Instructional Time and Attendance Accounting

Information and resources regarding instructional time and attendance accounting requirements.

Overview

Attendance is recorded for the purposes of compulsory education and state funding. To ensure statutory compliance, attendance must be recorded and kept according to certain attendance recordkeeping requirements.

While attendance may be recorded in different ways depending on the educational setting and program, attendance is only generated through either in-person instruction or independent study.

If the recorded attendance meets all specific statutory and regulatory requirements (e.g., instructional time), a local educational agency (LEA) may claim attendance for apportionment, which is known as average daily attendance (ADA). The LEA will report its ADA in the Principal Apportionment Data Collection Web Application at the reporting periods required by state law.

ADA reported to the CDE is funded through the Principal Apportionment and is used to calculate entitlements for several programs including the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), the primary source of an LEA’s general purpose funding; and Special Education (AB 602).

The reported ADA is subject to the annual audit to ensure that LEAs are in compliance with the law.

The following attendance guidelines are intended to provide LEAs with an overview of the requirements to generate attendance and compute ADA for the purpose of apportionment. It is important to be aware that attendance guidelines may differ based on the type of LEA. Legal references are provided for each LEA type at the end of each section.

These guidelines are not all-encompassing. Attendance accounting can be a nuanced area. These guidelines are intended to cover the most common areas. This guidance is intended solely to provide general information and does not constitute legal advice or a legal service. Any unique or specific questions should be referred to the CDE’s School Fiscal Services Division at attendanceaccounting@cde.ca.gov.

School District

Requirements for Generating and Claiming Attendance Credits
Calculation of ADA
School Calendar
Reporting Deadlines
Instructional Time Requirements
Form J-13A
Legal References

Requirements for Generating and Claiming Attendance Credit

General Requirements

In order to generate and claim attendance for apportionment, school districts must meet all the applicable instructional time and scheduling requirements, and the students must be in attendance under the immediate supervision and control of a certificated employee of the school district while engaged in educational activities required of them for at least some part of each school day for which attendance is generated.

Weekend Classes (often referred to as Saturday School)

School districts can generate and claim make-up attendance for the purpose of apportionment through offering weekend make-up classes as long as the weekend make-up class offering meets statutory criteria to do so. The following are criteria to generate make-up attendance through weekend classes:

Attendance cannot result in a student earning more than 5 days of attendance for that week.
Attendance is voluntary, with the exception of truants as defined in Education Code (EC) Section 48260. The governing board may require truants to attend make-up classes on one day of the weekend.
Parental permission is required except the school district may require the attendance of truants.
Courses offered on a weekend must also be offered during the week.
Courses must be taught in-person by a certificated employee of the school district.
School day must meet minimum day requirements.
Weekend classes cannot be used to make up a suspension.
Free and/or reduced priced meals must be provided to needy students.
Students cannot generate more than one make-up day of attendance per weekend make-up day.

The make-up attendance through a weekend make-up class should be counted towards the week of the student’s absence. The school district should not change the attendance code to apply the make-up attendance on the absence day. Instead, the school district should keep the absence code recorded and apply the make-up attendance to the school week in which the student was absent.

While weekend make-up classes can be used to generate attendance for apportionment, attendance in weekend make-up classes cannot be counted as attendance days for the purpose of reporting attendance for chronic absenteeism.

Extended School Year (ESY)

ESY special education is considered an extension of the current school year, occurring between the end of the regular academic year and the beginning of the following academic year, and is included in the student’s annual individualized education program. The average daily attendance (ADA) attributed to the ESY program is reported in the fiscal year (FY) that the program ends. In order to claim the ESY attendance for funding, an ESY program must be provided for a minimum of 20 instructional days including holidays and minimum school day requirements must be met.

Calculation of ADA

General

ADA is calculated by dividing the number of days of student attendance by the number of calendar days school was taught.

Continuation High School

A day of apportionment equals 3 hours of attendance at a continuation high school. School districts cannot claim more than 15 hours of continuation high school attendance per student, per school week for apportionment. If a student attends less than 15 hours per week, attendance is proportionately reduced.

ESY

ESY program has a fixed divisor for the Annual Principal Apportionment reporting period.

Annual: Number of days of student attendance divided by 175

Community Day School

Community day school has a fixed divisor for each Principal Apportionment reporting period.

