• Home »
• Newsroom »
• News Releases »
• Year 2007

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced today emergency assistance is available on several levels to help public schools affected by the wildfires in Southern California.

"Our top priority is to make sure all residents in the areas affected by the Southern California wildfires are kept safe from the fire and away from smoke being carried over by strong winds to nearby counties," said O'Connell. "We are in direct contact with schools to provide them with information on what assistance is available and how to handle emergency school closures. I am also directing the California Department of Education to work closely with other state agencies to share information quickly so we can help residents, students, and schools in a coordinated manner."

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared states of emergency yesterday for the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura due to more than 11 major wildfires.This is the first step in requesting President George W. Bush to declare the same counties disaster areas, thereby authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide federal funding assistance.

School facilities will not lose Average Daily Attendance (ADA) funding if they are used as community shelters or forced to close because of the wildfires, because the California Education Code allows the Superintendent to authorize ADA credit for the days that schools are closed. Districts may also receive ADA credit for all purposes and instructional time credit for the days and minutes lost due to an emergency closure. ADA credit and approval of school closures may be obtained by submitting three copies of Form J-13A. To download a copy of Form J-13A, please visit Form J13A (DOC; 46KB; 6pp.).

"If the wildfires cause prolonged school closures and students are forced to attend other schools, this may increase class sizes and bring added financial challenges to the nearby school districts," added O'Connell. "I will support any legislative efforts to help schools get fiscal relief if they cannot meet their class-size requirements."  

As a result of the Southern California wildfires in 2003, a law was passed – resulting in Education Code Section 52124(e) – that provided temporary relief to school districts in the form of a reduction in the penalties that would be paid when a class participating in the Class Size Reduction program, exceeded the maximum average of 20.4 students. Similar legislation would be required if this wildfire emergency results in larger class sizes at schools participating in the Class Size Reduction program.

After the 2003 wildfires, the California Education Code allowed school districts that participated in the National School Lunch Program the ability to obtain reimbursement for losses sustained during a state or federally proclaimed disaster. This recognizes that schools have fixed costs even when forced to close in the event of a disaster.

"We will work with affected districts participating in the National School Lunch Program because they may qualify for additional assistance," O'Connell said. "Specifically, they may serve meals at no charge to students rendered homeless, and can be designated as community feeding sites. What is also important is that schools closed due to the fires may apply for reimbursement for their fixed expenses. I will also support efforts to get reimbursement to schools for those added costs."

For more information on the wildfires and assistance for schools, parents, and students, please visit Southern California Wildfires 2007 - Hot Topics.