Governor Aids School Reconstruction and Assistance in the Wake of California Wildfires

01.17.2025

On January 14, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-6-25 (“Executive Order”) to aid school districts in responding to the disasters caused by a series of wildfires (“Fires”) that affected many Californians. The following is a non-exhaustive summary of the key provisions of the Executive Order:

Exemption from Funding Penalties

Under current California law, school districts that fail to meet statutorily mandated minimum requirements face penalties in the form of reduced state funding. The Executive Order exempts school districts affected by the Fires (“Districts”) from these penalties if they fail to meet certain minimum standards, subject to certain conditions.

California law requires school districts to maintain at least 175 regular school days (“Minimum School Days”) to qualify for an average-daily-attendance-based apportionment from the State School Fund. Typically, school districts unable to meet this requirement can still qualify for funding by filing an affidavit with the Superintendent of Public Instruction (“Superintendent”).

The Executive Order suspends this affidavit requirement, allowing the Districts to claim the exemption by simply submitting a written certification to the Superintendent stating that the school closures were due to the Fires.
The Local Control Funding Formula (“LCFF”) penalizes school districts that fail to meet minimum instructional minutes by reducing state apportionments.

The Executive Order exempts the Districts from these penalties if fire-related necessities prevent them from meeting LCFF requirements.

Exemption from Class Size Requirements

The Education Code sets forth class-size requirements for transitional kindergarten through grade 8. The Executive Order suspends these requirements for Los Angeles County school districts affected by the Fires. Districts accommodating TK–8 students displaced by the Fires are not currently required to comply with class-size limits.

Exemption from Residency Requirements

Under the Education Code, students must attend school based on the residency, which is often established based on the parents’ or guardian’s residency. Under the Executive Order, students of the Districts are not subjected to the residency requirements for the 2024-2025 school year. Therefore, the students of the Districts may attend schools in other school districts without satisfying the residency requirement.

Support for Displaced Students

The Executive Order encourages all Local Education Agencies (“LEA”) to enroll students who are displaced by the Fires. In addition, the Executive Order urges the LEAs with valid collective bargaining agreements with an exclusive bargaining representative to relax the provisions regarding staffing ratios to accommodate the displaced students.

Exemption from Building and Safety Standards for School Facilities

California Law prescribes certain building and safety standards, such as standards for disabled access and fire safety, for school facilities. The Executive Order relaxes these requirements for Districts and their temporary facilities used to accommodate students affected by the Fires.

Authority to Establish Out-of-Boundary Temporary School Facilities

Under the Education Code, school districts are generally not allowed to establish a school site outside of the districts’ boundaries. The Executive Order provides the following authority related to establishing out-of-boundary school sites:

The Districts are permitted to establish temporary school facilities outside of their district boundaries if the Districts’ school buildings are damaged or inaccessible due to Fires. The Districts can continue to collect Average Daily Attendance for students attending these temporary school facilities.
The site-based charter school whose facilities were damaged or made inaccessible due to Fires is allowed to establish alternative school sites outside of its district boundary. The alternative school site must be within Los Angeles County.
The LEAs who seek to lease property to the Districts for the purpose of serving students affected by the Fires are not bound by Education Code sections that govern lease of school facilities (e.g., surplus property procedures). Therefore, the LEAs can currently lease properties to the District based on the LEAs discretion without appointing an advisory committee (commonly known as “7-11 Committees”) or undergoing surplus property requirements.

Exemption from Student Record Transfer Timeline

Under Education Code section 49068(b), students’ permanent records must be transferred to the new school within 10 days. The Executive Order currently suspends this requirement; therefore, the schools within the Districts are no longer required to transfer the students’ permanent records to the new school.

Deadline Extensions

The Executive Order provides the following extension for Districts and charter schools affected by the Fires:

A deadline to provide an annual update for Local Control and Accountability Plan and LCFF budget overview is delayed to March 31, 2025.
A deadline to apply for a renewal of a “funding determination” for non-site-based charter schools is extended to February 28, 2025.