P-1: Number of days of student attendance divided by 70
P-2: Number of days of student attendance divided by 135
Annual: Number of days of student attendance divided by 180

Independent Study Ratio

The California EC provides for two different independent study program options, traditional and course based independent study. EC sections 51745.6 and 51749.5 require school districts that participate in either or both independent study programs to complete an independent study ratio calculation. The ratio calculation is done annually by the school district at the time of, and in connection with, the second period report of ADA. Pursuant to statute, the ratio of independent study ADA to independent study full-time equivalent (FTE) certificated employees should not exceed the ratio of ADA to FTE certificated employees for all other educational programs offered by that school district. ADA for independent study students that exceeds the ratio cannot be claimed for the purpose of apportionment. Although not reported for the purpose of apportionment, excess independent study ADA should be reported as independent study ADA not eligible for general funding through the Principal Apportionment Data Collection (PADC) Web Application.

For complete instructions on how to calculate ADA-to-FTE certificated employee ratios for independent study, with examples, visit the Independent Study Ratio Calculations web page.

School Calendar

For the purpose of attendance accounting, the school district attendance calendar begins either the week of July 1 or the first week that students are scheduled to attend. Each school month consists of four weeks, five days each. All school months consist of 20 days, begin on a Monday, and end on a Friday. Winter break may be included or excluded when configuring the school months for ADA reporting. A school month for the purpose of attendance accounting differs from a normal calendar month.

Reporting Deadlines

Attendance is reported based on full school months as of the cutoff date for each reporting period.

The First Principal attendance period, designated P-1, is the attendance count for all full school months during the period from July 1 through the last school month that ends on or before December 31 of the FY, and is used by the California Department of Education (CDE) to compute the P-1 Apportionment on or before February 20.
The Second Principal attendance period, designated P-2, is the attendance count for all full school months during the period from July 1 through the last school month that ends on or before April 15 of the FY, and is used by the CDE to compute the P-2 Apportionment on or before June 25.
The annual attendance period, designated Annual, is the attendance count for all full school months during the period from July 1 through June 30 of the FY, and is used by the CDE in combination with P-2 ADA to compute the Annual Apportionment processed at the P-1 Apportionment in the subsequent FY.

School districts are required to submit ADA data in the PADC Web Application at every reporting period. The ADA is used by CDE to calculate entitlements for several programs. Program funding is based on categories of ADA reported as of the specific period, in accordance with applicable provisions of statute and the Budget Act.

For more information on attendance reporting deadlines, visit the following Principal Apportionment web pages:

Instructional Time Requirements

School districts are required to offer a specific number of instructional days and minutes to all students. Instructional Time requirements consist of a separate day and minute requirement. Time used to meet instructional day and minute requirements must be under the immediate supervision and control of a certificated employee of the school district, with the exception of passing time in departmentalized settings that meets specific criteria. For additional resources, visit the Instructional Time web page.

Annual Instructional Time Requirements

The Instructional Time Requirement Table summarizes the annual day and minute requirements for school districts.

Equity Length of Time

Equity length of time requirements are based on the annual instructional minute offering.

Minimum School day

The governing board of the school district has the authority to set the length of the school day for the schools maintained by the school district. In order for a day to count as a day of instruction towards meeting the annual instructional day requirement, school must be scheduled for at least the minimum school day per grade span or instructional setting. A school district can also meet the minimum school day requirement through averaging the total instructional minutes over a span of consecutive days depending on the grade span or instructional setting. Note that in order to meet the annual minute requirements, school districts must offer more than the minimum school day on most school days.

Grade Span/Instructional Setting	Minimum School Day
Transitional Kindergarten Kindergarten	180 minutes or; the average of the total instructional minutes scheduled over a span of 10 consecutive days is equivalent to or greater than the minimum school day and any given day is not less than the absolute minimum of 60 minutes
Grades 1 – 3	230 minutes or; the average of the total instructional minutes scheduled over a span of 10 consecutive days is equivalent to or greater than the minimum school day and any given day is not less than the absolute minimum of 170 minutes
Grades 4 – 8	240 minutes or; the average of the total instructional minutes scheduled over a span of 10 consecutive days is equivalent to or greater than the minimum school day and any given day is not less than the absolute minimum of 180 minutes at an elementary setting the average of the total instructional minutes scheduled over a span of 2 consecutive days is equivalent to or greater than the minimum school day and any given day is not less than the absolute minimum of 180 minutes at a junior high setting
Grades 9 –12	240 minutes or; the average of the total instructional minutes scheduled over a span of 2 consecutive days is equivalent to or greater than the minimum school day and any given day is not less than the absolute minimum of 180 minutes
Continuation High School	180 minutes
Community Day School	360 minutes
Grades 11–12 and Concurrently enrolled part time in classes of a California State University or a University of California and Not enrolled in an Early College High School (ECHS)/Middle College High School (MCHS)	180 minutes and per EC Section 46146(c) students that are scheduled for 180 minutes generate ¾ of an ADA.
Enrolled in an ECHS/MCHS and Concurrently enrolled as special part-time students at a community college	180 minutes or; at least 900 instructional minutes during any five-school day period or; at least 1,800 instructional minutes during any 10-school day period. EC Section 46146.5(b)
Enrolled in an ECHS/MCHS and Not enrolled part time in courses of a California State University or University of California or as special part-time students at a community college	240 minutes EC Section 46146.5(c)

Form J-13A

The Request for Allowance of Attendance Due to Emergency Conditions, Form J-13A is used to obtain approval of attendance and instructional time credit pursuant to EC sections 41422, 46391, 46392, 46393 and California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 5, Section 428. Approval of a Form J-13A request from the CDE, combined with other attendance records, serves to document a school district’s compliance with instructional time laws and provide authority to maintain school for less than the required instructional days and minutes without incurring a fiscal penalty to the school district’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) funding.

Legal References

Text for the EC sections listed below can be found on the California Legislative Information website. Text for the CCR sections listed below can be found on the Thomson Reuters Westlaw website.

Topic	References
Requirements for Generating ADA	EC sections 46010.3 and 46300
Calculation of ADA	General – EC Section 46301 Continuation High School – EC Section 46170 Community Day School – EC Section 48660 Independent Study Ratio – EC sections 51745.6 and 51749.5
School Calendar for Attendance Accounting Purposes	Authority to create calendar – EC Section 37618 School year – EC Section 37200 School week – 51. Ops. Cal. Atty. Gen. 112 (1968) School month for the purpose of attendance accounting – EC sections 37201 and 41601
Reporting Deadline	P-1 and P-2 – EC Section 41601 Annual – EC Section 1244
Instructional Time Requirements	Annual instructional minutes – EC Section 46207 Annual instructional days – EC Section 46208 Minimum school day – EC sections 46100, 46112-46115, 46117, 46141-46142, 46146-46146.5, 46170, 46180, 46307, and 48663 Equity length of time – EC Section 37202 Weekend make-up classes – EC Section 37223
Form J-13A	School closure – EC sections 41422 and 46393 Material decrease – EC sections 46392, 46393, and CCR, Title 5, Section 428 Lost or destroyed attendance records – EC Section 46391

Charter School

Requirements for Generating and Claiming Attendance Credits
Calculation of ADA
School Calendar
Reporting Deadlines
Instructional Time Requirements
Form J-13A
Legal References

Requirements for Generating and Claiming Attendance Credit

General Requirements for Classroom-based Attendance

In order to generate and claim classroom-based attendance for apportionment, charter schools must meet all of the following:

Each student generating attendance is in pursuit of and has not earned a high school diploma, is a California resident and meets the age requirements pursuant to Education Code (EC) Section 47612(b).
Each student must be offered the required number of annual days and minutes per statute (see Instructional Time Requirements section).
At least 80 percent of the required annual instructional time offered by the charter school shall be at the schoolsite.
Students must be required to attend at least 80 percent of the statutory annual instructional minutes at the schoolsite with some exceptions for students concurrently enrolled at a charter Early College High School (ECHS) or a Middle College High School (MCHS) or at a charter school with a College and Career Access Pathway (CCAP) partnership agreement.
Students must be in attendance under the immediate supervision and control of a certificated employee of the charter school while engaged in educational activities required of them for at least some part of each school day for which attendance is generated.

Note: Schoolsite is a facility used principally for classroom instruction.

General Requirements for Nonclassroom-based Attendance

Attendance is considered nonclassroom-based if the 80 percent instructional time offering and specific scheduling conditions for classroom-based attendance are not met (see previous section).

Each student generating attendance is in pursuit of and has not earned a high school diploma, is a California resident and meets the age requirements pursuant to EC Section 47612(b).
Each student must be offered the required number of annual days and minutes per statute (see Instructional Time Requirements section).
Nonclassroom-based attendance is generated through independent study.
All independent study laws and regulations in EC sections 47612.5 and 51744-51749.6, and California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 5, sections 11700-11705 and 11960-11963.2 must be followed in order to generate average daily attendance (ADA) for apportionment.
Statute provides for traditional independent study and course based independent study.
A charter school whose total ADA population is more than 20 percent nonclassroom-based must have a funding determination approved by the State Board of Education.
Attendance for traditional independent study is generated based on the time value of the student’s work product as evaluated by a certified teacher employed by the charter school, or the combined time value of student work produect and student participation in synchronous instruction. A charter may only claim apportionment credit insofar as a student's participation in a synchronous instructional offering augments the time value of student work product (EC Section 51747.5(b)(2)(B)(ii)).
Attendance records documenting each student’s daily engagement of educational activities on calendar days when school is actually taught must be kept. The student’s work must be done on the scheduled school day for which it is claimed as attendance for the purpose of apportionment.

Classroom-based Attendance at a Charter ECHS or MCHS

In order to generate and claim classroom-based ADA for the purpose of apportionment, a charter ECHS or MCHS must meet the all the requirements outlined in the previous General Requirements for Classroom-based Attendance section and all the following scheduling requirements:

For students who are concurrently enrolled in Grades 11 and 12 in a charter ECHS or charter MCHS and are enrolled part time in courses of a California State University or a University of California, at least 80 percent of the required annual instructional time offered by the charter school must be offered at the schoolsite and the charter school must require students to attend at least 50 percent of the statutory annual instructional time at the schoolsite.
For students who are concurrently enrolled in a charter ECHS or charter MCHS and are enrolled as special part-time students at a community college, and will receive academic credit upon completion, at least 80 percent of the required annual instructional time offered by the charter school must be offered at the schoolsite and the charter school must require students to attend at least 50 percent of the statutory annual instructional time at the schoolsite.
For students that are enrolled in a charter ECHS or charter MCHS and not enrolled in courses of a California State University, a University of California, or as special part-time students at a community college, at least 80 percent of the required annual instructional time offered by the charter school must be offered at the schoolsite and the charter school must require students to attend at least 67 percent of the statutory annual instructional time at the schoolsite.

Classroom-based Attendance and a CCAP Partnership Agreement

In order to generate and claim classroom-based ADA for the purpose of apportionment, a charter with a CCAP partnership agreement must meet the all the requirements outlined in the previous General Requirements for Classroom-based Attendance section and all of the following scheduling requirements:

For students that are enrolled in both a charter school that has entered into a CCAP partnership agreement, and as special part-time students at a community college who will receive academic credit upon satisfactory completion of enrolled courses:
- At least 80 percent of the required annual instructional minutes offered by the charter school must be offered at the schoolsite.
- The charter school must require students to attend at least 50 percent of the statutory annual instructional time at the schoolsite.
For students that are enrolled in a charter school that has entered into a CCAP partnership agreement and not enrolled as special part-time students at a community college:
- At least 80 percent of the required annual instructional time offered by the charter school must be offered at the schoolsite.
- The charter school must require students to attend at least 80 percent of the statutory annual instructional time at the schoolsite.

Extended School Year (ESY)

ESY special education is considered an extension of the current school year, occurring between the end of the regular academic year and the beginning of the following academic year, and is included in the student’s annual individualized education program. The ADA attributed to the ESY program is reported in the fiscal year (FY) that the program ends. In order to claim the ESY attendance for funding, an ESY program must be provided for a minimum of 20 instructional days including holidays.

Weekend Classes (often referred to as Saturday School)

Charter schools cannot generate make-up attendance through classes offered on Saturdays or Sundays. EC Section 37223 specifies that the governing board of any district or county superintendent of schools may maintain classes on Saturday or Sunday or both for the purpose of making up attendance. Charter schools are not listed in EC Section 37223 as an entity that can offer classes on Saturday or Sunday for the purpose of making up attendance.

ADA at a charter school is based on the total number of days students attended divided by the actual number of days taught. Charter schools may operate school on Saturdays or Sundays, or both. Weekend classes are school days of attendance just like school days offered Monday through Friday, and pursuant to CCR, Title 5, Section 11960(a) would be included in the charter school’s divisor for computing ADA.

Home and Hospital

Charter schools can generate classroom-based attendance or nonclassroom-based attendance. Nonclassroom-based attendance must meet independent study statutory criteria. Charter schools cannot generate home hospital attendance for apportionment.

Calculation of ADA

General

ADA is calculated by dividing the number of days of student attendance by the number of calendar days school was taught.

ESY

ESY Program has a fixed divisor for the Annual Principal Apportionment reporting period. Annual: Number of days of student attendance divided by 175.

Independent Study Ratio

The California EC provides for two different independent study program options, traditional and course based independent study. EC sections 51745.6 and 51749.5 require charter schools that participate in either or both independent study programs to complete an independent study ratio calculation. The ratio calculation is done annually by the charter school at the time of, and in connection with, the second period report of ADA. Pursuant to statute, the ratio of independent study ADA to independent study full-time equivalent (FTE) certificated employees serving should not exceed the comparative ratio of ADA to FTE certificated employees for that charter school. ADA for independent study students that exceeds the ratio cannot be claimed for the purpose of apportionment. Although not reported for the purpose of apportionment, excess independent study ADA should be reported through the Principal Apportionment Data Collection (PADC) Web Application as independent study ADA not eligible for general funding.

For complete instructions on how to calculate ADA-to-FTE certificated employee ratios for independent study, with examples, visit the Independent Study Ratio Calculations web page.

School Calendar

For the purpose of attendance accounting, the attendance school calendar begins either the week of July 1, or the first week that students are scheduled to attend. It is common for charter schools to operate a five-day school week, however charter schools have the option to operate up to a six or seven-day school week (Sunday-Saturday). If the charter school offers classes on the weekend, it is counted as another instructional day and would be included in their divisor when calculating their ADA. Each school month consists of four full school weeks. Winter break may be included or excluded when configuring the school months for ADA reporting. A school month for the purpose of attendance accounting differs from a normal calendar month.

Reporting Deadlines

Attendance is reported based on full school months as of the cutoff date for each reporting period.

The First Principal attendance period, designated P-1, is the attendance count for all full school months during the period from July 1 through the last school month that ends on or before December 31 of the FY, and is used by the California Department of Education (CDE) to compute the P-1 Apportionment on or before February 20.
The Second Principal attendance period, designated P-2, is the attendance count for all full school months during the period from July 1 through the last school month that ends on or before April 15 of the FY, and is used by the CDE to compute the P-2 Apportionment on or before June 25.
The annual attendance period, designated Annual, is the attendance count for all full school months during the period from July 1 through June 30 of the FY, and is used by the CDE in combination with P-2 ADA to compute the Annual Apportionment processed at the P-1 Apportionment in the subsequent FY.

Charter schools are required to submit ADA data in the PADC Web Application at every reporting period. The ADA is used by CDE to calculate entitlements for several programs. Program funding is based on categories of ADA reported as of the specific period, in accordance with applicable provisions of statute and the Budget Act.

For more information on attendance reporting deadlines, visit the following Principal Apportionment web pages:

Instructional Time Requirements

Charter schools are required to offer a specific number of instructional days and minutes to all students. Instructional time requirements consist of a separate day and minute requirement. Time used to meet instructional day and minute requirements must be under the immediate supervision and control of an appropriately certificated employee of the charter school, with the exception of passing time in departmentalized settings that meets specific criteria. For additional resources, visit the Instructional Time web page.

The Instructional Time Requirement Table summarizes the annual day and minute requirements for a charter school.
A charter school’s ADA will be adjusted for not operating the required minimum number of school days pursuant to the CCR, Title 5, Section 11960.

Form J-13A

The Request for Allowance of Attendance Due to Emergency Conditions, Form J-13A is used to obtain approval of attendance and instructional time credit pursuant to EC sections 41422, 46391, 46392, 46393, and CCR, Title 5, Section 428. Approval of a Form J-13A request from the CDE, combined with other attendance records, serves to document a charter school’s compliance with instructional time laws and provide authority to maintain school for less than the required instructional days and minutes without incurring a fiscal penalty to the charter school’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) funding.

