California Code of Regulation Title 5 Section 11960 defines regular average daily attendance (ADA) in a charter school, and establishes the calculation for determining ADA. The calculation divides the total number of pupil-days attended by the total number of days school was actually taught.
This works well for most charter schools, the exception being those who have multiple calendars. Multiple calendars would result in increasing the divisor in the above calculation, thereby reducing the allowable reimbursement per student. Since charter school attendance accounting is now being audited, it is recommended that charter schools check for compliance with this regulation, or prepare a general waiver request if they have multiple calendars.
For New Charters:
If a new charter school is using multiple calendars, then that charter school needs to immediately seek a general waiver request under Education Code (EC) sections 33050 through their chartering agency. The general waiver will allow a charter school to calculate ADA in the same manner that a multi-track school district does. The links for a General Waiver Request form is below and provide the necessary documentation that must be completed.
In July 2000, the State Board of Education (SBE) established Waiver Policy number 00-05 on Charter School ADA (see link below). This policy explains the requirements a charter school must meet to qualify for a waiver.
All waivers will be reviewed by the California Department of Education, and if the specific conditions of your waiver request and accompanying calendars meet the requirements of Waiver Policy 00-05, the waiver can go forward to the SBE on their waiver consent calendar. If there is some variance requested from the policy, the waiver request will go to the SBE for action, and the charter school administration would have to come to the SBE meeting to discuss the waiver request. The timeline for getting waivers to the SBE is linked below.
For Existing Charters:
Some existing charter schools may have prior year waivers, that were approved by the SBE. Many of these were approved "on the condition that EC 33051(c) will apply" so it is sometimes assumed that the waiver is permanent. However, the entire EC citation is as follows:
EC 33051(c) "The governing board of a school district that has requested and received a general waiver under this article for two consecutive years for the same general waiver is not required to reapply annually if the information contained on the request remains current. The State Board of Education may require updated information for the request whenever it determines that information to be necessary. Nothing in this section shall prevent the State Board of Education from rescinding a waiver if additional information supporting a rescission is made available to the board."
Charter schools with approved waivers are advised to make sure that the specific conditions under which the waiver was granted is still the same and remains current. For example, if the original waiver was approved for two tracks, but now there are three different calendars, the waiver is no longer current, and the charter school needs to request a new one.
If the charter school has no previous waivers, or needs help with making a new request, the CDE Waiver Office will be able to assist you at (916) 319-0824. The general waiver request form must be used by the charter school or the chartering agency. If the request is made by the chartering agency through a vote of their governing board on behalf of a charter school, the completed form may be sent in. If a charter school wants to apply directly, using EC Section 33054, the process is longer and is described in the Charter School Certification form, available through the link below.
It is important not to delay in filing this waiver request if one is necessary, as under SBE Policy and EC sections 41344 to 41344.3, the SBE is not allowed to waive a fiscal penalty relating from an apportionment related audit penalty.
For more information and forms:
