Independent Study and Nonclassroom-Based Program Issues
Responses to these frequently asked questions are advisory only. Charter schools and charter authorizers are encouraged to review the actual laws and regulations that provide the basis for these responses and consult with their own legal counsel regarding the application of any of these issues to a specific situation.
Q.1. What are the general requirements for offering independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction in a charter school?
Q.2. Are there geographic restrictions applied to charter schools that offer independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction?
Q.3. For purposes of claiming apportionment for independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction pursuant to Education Code Section 51747.3 (Outside Source), what does “immediately adjacent” mean?
Q.4. What are the attendance accounting requirements for offering independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction in a charter school?
Q.5. What are the pupil-teacher ratio requirements for offering independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction in a charter school?
What are the general requirements for offering independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction in a charter school?
For purposes of charter school law, independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction includes home study, work-study, and distance and computer-based education, which are all forms of independent study/nonclassroom-based. Charter schools providing independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction are required to meet the same conditions of apportionment as traditional schools for independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction, as outlined in Article 5.5 of Chapter 5 of Part 28 of the Education Code (sections 51745 (Outside Source) through 51749.3)(Outside Source). The charter authorizer is responsible for determining if the requirements have been met.
In addition, Education Code sections 47612.5 (Outside Source) and 47634.2 (Outside Source) describe a process for funding, including possible funding reductions, for charter schools that offer independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction. Independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction occurs when a school does not require attendance of its pupils to be at the school site under the direct supervision and control of a certificated teacher at the school for at least 80 percent of the required instructional time. Independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction includes, but is not limited to, home study, work-study, and distance and computer-based education, which are all forms of independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction for purposes of apportionment.
The law prohibits an approved charter school from receiving any funding for independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction, unless the State Board of Education (SBE) determines its eligibility for funding. The law also provides the SBE with the authority to adjust the apportionment of charter schools for average daily attendance (a.d.a.) generated through independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction. The SBE has adopted regulations that establish criteria, conditions, and limitations for the approval and adjustment of funding for charter schools that offer independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction. The SBE has established an advisory commission to assist in the implementation of these requirements. The regulations and other information about the funding determination requirements and process for charter schools that offer independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction can be found on the CDE Web site at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cs/as/ .
Are there geographic restrictions applied to charter schools that offer independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction?
Yes. An independent study (nonclassroom-based) charter school may only receive funding for pupils who live in the county, or an adjacent county to where the charter is authorized. In addition, an independent study/nonclassroom-based charter school may only operate resource centers, meeting spaces, or satellite sites used exclusively for independent study/nonclassroom-based outside of the county of authorization if a majority of the charter school pupils are residents of the county in which the charter is authorized.
Reference: Education Code Section 47605.1 (Outside Source)
For purposes of claiming apportionment for independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction pursuant to Education Code Section 51747.3 (Outside Source), what does “immediately adjacent” mean?
The meaning of “adjacent” is abutting, adjoining, bordering, connecting, contiguous, or meeting at any point. A student must be a resident of the county in which the charter school was authorized, or a resident of a county in which any geographic point meets the authorizing county, in order to claim a.d.a. for independent study. A multi-site charter school may not base compliance with this requirement on the county in which a satellite site is located because apportionments are claimed through the county of the authorizing entity.
Reference: Education Code Section 51747.3(b) (Outside Source)
What are the attendance accounting requirements for offering independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction in a charter school?
Education Code Section 47612.5 (Outside Source) sets forth specific requirements with which charter schools must comply as conditions of apportionment. Among other things, Section 47612.5 (Outside Source) requires that charter schools that provide independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction must comply with the provisions of Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 51745) (Outside Source) of Chapter 5 of Part 28 of the Education Code and implementing regulations adopted there under.
Within the referenced Article 5.5, Section 51747.5(b) (Outside Source) specifically limits the amount of apportionment credit that may be claimed for independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction to the extent of the time value of student work products, as personally judged in each instance by a certificated teacher. Pursuant to Section 47612.5 (Outside Source), Section 51747.5(b) (Outside Source) thereby clearly requires that charter school independent study/nonclassroom-based teachers, as one condition of apportionment, assess and record the time value of their students' work.
