Key Takeaways

  • Attendance in the 20-21 school year will not actually impact ADA and that attendance accounting will be focused on student engagement, chronic absenteeism, and truancy.
  • Tracking of what is constituting engagement on any given day in each period and how that counts for all-day attendance can just be as simple as teachers recording "A" in each period if they don't engage but if any teacher doesn't mark an "A", then the All-Day code remains blank.  A weekly log of engagement items must be kept on each student and can be a gradebook assignment or recorded in a separate LMS system. There are Hybrid Procedures that may also be considered.
  • Weekly hour requirements for PE have been eliminated


Link: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB98 


Key Sections of the Bill 

43500.

For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:


(a) “Distance learning” means instruction in which the pupil and instructor are in different locations and pupils are under the general supervision of a certificated employee of the local educational agency. Distance learning may include, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Interaction, instruction, and check-ins between teachers and pupils through the use of a computer or communications technology.

(2) Video or audio instruction in which the primary mode of communication between the pupil and certificated employee is online interaction, instructional television, video, telecourses, or other instruction that relies on computer or communications technology.

(3) The use of print materials incorporating assignments that are the subject of written or oral feedback.

(b) “In-person instruction” means instruction under the immediate physical supervision and control of a certificated employee of the local educational agency while engaged in educational activities required of the pupil.

(c) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school, excluding a charter school classified as a nonclassroom-based charter school pursuant to Sections 47612.5 and 47634.2 as of the 2019–20 fiscal year.



43501.

For the 2020–21 school year, the minimum schoolday for a local educational agency is as follows:

(a) 180 instructional minutes in kindergarten.

(b) 230 instructional minutes in grades 1 to 3, inclusive.

(c) 240 instructional minutes in grades 4 to 12, inclusive.

(d) 180 instructional minutes for pupils in grades 11 and 12 that are also enrolled part time in classes of the California State University or the University of California for which academic credit will be provided upon satisfactory completion of enrolled courses.

(e) 180 instructional minutes for any pupil who is also a special part-time student enrolled in a community college under Article 1 (commencing with Section 48800) of Chapter 5 of Part 27 of Division 4 and who will receive academic credit upon satisfactory completion of enrolled courses.

(f) 180 instructional minutes for pupils enrolled in a continuation high school.



43502.

(a) For purposes of calculating apportionments for the 2020–21 fiscal year, a local educational agency shall offer in-person instruction, and may offer distance learning, pursuant to the requirements of this part.

(b) Notwithstanding Sections 41601, 42238.05 to 42238.053, inclusive, and 46010, for purposes of calculating apportionments for the 2020–21 fiscal year for a local educational agency, except for a new charter school that is authorized by the governing board of a school district or county board of education on or before June 1, 2020, or approved by the state board at its July 8 and 9, 2020, meeting and that is beginning instruction in the 2020–21 school year, the department shall use the average daily attendance in the 2019–20 fiscal year reported for both the second period and the annual period apportionment that included all full school months from July 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020, inclusive, and extended year average daily attendance attributed to the 2019–20 school year reported pursuant to Section 96 of the act adding this part. Any positive adjustment to average daily attendance for the 2019–20 fiscal year in the second or annual period attendance report submitted to the Superintendent after August 17, 2020, shall be substantiated by concurrence from an independent auditor.

(c) For the 2020–21 fiscal year, a local educational agency shall satisfy the annual instructional day requirements described in Sections 41420, 46200.5, and 46208, and in Section 11960 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations through in-person instruction or a combination of in-person instruction and distance learning pursuant to this part.

(d)

(1) For the 2020–21 fiscal year, a local educational agency shall not be required to offer the annual instructional minutes that it would otherwise have offered pupils to meet the requirements of Sections 46207 and 47612.5, or the implementing regulations for those sections.

(2) For the 2020–21 fiscal year, a local educational agency shall not be required to offer the minimum instructional minutes in physical education required pursuant to Sections 51210, 51220, 51222, and 51223.

(e) For the 2020–21 school year, instructional minutes shall be determined as follows:

(1) For in-person instruction, instructional minutes shall be based on time scheduled under the immediate physical supervision and control of an employee of the local educational agency who possesses a valid certification document, registered as required by law.

(2) For distance learning, instructional time shall be based on the time value of assignments as determined, and certified to, by an employee of the local educational agency who possesses a valid certification document, registered as required by law.