Legal References

Text for the EC sections listed below can be found on the California Legislative Information website. Text for the CCR sections listed below can be found on the Thomson Reuters Westlaw website.

Topic	References
Requirements for Generating ADA	Age requirements – CCR, Title 5, Section 11960 Valid teaching certification – EC sections 47605(l) Classroom-based ADA – EC sections 46146-46146.5, 47612.5(e)(1), and 76004(s)(2); and CCR, Title 5, Section 11963 Nonclassroom-based ADA – EC sections 47612.5(e)(2) and 51744-51749.6; and CCR, Title 5, sections 11700.1-11705 and 11963.1-11963.2
Calculation of ADA	General – CCR, Title 5, Section 11960 Independent Study Ratio – EC sections 51745.6 and 51749.5
Reporting Deadlines	P-1 and P-2 – EC Section 41601 Annual – EC Section 1244
Instructional Time Requirements	Annual instructional minutes – EC Section 47612.5(a)(1) Annual instructional days – EC Section 47612 and CCR, Title 5, Sections 11960
Form J-13A	School closure – EC sections 41422 and 46393 Material decrease – EC sections 46392, 46393, and CCR, Title 5, Section 428 Lost or destroyed attendance records – EC Section 46391

County Office of Education

Requirements for Generating and Claiming Attendance Credits
Calculation of ADA
School Calendar
Reporting Deadlines
Instructional Time Requirements
Form J-13A
Legal References

Requirements for Generating and Claiming Attendance Credit

General Requirements

In order to generate and claim attendance for apportionment, county offices of education (COE) must meet all the applicable instructional time and scheduling requirements, and the students must be in attendance under the immediate supervision and control of a certificated employee of the county while engaged in educational activities required of them for at least some part of each school day for which attendance is generated.

Weekend Classes (often referred to as Saturday School)

COEs can generate and claim make-up attendance for the purpose of apportionment through offering weekend make-up classes as long as the weekend make-up class offering meets statutory criteria to do so. The following are criteria to generate make-up attendance through weekend classes:

Attendance cannot result in a student earning more than 5 days of attendance for that week.
Attendance is voluntary, with the exception of truants as defined in Education Code (EC) Section 48260. The governing board may require truants to attend make-up classes on one day of the weekend.
Parental permission is required except the COE may require the attendance of truants.
Courses offered on a weekend must also be offered during the week.
Courses must be taught in-person by a certificated employee of the COE.
School day must meet minimum day requirement.
Weekend classes cannot be used to make up a suspension.
Free and/or reduced priced meals must be provided to needy students.
Students cannot generate more than one make-up day of attendance per weekend makeup day.

The make-up attendance through a weekend make-up class should be counted towards the week of the student’s absence. The COE should not change the attendance code to apply the make-up attendance on the absence day. Instead, the COE should keep the absence code recorded and apply the make-up attendance to that school week in which the student was absent.

Extended School Year (ESY)

Calculation of ADA

Special Education - Special Day Class

ADA is calculated by dividing the number of days of student attendance by the number of calendar days school was taught.

ESY

ESY program has a fixed divisor for the Annual Principal Apportionment reporting period.

Annual: Number of days of student attendance divided by 175.

County Community School

County community schools have a fixed divisor for each Principal Apportionment reporting period.

P-1: Number of days of student attendance divided by 70
P-2: Number of days of student attendance divided by 135
Annual: Number of days of student attendance divided by 175

Juvenile Court School

Juvenile court school has a fixed divisor for each Principal Apportionment reporting period.

P-1: Number of days of student attendance divided by 70
P-2: Number of days of student attendance divided by 135
Annual: Number of days of student attendance divided by 175

Independent Study Ratio

The California EC provides for two different independent study program options, traditional and course based independent study. EC sections 51745.6 and 51749.5 require COEs that participate in either or both independent study programs to complete an independent study ratio calculation. The ratio calculation is done annually by the COE at the time of, and in connection with, the second period report of ADA. Pursuant to statute the ratio of independent study ADA to independent study full-time equivalent (FTE) certificated employees should not exceed the comparative ratio of ADA to FTE certificated employees for that COE. ADA for independent study students that exceeds the ratio cannot be claimed for the purpose of apportionment. Although not reported for the purpose of apportionment, excess independent study ADA should be reported through Principal Apportionment Data Collection (PADC) Web Application as independent study ADA not eligible for general funding.

For complete instructions on how to calculate ADA-to-FTE certificated employee ratios for independent study, with examples, visit the Independent Study Ratio Calculations web page.

School Calendar

For the purpose of attendance accounting, the COE’s school attendance calendar begins either the week of July 1 or the first week that students are scheduled to attend. Each school month consists of four weeks, five days each. All school months consist of 20 days, begin on a Monday, and end on a Friday. Winter break may be included or excluded when configuring the school months for ADA reporting. A school month for the purpose of attendance accounting differs from a normal calendar month.

Reporting Deadlines

Attendance is reported based on full school months as of the cutoff date for each reporting period.

The First Principal attendance period, designated P-1, is the attendance count for all full school months during the period from July 1 through the last school month that ends on or before December 31 of the FY, and is used by the California Department of Education (CDE) to compute the P-1 Apportionment on or before February 20.
The Second Principal attendance period, designated P-2, is the attendance count for all full school months during the period from July 1 through the last school month that ends on or before April 15 of the FY, and is used by the CDE to compute the P-2 Apportionment on or before June 25.
The annual attendance period, designated Annual, is the attendance count for all full school months during the period from July 1 through June 30 of the FY, and is used by the CDE in combination with P-2 ADA to compute the Annual Apportionment processed at the P-1 Apportionment in the subsequent FY.

COEs are required to submit ADA data in the PADC Web Application at every reporting period. The ADA is used by CDE to calculate entitlements for several programs. Program funding is based on categories of ADA reported as of the specific period, in accordance with applicable provisions of statute and the Budget Act.

For more information on attendance reporting deadlines, visit the following Principal Apportionment web pages:

Instructional Time Requirements

Time used to meet instructional day and minute requirements must be under the immediate supervision and control of an appropriately certificated employee of the county, with the exception of passing time in departmentalized settings that meets specific criteria.

Special Education - Special Day Class

COEs are required to offer a specific number of instructional days and minutes per year to all special education students in a special day class. Instructional time requirements consist of separate day and minute requirement. A Special Education – Special Day Class operated by a COE is required to offer 180 days of instruction and the following instructional minutes per grade span per FY:

Transitional Kindergarten/Kindergarten: 36,000 instructional minutes
Grades 1–3: 50,400 instructional minutes
Grades 4–8: 54,000 instructional minutes
Grades 9–12: 64,800 instructional minutes

In order for a day to count as a day of instruction towards meeting the annual instructional day requirement, school must be scheduled for at least the minimum school day pursuant to EC Section 46307.

County Community School

Students attending a county community school must be scheduled for at least the minimum school day, which is 240 minutes.

Juvenile Court School

Students attending a juvenile court school must be scheduled for at least the minimum school day, which is 240 minutes. Juvenile Court School must operate every weekday of the calendar year except for board designated holidays or in-service days.

Form J-13A

The Request for Allowance of Attendance Due to Emergency Conditions, Form J-13A is used to obtain approval of attendance and instructional time credit pursuant to EC sections 41422, 46391, 46392, 46393, and CCR, Title 5, Section 428. Approval of a Form J-13A request from the CDE, combined with other attendance records, serves to document a COE compliance with instructional time laws and provide authority to maintain school for less than the required instructional days and minutes without incurring a fiscal penalty to the COE’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) funding.

Legal References

Text for the EC sections listed below can be found on the California Legislative Information website. Text for the CCR sections listed below can be found on the Thomson Reuters Westlaw website.

