Guidance for Southern California Wildfires

Early Education Division Email

Date Sent: January 28, 2025

Expires: June 30, 2025

Attention: Executive Directors and Program Directors of California State Preschool Programs, and Other Interested Parties

In response to the disastrous fires in Los Angeles (LA) and Ventura Counties, the California Department of Education (CDE), Early Education Division (EED) is sending this notice to all EED, California State Preschool Program (CSPP) contracting agencies. The purpose of this email is to provide guidance flexibilities allowed during this emergency and information on processes for contractors to follow. To the extent that anything changes, the EED will release any updated guidance through our email distribution list.

On January 7, 2025, Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency to help ensure the availability of critical resources to address the fire related evacuation orders, destruction of and ongoing threats to homes, structures, critical infrastructure, transportation, communication sites, and transmission lines.

The EED recognizes the impact on communities caused by these events and the resulting, often long-term, emergency conditions. Some events may render CSPP contractors and family childcare home providers serving children and families through a CSPP Family Childcare Home Education Network (FCCHEN), inoperable and therefore unable to provide CSPP services, and may also increase the number of families experiencing homelessness.

The EED is providing information that may be helpful in responding to local disasters, as well as for local agency recovery efforts in continuing to serve California’s early education needs. Some of this information is a reminder of current law, while other portions of this email include specific flexibilities for affected contractors.

Contractors should be aware of any Provider Information Notices (PINs) released by the Community Care Licensing Division at the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) on flexibilities for operating licensed childcare programs during this emergency. PINs can be found here: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/community-care-licensing/policy/provider-information-notices/child-care.

Updates and Flexibilities for Equipment Purchase Approval Requests (EPARs)

Emergency Exception: EPAR Requirements

Contract funds can be used for disaster response (repairs, equipment replacement, and so forth). Contractors must only spend contract funds on items, repairs, and replacements that are not the responsibility of the landlord.

In times of emergencies, the EED will retro-actively review and approve EPARs, as applicable. If due to the nature of the emergency, the contractor is unable to obtain bids, the contractor will need to make note of that in the justification portion of the EPAR. Retro-active EPARs will be reviewed by a consultant on a case-by-case basis, to confirm the nature of the emergency was related to the fires in LA County and/or Ventura County, and that the costs associated with the purchases were reasonable and necessary.

Example for non-public agencies: The fence that protects the perimeter at an early learning and care center burned down and the contractor had it replaced immediately, without obtaining bids. If the cost to repair the fence was within the standard going rate for fence repairs and replacement, this purchase would be considered reasonable and necessary because you cannot run your program without a fence around the perimeter. Under these circumstances, the CDE would likely retroactively approve the EPAR and would waive the requirements for obtaining and providing three bids, if the expenditure was adequately supported in accordance with program requirements.

Public Agencies are required to comply with the applicable sections of the Public Contract Code for purchases and requirements for obtaining bids.

Updates for the EPARs and Process: LA and Ventura Counties

EPARs are required for all equipment and equipment replacement purchases where the individual item or sum of all items included in the purchase equals or exceeds the lesser of the capitalization level established by the contractor for financial statement purposes, or ten thousand dollars ($10,000), including tax must be pre-approved by the EED.

• When determining pre-approval requirements, all components purchased for the item should be considered prior to cost allocation.
  
• Subdividing equipment purchases into separate items or multiple payments to avoid the preapproval requirement is prohibited.
  

Equipment and equipment replacement approval requests shall be submitted on the EPAR form.

Bids, if applicable, shall be attached to the EPAR form when submitted to the EED for approval.

• One copy of the request shall be retained by the CDE.
  
• One copy shall be returned to the contractor or disapproved within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt.
  
• If the request for approval of equipment purchase is disapproved, the contractor may appeal the decision in accordance with instructions specified in California Code of Regulations, Title 5 (5 CCR) Section 17833.
  

Public Agencies shall comply with the applicable sections of the Public Contract Code for purchases and lease-purchases related to equipment, equipment repair, and requirements for obtaining bids.

Lease-purchase agreements are subject to all the above requirements.