(3) For a combined day of instruction delivered through both in-person instruction and distance learning, time scheduled under the immediate supervision of an employee of the local educational agency who possesses a valid certification document can be combined with assignments made under the general supervision of an employee of the local educational agency who possesses a valid certification document as registered by law to meet the equivalent of a minimum day of instruction.

(f) For the 2020–21 school year, the process by which a local educational agency receives credit for a material decrease in average daily attendance for apportionment pursuant to Section 46392 due to an event described in Section 46392 that occurs during the 2020–21 fiscal year is suspended for all local educational agencies.

(g) Except for a new charter school that is authorized by the governing board of a school district or county board of education on or before June 1, 2020, or approved by the state board at its July 8 and 9, 2020, meeting, and that is beginning instruction in the 2020–21 school year, for purposes of any calculations that would use average daily attendance, the Superintendent, consistent with subdivision (b), shall use the local educational agency’s average daily attendance in the 2019–20 school year in place of its average daily attendance in the 2020–21 school year.



43503.

(a)

(1) For the 2020–21 school year, a local educational agency that offers distance learning shall comply with the requirements of subdivision (b).

(2) Distance learning may be offered under either of the following circumstances:

(A) On a local educational agency or schoolwide level as a result of an order or guidance from a state public health officer or a local public health officer.

(B) For pupils who are medically fragile or would be put at risk by in-person instruction, or who are self-quarantining because of exposure to COVID-19.

(b) Distance learning shall include all of the following:

(1) Confirmation or provision of access for all pupils to connectivity and devices adequate to participate in the educational program and complete assigned work.

(2) Content aligned to grade level standards that is provided at a level of quality and intellectual challenge substantially equivalent to in-person instruction.

(3) Academic and other supports designed to address the needs of pupils who are not performing at grade level, or need support in other areas, such as English learners, pupils with exceptional needs, pupils in foster care or experiencing homelessness, and pupils requiring mental health supports.

(4) Special education, related services, and any other services required by a pupil’s individualized education program pursuant to Section 56341, including the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 56345, with accommodations necessary to ensure that individualized education program can be executed in a distance learning environment.

(5) Designated and integrated instruction in English language development pursuant to Section 11300 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations for English learners, including assessment of English language proficiency, support to access curriculum, the ability to reclassify as fully English proficient, and, as applicable, support for dual language learning.

(6) Daily live interaction with certificated employees and peers for purposes of instruction, progress monitoring, and maintaining school connectedness. This interaction may take the form of internet or telephonic communication, or by other means permissible under public health orders. If daily live interaction is not feasible as part of regular instruction, the governing board or body of the local educational agency shall develop, with parent and stakeholder input, an alternative plan for frequent live interaction that provides a comparable level of service and school connectedness.

(c) Pursuant to Sections 49550 and 47613.5, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools shall provide nutritionally adequate meals for pupils who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals, whether engaged in in-person instruction or distance learning, contingent upon the department receiving an approved waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture, for each day of the scheduled school year.



43504.

(a) The compulsory education requirements described in Section 48200 continue to apply for the 2020–21 school year.

(b) A local educational agency shall offer in-person instruction to the greatest extent possible.

(c) For the 2020–21 school year, for purposes of the requirement on school districts to offer 180 instructional days per school year pursuant to Section 46208 and the requirement on charter schools to offer 175 instructional days per school year pursuant to Section 11960 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, an instructional day is a day in which all pupils are scheduled for the length of the day established by the governing board or body of the local educational agency in a classroom under the immediate supervision of a certificated employee or in distance learning that meets the minimum requirements described in this part.

(d)

(1) Each local educational agency shall document daily participation for each pupil on each schoolday, in whole or in part, for which distance learning is provided. A pupil who does not participate in distance learning on a schoolday shall be documented as absent for that schoolday.

(2) For purposes of this section, daily participation may include, but is not limited to, evidence of participation in online activities, completion of regular assignments, completion of assessments, and contacts between employees of the local educational agency and pupils or parents or guardians.

(e) Each local educational agency shall ensure that a weekly engagement record is completed for each pupil documenting synchronous or asynchronous instruction for each whole or partial day of distance learning, verifying daily participation, and tracking assignments.

(f)

(1) A pupil who does not participate daily in either in-person instruction pursuant to subdivision (b) or distance learning pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be deemed absent by the local educational agency. A local educational agency shall use documentation of the absence for purposes of reporting its chronic absenteeism rates in its local control and accountability plan.

