional needs if they are from families with incomes above the income eligibility threshold. Children shall be enrolled in the following order:
   
   
   1. Children enrolled in CSPP as a three-year-old
      
      
   2. Eligible children with the lowest income according to the income ranking on the most recent Schedule of Income Ceilings shall be enrolled first.
      
      
      1. Prior to January 1, 2023: If two or more families have the same income ranking according to the most recent schedule of income ceiling eligibility table, the child that has been on the waiting list for the longest time shall be admitted first.
         
         
      2. After January 1, 2023: If two or more families have the same income ranking according to the most recent schedule of income ceiling eligibility table, the child that has a primary home language other than English shall be enrolled first.
         
         
      3. After January 1, 2023: If there are no families with a child that has a primary home language other than English, the child that has been on the waiting list for the longest time shall be admitted first.

NOTE: Contractors must use the processes in MB 22-04a to determine if a child is a dual language learner prior to prioritization.

4. The fourth priority shall be given to eligible three-year-old children. This priority does not include children eligible based on having exceptional needs if they are from families with incomes above the income eligibility threshold. Children shall be enrolled in the following order:
   
   
   1. Within this priority category, eligible children with the lowest income according to the income ranking on the most recent schedule of income ceiling eligibility table shall be enrolled first.
      
      
      1. Prior to January 1, 2023: If two or more families have the same income ranking according to the most recent schedule of income ceiling eligibility table, the child that has been on the waiting list for the longest time shall be admitted first.
         
         
      2. After January 1, 2023: If two or more families have the same income ranking according to the most recent schedule of income ceiling eligibility table, the child that has a primary home language other than English shall be enrolled first.
         
         
      3. After January 1, 2023: If there are no families with a child that has a primary home language other than English, the child that has been on the waiting list for the longest time shall be admitted first.
         
         
      4. After January 1, 2023: NOTE: Contractors must use the processes in MB 22-04a to determine if a child is a dual language learner prior to prioritization.
         
         
5. The fifth priority, after all otherwise eligible children have been enrolled, shall be children from families whose income is no more than 15 percent above the eligibility income threshold. Within this priority category, priority shall be given to three- and four-year-old children with exceptional needs interested in enrolling beyond those already enrolled in the percent of funded enrollment set aside pursuant to Section 8208, then to four-year-old children before three-year-old children without exceptional needs.
   

After all otherwise eligible children have been enrolled in the first through fifth priority categories, the contractor may enroll the children in the following order:

6. A California preschool program site operating within the attendance boundaries of a qualified free and reduced priced meals school, in accordance with Section 8217, may enroll any three- and four-year-old children whose families reside within the attendance boundary of the qualified elementary school. These children shall, to the extent possible, be enrolled by lowest to highest income.
7. Children enrolling in the California state preschool program to provide expanded learning and care to transitional kindergarten or kindergarten pupils, pursuant to EC Section 48000(l).
   

Full-day Enrollment Priorities

Full-day contractors must follow priority order as listed below (new changes to priority are in bold italics):

1. The first priority for services shall be given to three-year-old or four-year-old children who are recipients of child protective services or who are at risk of being neglected, abused, or exploited and for whom there is a written referral from a legal, medical, or social service agency.
2. Once the set-aside for children with exceptional needs is filled, the second priority for services shall be given to all three- and four-year-old children with exceptional needs from families with incomes below the income eligibility threshold. This priority is for children with exceptional needs that are enrolling in CSPP after the percentage of funded enrollment set-aside pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of EC Section 8208, is filled.
3. The third priority for services shall be given to eligible four-year-old children who are not enrolled in a state-funded transitional kindergarten program. This priority does not include children eligible based on having exceptional needs if they are from families with incomes above the income eligibility threshold. Children shall be enrolled in the following order:
   
   
   1. Within this priority category, eligible children with the lowest income according to the income ranking on the most recent schedule of income ceiling eligibility table shall be enrolled first.
      
      
      1. Prior to January 1, 2023: If two or more families have the same income ranking according to the most recent schedule of income ceiling eligibility table, the child that has been on the waiting list for the longest time shall be admitted first.
         
         
      2. After January 1, 2023: If two or more families have the same income ranking according to the most recent schedule of income ceiling eligibility table, the child that has a primary home language other than English shall be enrolled first.
         
         
      3. After January 1, 2023: If there are no families with a child that has a primary home language other than English, the child that has been on the waiting list for the longest time shall be admitted first.
         
         
      4. After January 1, 2023: NOTE: Contractors must use the processes in MB 22-04a to determine if a child is a dual language learner prior to prioritization.
         
         
4. The fourth priority shall be given to eligible three-year-old children. This priority does not include children eligible based on having exceptional needs if they are from families with incomes above the income eligibility threshold. Children shall be enrolled in the following order:
   
   
   1. Within this priority category, eligible children with the lowest income according to the income ranking on the most recent schedule of income ceiling eligibility table shall be enrolled first.
      
      
      1. Prior to January 1, 2023: If two or more families have the same income ranking according to the most recent schedule of income ceiling eligibility table, the child that has been on the waiting list for the longest time shall be admitted first.
         
         
      2. After January 1, 2023: If two or more families have the same income ranking according to the most recent schedule of income ceiling eligibility table, the child that has a primary home language other than English shall be enrolled first.
         
         
      3. After January 1, 2023: If there are no families with a child that has a primary home language other than English, the child that has been on the waiting list for the longest time shall be admitted first.
         
         
      4. After January 1, 2023: NOTE: Contractors must use the processes in MB 22-04a to determine if a child is a dual language learner prior to prioritization.
         
         
5. The fifth priority, after all otherwise eligible children have been enrolled, shall be children from families whose income is no more than 15 percent above the eligibility income threshold. Within this priority category, priority shall be given to three- and four-year-old children with exceptional needs interested in enrolling beyond those already enrolled in the percent of funded enrollment set aside pursuant to Section 8208, then to four-year-old children before three-year-old children without exceptional needs.

After all otherwise eligible children have been enrolled in the first through fifth priority categories, the contractor may enroll the children in the following order:

6. The contractor may enroll three- and four-year-old children from families that meet eligibility criteria without having a need for services. Within this priority, contractors shall enroll families in income ranking order, lowest to highest, and within income ranking order, enroll four-year-old children before three-year-old children.
7. A California preschool program site operating within the attendance boundaries of a qualified free and reduced priced meals school, in accordance with Section 8217, may enroll any three- and four-year-old children whose families reside within the attendance boundary of the qualified elementary school. These children shall, to the extent possible, be enrolled by lowest to highest income.

Non-countable Income Changes

The following income sources are now non-countable income for CSPP:

• Payments made on behalf of a child pursuant to sections 11460, 11461.3, 11461.36, or 11461.4 of the Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC).
• Guaranteed income payments received by an individual. For purposes of this subdivision, “guaranteed income payments” mean unconditional, recurring, regular cash payments, whether publicly or privately funded, that are intended to support the basic needs of eligible recipients, including, but not limited to, payments provided through pilot programs and projects receiving funding from the California Guaranteed Income Pilot Program (Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 18997) of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code).

The above-cited WIC sections include the following income sources:

• WIC Section 11460: The per child per month rate paid to foster care providers in return for the care and supervision of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) child placed with them.
• WIC Section 11461.3: Payments made to an approved relative caregiver, through the Approve Relative Caregiver Funding Program, for the in-home care of children and non-minor dependents placed with them who are ineligible for AFDC-FC payments equal to the amount paid on behalf of children and non-minor dependents who are eligible for AFDC-FC payments.
• WIC Section 11461.36: Payments made to an emergency caregiver through the Emergency Assistance Program, pending approval under the Resource Family Approval Program.
• WIC Section 11461.4: Payments made through the Tribal Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Program, in return for the care and supervision of a child placed with an approved relative caregiver.

Changes to Reporting Through the Child Development Management Information System (CDMIS)

Commencing with the July 2022 CDD-801A report, all aforementioned policy changes for Fiscal Year 2022–23 have been updated in the Child Development Management Information System (CDMIS).

In addition to updates in programming eligibility, the CDMIS has updated the “Family Monthly Size” and “Family Monthly Income” fields to reflect Fiscal Year 2022–23 Income Ranking Table. Income validations within the CDD-801A report have also been updated to reflect the new income thresholds established in this MB.

If you have any questions about the CDMIS, please reach out to the CDMIS Support Team by email at CDMIS@cde.ca.gov.

Background and Authority

EC Section 8208 outlines eligibility requirements for part-day CSPP, and eligibility and need requirements for full-day CSPP.

EC Section 8210 outlines priorities for part-day CSPP and EC Section 8211 outlines priorities for full-day CSPP.

On June 30, 2022, the Governor signed the fiscal year 2022–23 Budget Trailer Bill for the Early Education Act, AB 210, which amended EC sections 8208, 8210, 8211, 8213, and 48000 to change eligibility and priority in CSPP.

On September 27, 2022, the Governor signed AB 185 (Chapter 571, Statutes of 2022), which amended EC sections 8208, 8210, 8211, and 48000 to provide additional clarification on eligibility and enrollment priorities for CSPP.

Pursuant to AB 210 and AB 185, the CDE is required to implement these changes through informal guidance no later than December 1, 2022, and initiate a rule-making action no later than December 31, 2023, which will supersede this guidance.

On September 30, 2022, the Governor signed Senate Bill (SB) 1047 (Chapter 923, Statutes of 2022) and AB 321 (Chapter 903, Statutes of 2022), which changed priorities for enrollment and eligibility beyond the changes in AB 185.

Resources

If you have additional questions related to this MB, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions page for this MB located at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/em/eligandpriofaq.asp.

If you have programmatic questions related to this MB, please contact your assigned EED, Program Quality Implementation (PQI) office regional consultant. The EED, PQI regional consultant directory web page can be accessed at https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/assignments.asp.

If you have fiscal questions about the information in this email, please contact your assigned CDE Early Education Nutrition and Fiscal Services (EENFS) fiscal analyst. The fiscal analyst directory can be accessed at the following link: https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/cd/faad.asp.

Pursuant to authority provided in EC Sections 8208(g)(1) and 8217(b)(1), this Management Bulletin constitutes official guidance to implement EC sections 8208(e) and 8217(a) and thus the directives in this Management Bulletin with respect to implementing these sections are mandatory. The remainder of the directives in this Management Bulletin are mandatory to the extent that they cite a specific statutory and/or regulatory requirement.