In traditional schools, teachers assess the time value of independent study/nonclassroom-based study work to determine the completion of at least the "minimum day" defined in law for the grade level of the student and thereby record a "day of attendance." However, those minimum day definitions do not apply to charter schools. Charter independent study/nonclassroom-based school teachers, therefore, have no statutory standards on which they must base their time value calculations. The absence of a statutory minimum day standard for charter schools also means that Section 51747.5(b) (Outside Source) alone cannot reasonably provide a complete basis for determining apportionment credit for independent study nonclassroom-based instruction in charter schools . Section 51747.5(b) (Outside Source) acts as an independent study/nonclassroom-based requirement beyond the fundamental charter school a.d.a. provisions in Section 11960 (Outside Source) of Title 5, California Code of Regulations (CCR).
CCR Section 11960 defines "attendance" for use in calculating charter school a.d.a., as occurring when "charter school pupils [are] engaged in educational activities required of them by their charter schools on days when school is actually taught in their charter schools" - with the provision that "no charter school pupil may generate more than one day of attendance in a calendar day." To those provisions, then, Section 51747.5(b) (Outside Source) in effect adds the requirement that the amount of work done by the student on a day of independent study/nonclassroom-based attendance must have a time value, judged as required, of at least one day.
To put the matter another way, the minimum amount of work necessary to constitute a charter school day of an independent study/nonclassroom-based attendance is within the charter school's and teacher's discretion to determine. But whatever that minimum amount of work is, it must be done on the scheduled school day for which it is claimed as attendance for a.d.a. purposes. Any amount of work done beyond the minimum on that day generates no further a.d.a. credit.
The central elements of the audit trail for charter school independent study/ nonclassroom-based a.d.a., then, are (1) the calendar showing which days are school days, and (2) contemporaneous records for each student identifying clearly each school day in that calendar on which the student "engaged in [required] educational activities" to an extent sufficient to constitute at least one day of time value. Charter schools annual calendar must meet or exceed 175 days in any fiscal year in order to generate full apportionment credit, unless the charter school has a State Board of Education approved waiver. In addition, Education Code Section 47612.5 (Outside Source) requires charters to "offer at a minimum, the same number of minutes of instruction set forth in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 46201 (Outside Source) for the appropriate grade levels."
Other record-keeping requirements specific to independent study nonclassroom-based are set forth in Section 11703 (Outside Source), Title 5, California Code of Regulations. Section 11700 (Outside Source) is one of the "implementing regulations" referred to in Education Code Section 47612.5 (Outside Source), meaning that all its provisions are applicable to charter schools as conditions of apportionment.
Both methods of attendance accounting are required for charter schools offering independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction. We strongly recommend charter schools work directly with their auditor to develop appropriate and adequate record keeping and bookkeeping procedures to insure that the charter school remains compliant with both time value and contemporaneous record requirements.
For additional information, contact the Charter Schools Division at (916) 322-6029 or the School Fiscal Services Division at (916) 324-4541.
What are the pupil-teacher ratio requirements for offering independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction in a charter school?
Under Education Code Section 51745.6 (a) (Outside Source), the ratio of average daily attendance (a.d.a.) for independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction to full-time equivalent certificated employees responsible for independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction, calculated as specified by the State Department of Education, shall not exceed the equivalent ratio of pupils to full-time certificated employees as specified below. The computation of the ratio shall be performed annually by the reporting agency at the time of, and in connection with, the second principal apportionment report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Moreover, under Education Code Section 51745.6 (b) (Outside Source), only those units of a.d.a. for independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction that reflect a pupil-teacher ratio that does not exceed the ratio described in subdivision (a) shall be eligible for apportionment. Nothing in this section shall prevent a charter school from serving additional units of average daily attendance greater than the ratio described in subdivision (a), except that those additional units shall not be funded.
California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Section 11704 (Outside Source) applies this provision to charter schools by specifying that the comparison ratio applicable to charter schools is greater of 25 to 1 or the ratio in the largest unified school district in the county or counties in which the charter school operates. This regulation also specifies that independent study/nonclassroom-based a.d.a. served by a charter school that is in excess of the applicable comparison ratio shall not be funded. Units of average daily attendance for independent study/nonclassroom-based instruction that are ineligible for apportionment as provided in subdivision (b) of Education Code Section 51745.6 (Outside Source) shall also be ineligible for funding pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 47630) (Outside Source) of Part 26.8 of the Education Code. For purposes of this section, a ‘full-time certificated employee’ means an employee who is required to work a minimum six-hour day and 175 days per fiscal year. Part-time positions shall generate a partial FTE on a proportional basis.