(2) Each local educational agency shall develop written procedures for tiered reengagement strategies for all pupils who are absent from distance learning for more than three schooldays or 60 percent of the instructional days in a school week. These procedures shall include, but are not limited to, verification of current contact information for each enrolled pupil, daily notification to parents or guardians of absences, a plan for outreach from the school to determine pupil needs including connection with health and social services as necessary and, when feasible, transitioning the pupil to full-time in-person instruction.

(g) Each school shall regularly communicate with parents and guardians regarding a pupil’s academic progress.

(h) The Controller shall include instructions necessary to enforce the requirements of this part in the 2020–21 audit guide required by Section 14502.1.

(i)

(1) For a school district or charter school that offers fewer than the instructional days required in subdivision (c), the Superintendent shall withhold from the local educational agency’s local control funding formula grant apportionment for the prior year average daily attendance of each affected grade level, the sum of .0056 multiplied by that apportionment for each day less than what was required pursuant to this section.

(2) For a local educational agency that does not meet the requirements in subdivision (d), (e), or (f), the Superintendent shall withhold from the local educational agency’s local control funding formula grant apportionment the percentage of days out of compliance multiplied by the derived value of average daily attendance, all multiplied by the average daily attendance of each affected grade level. For purposes of this paragraph, the percentage of days out of compliance is equivalent to the number of days out of compliance divided by the total number of instructional days required to be offered.

(3) A local educational agency that provides distance learning shall not be penalized for instruction provided before September 1, 2020, that fails to meet the requirements of this section.



43505.

(a) For purposes of calculating apportionments for the 2020–21 fiscal year and for any other calculations that would be based on average daily attendance in the 2020–21 school year, for all newly operational charter schools that are authorized by the governing board of a school district or county board of education on or before June 1, 2020, or approved by the state board at its July 8 and 9, 2020, meeting and that are beginning instruction in the 2020–21 school year, the department shall use the enrollment of that charter school as of Information Day, October 7, 2020, based on data reported in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 60900) of Part 33 of Division 4, reduced by either the statewide average rate of absence for elementary school districts for kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, or the statewide average rate of absence for high school districts for grades 9 to 12, inclusive, as applicable, as calculated by the department for the prior fiscal year with the resultant figures and rates rounded to the nearest tenth.

(b)

(1) For purposes of calculating apportionments for the 2020–21 fiscal year and for any other calculations that would be based on average daily attendance in the 2020–21 school year, for a nonclassroom-based charter school described in Section 47612.5 as of the 2019–20 fiscal year, the department shall use the nonclassroom-based charter school’s average daily attendance in the 2019–20 fiscal year pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 43502.

(2) For the 2020–21 school year, a nonclassroom-based charter school described in Section 47612.5 as of the 2019–20 fiscal year shall adopt a learning continuity and attendance plan pursuant to Section 43509, and shall not be required to adopt a local control and accountability plan pursuant to Section 47606.5.

(3) A nonclassroom-based charter school described in Section 47612.5 as of the 2019–20 fiscal year shall continue to comply with all of the statutory requirements in Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 51745) of Chapter 5 of Part 28 of Division 4 and the implementing regulations for that article.



43506.

(a) A charter school that offers distance learning pursuant to this part is not required to submit a request to its chartering authority for a material revision to its charter pursuant to Section 47607 in order to offer distance learning.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 47612.5, an existing classroom-based charter school that offers distance learning pursuant to this part and did not receive a nonclassroom-based funding determination in the 2019–20 fiscal year pursuant to Section 47612.5 shall not be considered a nonclassroom-based charter school in the 2020–21 fiscal year because it provides distance learning and shall not be required to submit a request for a funding determination.



43507.

Notwithstanding Sections 15948.1 and 15103 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, for purposes of calculating the local control funding formula grade span adjustment pursuant to Section 42238.02 or the class size penalty pursuant to Sections 41376 and 41378, “class” may include instruction offered through distance learning or in-person instruction pursuant to this part.



43508.

Notwithstanding Sections 14022, 14022.3, and 14022.5, for purposes of computing the minimum funding obligation for school districts and community colleges pursuant to Sections 8 and 8.5 of Article XVI of the California Constitution for the 2020–21 fiscal year, both of the following definitions apply:

(a) “Change in enrollment” means the most recent available count of average daily attendance for the 2019–20 school year, adjusted for the change in enrollment between the most recent available count of average daily attendance for the 2018–19 school year and the most recent available count of average daily attendance for the 2019–20 school year.

(b) “Enrollment” means the most recent available count of average daily attendance for the 2019–20 school year.