Contractors may submit pre-approval requests for multi-year equipment purchases if all the following apply:

• All the pre-approval requirements are met
  
• Equipment shall not be paid for in advance
  
• A plan for payment within each applicable fiscal year is submitted with the pre-approval request
  
• All bids, as required, are valid through the duration of the multi-year equipment purchase request

New Flexibilities for Equipment Purchase Approval Requests: Preapproved Equipment Purchases for LA and Ventura Counties

The EED has developed a list (below) of pre-approved equipment that does not require contractors to obtain additional written pre-approval from the EED before purchase, provided the total cost is $20,000 or less. All purchases of items from the pre-approved list must be reasonable and necessary for the performance of the contract, must be conducted at arms- length if purchased from a related party, and must otherwise be in accordance with all laws and regulations or the purchase may be later disallowed:

• Lead testing and water filters
  
  • Including professional services
    
  • Allowable cost every five years and for new facilities
    
• Fire restoration services due to wildfires including:
  
  • Removing debris
    
  • Removing standing water
    
  • Removing smoke particles
    
  • Removing soot accumulation
    
  • Removing/mitigating smoke smell
    
• Curriculum and assessment purchases to meet statutory or regulatory requirements
  
• Office equipment
  
  • iPads/tablets
    
  • Computers/laptops
    
  • Copy machines
    
  • Printers
    
  • Office and classroom furniture
    
  • Desks
    
  • Chairs
    
  • Tables
    

Eligibility and Voluntary Updates of Family Information

Flexibilities for Transferring Families to Another CSPP Agency Without Full Documentation for Sites That Have Closed Due to the Fires

In accordance with 24-month eligibility, once a family is certified for CSPP they are receiving statewide eligibility for CSPP; therefore, if the family needs to transfer to another contractor/agency as a result of the fires, it is permissible. The original contractor/agency the child was enrolled with has a responsibility to ensure continuity of care by helping the family transition to a new program, which includes, but is not limited to, supporting families in finding other CSPPs (or other programs) with space for enrollment, verifying enrollment and certification for a new CSPP the child will transfer to, and providing copies of the family data file to the new program including documentation of certification, eligibility, and need for services in CSPP, as applicable.

Parents may bring evidence of their enrollment from their current CSPP to the new CSPP and that can be used to establish services; or the new CSPP can contact the CSPP agency that the family was initially enrolled in to determine if the family was eligible for services. Services will continue at the new CSPP agency for the remainder of the family’s certification period. Efforts to transfer family data files or provide additional information should be made within 30 days.

As a reminder electronic documents are acceptable and family data file information can be accepted in an electronic format.

Reminder: Notifying Families That They Can Voluntarily Request a Reassessment of Family Fees

Currently enrolled families within LA and Ventura counties should be notified of their right to voluntarily request a reassessment of their family fee if their circumstances have changed as a result of the fire (loss of job, reduced work hours, and so on). As a reminder, all families may, at any time, voluntarily request to reduce a family fee or increase their certified schedule and shall provide applicable supporting documentation for the requested change. (5 CCR 17756)

Waived Program Quality Requirements for Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) in LA and Ventura Counties

CLASS and CLASS Environment Requirements (Management Bulletin [MB] 23-10)

The requirements of MB 23-10 are waived through June 30, 2025, for CSPP contractors within LA and Ventura counties; therefore, CSPP contractors that have not met the CLASS and CLASS Environment observation requirements for fiscal year 2024–25 will not be required to complete those observations.

Resources

For help and information for people affected by the wildfires, information on disaster assistance and temporary housing, disaster recovery, social programs, local and federal resources, emergency alerts and real time updates, please refer to the 2025 Los Angeles Fires help and information web page at https://www.ca.gov/lafires/.

For information on the CDE Disaster and Emergency Resources, please refer to the CDE Resources for Natural Disaster and Severe Weather web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ep/schoolemergencyres.asp.

For information on disaster assistance and resources in California, please refer to the CDE Disaster Resources web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/di/dr/.

For resources related to wildfires, including what to do before, during and after a wildfire, please refer to the CDE Wildfires web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ep/wildfires.asp.

For information on emergency resources from federal, state, and local agencies, please refer to the California Office of Emergency Services website at http://www.caloes.ca.gov.

Additional Resources to Support Children and Families

For information on Helping Children Cope After a Disaster, visit the Office of Head Start Early Childhood and Learning Center website at https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/publication/helping-your-child-cope-after-disaster.

The California Making Access Possible: Coping with Trauma: A Collection of Resources website is at https://cainclusion.org/camap/resources-and-links/coping-with-trauma-a-collection-of-resources/.

Additional Resources for Programs

Information on the CDSS Community Care Licensing Division, including CDSS Community Care Licensing Regional Offices can be found at the CDSS website at https://cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/community-care-licensing.

California Resource and Referral (R&R) programs provide training and technical assistance, as well as resources for Early Education programs. Please contact your local R&R for information on available resources. A list of R&Rs is found on the CDSS website at https://cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/child-care-and-development/quality-improvement-initiatives/resource-and-referral.

Sincerely,
Early Education Division
California Department of Education