Governor Extends LCAP Deadline to December 15, 2020

04.24.2020

On April 23, 2020, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-56-20, giving school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools (collectively “LEAs”) until December 15, 2020 to adopt next year’s Local Control Accountability Plans (“LCAP”). The Executive Order also waives several statutory deadlines and requirements that LEAs are otherwise required to adhere to where compliance has become infeasible as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Executive Order additionally waives certain requirements pertaining to physical education and physical fitness, and additionally allows certain public meetings (e.g. school site councils, charter schools) to be conducted via teleconference.

LCAP

The Executive Order extends the following deadlines:

• LEA deadlines to adopt LCAP and Budget Overviews for Parents are extended from July 1, 2020 to December 15, 2020.
• The deadline for County Superintendents of Schools and the Superintendent of Public Instruction to approve LCAPs is extended to January 14, 2021.

The LCAP deadline extension is conditioned on an LEA’s adoption of a written report at a meeting concurrent with its adoption of the annual budget.  The Executive Order directs the California Department of Education to develop a form for use to create the written report.  Further, the written report must:

• Explain changes to program offerings that the LEA has made in response to school closures to address the COVID-19 emergency;
• Explain major impacts of such closures on students and families, including:
  • Description of how the LEA is meeting the needs of unduplicated pupils, defined to include low-income, foster youths, and English Learner students, during the period of school closures; and
  • Any steps taken by the LEA, consistent with Governor Newsom’s March 13, 2020 Executive Order, to support the continued delivery of distance learning, provision of school meals, and supervision of students during ordinary school hours;
• Be submitted in conjunction with the adopted annual budget; and
• Be posted on the homepage of an LEA’s website.

The Executive Order also waives the use of a new LCAP template adopted at the State Board of Education’s January 2020 Board meeting.

Annual Budget

For budgets adopted by an LEA on or before July 1, 2020, the following related requirements are also waived:

• Adoption of an LCAP prior to adopting a budget. (Education Code §§ 42127(a)(2)(A); 1622(a));
• Including budget expenditures identified in the LCAP. (Education Code §§ 42127(a)(2)(A), 1622(a));
• Disapproval of a budget that does not include expenditures necessary to implement the LCAP by September 15, 2020 and November 8, 2020, respectively (normally a function of County Superintendents of Schools or the Superintendent of Public Instruction). (Education Code §§ 42127(c)(3), 42127(d)(1), 1622(b)(2));
• Prohibition of County Superintendents of Schools in adopting or approving a budget before the LCAP for the budget year is approved (Education Code § 42127(d)(2)); and
• Prohibition of the Superintendent of Public Instruction in approving a budget if the county board of education has not adopted a LCAP or if the budget does not include the expenditures necessary to implement the LCAP. (Education Code §1622(d)).

Other Waivers

The Executive Order also waives the July 1, 2020 requirements that LEAs review data to be publicly reported for the California School Dashboard in conjunction with the adoption of the LCAP.  The Executive Order states that the Governor plans to work in partnership with the Legislature to address other requirements and deadlines pertaining to the Dashboard.

The Executive Order also addresses the infeasibility of meeting physical education requirements as a result of COVID-19, waiving the requirements for minimum instructional minutes, provisioning of adequate facilities, administering physical fitness performance tests, and the Department of Education’s collection of such test data.

Finally, the Executive Order explicitly extends the authority to hold public meetings via teleconferencing (under the Governor’s March 17, 2020 Executive Order) to meetings of school site councils and similar bodies subject to the “mini Brown Act,” pursuant to Education Code section 35140, et seq.  The Executive Order also extends the same teleconferencing authorization to charter schools and entities managing charter schools, pursuant to Education Code section 47604.1.

LEAs must take caution and review all statutory, regulatory, and other orders to ensure compliance with the latest requirements.  If you wish to review the entirety of the Executive Order N-56-20, please click here.  If you have any additional questions please contact your AALRR attorney or the authors of this alert.

This AALRR publication is intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in reaching a conclusion in a particular area of law. Applicability of the legal principles discussed may differ substantially in individual situations. Receipt of this or any other AALRR publication does not create an attorney-client relationship. The Firm is not responsible for inadvertent errors that may occur in the publishing process.

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