Topic	References
Requirements for Generating ADA	EC sections 46010.3 and 46300
Calculation of ADA	Special education special day class – EC Section 41601(b) County community school – EC Section 41601(b) Juvenile court school – EC Section 41601(b) Independent study ratio – EC sections 51745.6 and 51749.5
School Calendar for Attendance Accounting Purposes	School year – EC Section 37200 School week – 51. Ops. Cal. Atty. Gen. 121 (1968) School month for the purpose of attendance accounting – EC sections 37201 and 41601
Reporting Deadline	P-1 and P-2 – EC Section 41601 Annual – EC Section 1244
Instructional Time Requirements	Special education special day class – EC sections 46200.5 and 46201.5 County community school – EC Section 1984 Juvenile court school – EC Section 48645.3
Form J-13A	School closure – EC sections 41422 and 46393 Material decrease – EC sections 46392, 46393, and CCR, Title 5, Section 428 Lost or destroyed attendance records – EC Section 46391

Resources

Instructional Time Requirements(Updated 01-Aug-2021)

Excel version of the Instructional Time Requirements(XLSX)
The Excel version of the instructional time requirements above. Not applicable to the 2020–21 school year, see below for 2020–21 requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Transitional Kindergarten
Transitional Kindergarten FAQs
FAQs about the fiscal requirements and the related penalties for Transitional Kindergarten.

Dual Enrollment
Dual Enrollment Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs about Dual Enrollment pertaining to Instructional Time and Attendance Accounting.

Form J-13A
Request for Allowance of Attendance Due to Emergency Conditions

Independent Study
AA & IT Independent Study Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)(Posted 25-Sep-2023)
FAQs about independent study requirements, attendance accounting (AA), instructional time (IT), and the independent study ratio calculation.

Instructional Time Penalty

Auditor Calculation of Instructional Time Penalty

Estimating the Cost of an Audit Finding

Correspondence

Senate Bill (SB) 291 Pupil Rights: Recess Letter (Dated 29-Mar-2024)

Assembly Bill (AB) 130 Independent Study Letter (Dated 15-Jul-2021)

Instructional Minutes and Breakfast in the Classroom (Dated 01-Jul-2010)

Fiscal Management Advisory 86-06 (PDF)

Electronic Attendance Accounting (Dated 03-Aug-2009)

Attendance Accounting for On-line Classes (Dated 24-Apr-2001)

Kindergarten Management Advisory 90-10 (PDF; Dated 01-Sep-1990)

Resources by Fiscal Year

Fiscal Year 2023-24 Attendance Accounting and Instructional Time Requirements Presentation (PDF)

The School Fiscal Services Division hosted a webinar on September 26, 2023 to provide a general overview of instructional time requirements, the methods for claiming average daily attendance (ADA), the process for maintaining apportionment in the event of an emergency (Form J-13A), and the conditions of apportionment for programs such as independent study and transitional kindergarten.

2022-23 Instructional Time and Attendance Accounting Resources
Access to the 2022-23 Independent Study Attendance Accounting and Instructional Time FAQs and 2022-23 Independent Study Attendance Accounting and Instructional Time Presentation.

2021-22 Instructional Time and Attendance Accounting Resources
Access to the 2021-22 Independent Study Attendance Accounting and Instructional Time FAQs and 2021-22 Independent Study Attendance Accounting and Instructional Time Presentation.

2020–21 Instructional Time and Attendance Accounting Resources
Resources and documents applicable only to the 2020–21 school year for the Principal Apportionment, Instructional Time, Attendance Accounting, Attendance Reporting, and the Form J-13A.

Questions: Principal Apportionment Section | attendanceaccounting@cde.ca.gov | 916-324-4541

Last Reviewed: Wednesday, June 26, 2024

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Form J-13A (added 26-Jun-2024)
Information regarding submission of the Request for Allowance of Attendance Due to Emergency Conditions, Form J-13A.
Allowance of Electronic Form J-13A Submittals (added 20-Jun-2024)
This letter is to inform you that effective immediately, the California Department of Education (CDE) will accept electronic Request for Allowance of Attendance Due to Emergency Conditions, Form J-13A submittals.
Frequently Asked Questions: COVID-19 (added 20-Jun-2024)
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the closure of schools in response to COVID-19, the reporting of attendance for apportionment, and instructional time for the 2019–20 school year.
Frequently Asked Questions - Form J-13A (added 20-Jun-2024)
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the submittal and approval process of Form J-13A.
Instructional Time Requirements (added 20-Jun-2024)
School District and Charter School Instructional Time Requirement Table.

Management Advisory 90-01 (added 20-Jun-2024)
Average Daily Attendance Credit During Periods of Emergency
Form J-13A Submission Documents (added 20-Jun-2024)
Documents for Request for Allowance of Attendance Due to Emergency Conditions, Form J-13A submissions.