Guidance for Wildfire Executive Order N-17-25

Early Education Division Email

Date Sent: February 12, 2025

Expires: June 30, 2025

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

Overview

The EO is extending this requirement:

Any applicable deadline to complete a Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP), as specified in the California Code of Regulations, Title 5 (5 CCR), Section 17702, is extended until June 30, 2025, for California State Preschool Program contractors impacted by the emergency in LA and Ventura Counties.

Suspension of Limited Administrative Costs

The requirement imposed by Education Code (EC) section 8258 limiting administrative costs for state-funded preschool programs to fifteen percent of net reimbursable costs is suspended for contracting agencies directly impacted by this emergency in LA and Ventura Counties. This means that the California Department of Education (CDE) may reimburse approvable administrative costs that exceed the 15 percent limitations for CSPP contractors directly impacted by the wildfires in LA and Ventura Counties. All additional administrative costs beyond the 15 percent limit must be incurred prior to June 30, 2025, to be considered reimbursable.

Enrolling Families Experiencing Homelessness

The requirement to submit required documentation for families in LA and Ventura Counties experiencing homelessness and enrolling in a CSPP, as specified in 5 CCR Section 17771(e), is suspended for 60 days. This means that families impacted by the fires and enrolling in CSPP under this eligibility category through January 1, 2026, will have a total of 90 days from the date the application for services is signed to provide all applicable documentation.

As a reminder, when the basis of eligibility is family experiencing homelessness, the contractor shall permit the enrollment of children to begin immediately upon the parent signing the application for services. The parent shall provide all required documentation, including immunization records, within 90 days (30 days allowed from 5 CCR Section 17771 and additional 60 days allowed from the EO) from the date the application for services is signed.

Program Self Evaluation

The requirement to conduct the parent survey, as specified in 5 CCR Section 17710, is suspended for CSPP contractors impacted by the fires in LA and Ventura counties through June 30, 2025. The results of the parent survey are typically collected through the Program Self Evaluation (PSE) process; therefore, contractors impacted by the fires in LA and Ventura counties are not required to complete the parent survey requirements for the 2024–25 program year.

Parent Survey

The requirement to conduct the parent survey, as specified in 5 CCR Section 17710, is suspended for CSPP contractors impacted by the fires in LA and Ventura counties through June 30, 2025. The results of the parent survey are typically collected through the PSE process; therefore, contractors impacted by the fires in LA and Ventura counties are not required to complete the parent survey requirements for the 2024–25 program year.

Desired Results Developmental Profile

Any applicable due dates to complete the DRDP for all enrolled children are extended until June 30, 2025, for CSPP contractors that are impacted by the emergency in LA and Ventura counties. This does not waive the requirement to complete the DRDP, it just extends the timeline in which the assessment needs to be completed. If the program year ends before June 30, 2025, then the contractor must complete all DRDPs before the end of the program year.

Local Educational Agencies (LEA) providing special education services to children 0 through 5 years of age with Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs) or Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) may indicate their requirement to complete the DRDP sooner than June 30, 2025 deadline, and CSPP Contractors shall collaborate with the special education program staff, where possible, to support the completion of the DRDP to meet their requirement.

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.

If you have programmatic questions, please contact your assigned Early Education Division (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 fiscal analyst. The fiscal analyst directory can be accessed at the following link: https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/cd/faad.asp.

Sincerely,
Early Education Division
California Department of Education