Funding for community day schools (CDSs) is based on actual attendance and supports a minimum day and extended day program offerings. In addition to basic funding, CDSs receive supplemental funding to support a higher level of service for expelled and other at-risk students. Community day schools use this funding to provide a longer day, low teacher-student ratio, significant counseling and other learning support services, and to operate as a separate site.
Basic Funding
Education Code Section 48663(a) provides that the minimum school day in CDS is 360 minutes of instructional time. Accordingly, if a district requires a student to attend a CDS for at least 360 minutes of instructional time per day and on any given school day the student does attend the CDS for any part of that required day, the student generates one day of attendance credit for the school district. There is no cap on the number of CDS students whose attendance may be counted for basic funding.
Education Code Section 48667(b) provides that, in the case of a CDS operated by a County Office of Education (COE), the State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall use the statewide average juvenile court school revenue limit for basic funding per unit of average daily attendance (ADA). For 2007-08, this is approximately $9,550 per unit of ADA.
Supplemental Funding
Education Code Section 48664(a) provides that, in addition to funds from all other sources (including base revenue limit funding), supplemental apportionments are paid for each unit of ADA that is reported at the annual apportionment for student's attendance at these schools.
The levels of supplemental funding for CDSs in 2007-08 (adjusted for inflation per Education Code Section 42238.1) are as follows:
- District-operated CDSs: $5,485.53 per unit of ADA
- County-operated CDSs: $4,162.46 per unit of ADA
Calculation of ADA for Supplemental Funding for CDSs
Education Code Section 48663(c) provides that, for the purpose of calculating the supplemental funding provided pursuant to Section 48664 only, CDS attendance shall be reported in clock hours for each day. CDS attendance shall be reported in clock hours for each day. Section 48663(c) further provides that:
- Attendance of six or more clock hours of the required school day shall generate one whole day of attendance credit for the additional funding.
- Attendance of five clock hours of the required school day shall generate only one-half day of attendance credit for the additional funding.
- Attendance of less than five clock hours in a school day shall generate no attendance credit for the additional funding.
Attendance Periods and Clock Hours
- In clock hour attendance, the maximum length of an attendance period is 60 minutes. However, some attendance periods may be less than 60 minutes in length.
- Breaks, recess, lunch and passing periods end an attendance period, even if fewer than 60 minutes have elapsed.
- A new attendance period begins following a break, recess, lunch, or after 60 minutes of instruction.
- Instruction may continue from one attendance period into the following attendance period. After 60 minutes, you can keep teaching but need to record the attendance in a new attendance period.
- When a student’s requirement is to attend a complete attendance period and the student in fact attends for at least some part of that period, the student thereby generates credit for the entire attendance period (although tardies and early exits should be noted).
Clock Hours and Attendance Minutes
Add together the attendance minutes of each of the attendance periods that the student was present for that day.
- If the student’s total is ≥ 300 minutes
- record attendance credit for five clock hours
- If the student’s total is ≥ 360 minutes
- also record attendance credit for six clock hours
Limitation on Supplemental Funding for School Districts
School districts that operate CDSs may receive basic funding for every appropriately enrolled student. There are, however, caps on the supplemental apportionments that will be paid for the required 360-minute instructional day.
The supplemental funding is provided for each unit of ADA for all mandatorily expelled students.1 Attendance claims for the $5,485.53 per unit of ADA supplemental funding for all other CDS students are subject to a "cap" or limit (Education Code Section 48664[a]). The cap is set as follows:
- 0.375 percent of the district's prior year P2 ADA in an elementary school district
- 0.5 percent of the district's prior year P2 ADA in a unified school district
- 0.625 percent of the district's prior year P2 ADA in a high school district
Limitation on Supplemental Funding for County Offices of Education
There is a cap on the $4,162.46 per ADA supplemental apportionments for county-operated CDSs. This cap is the sum of the unused portions of the funding caps of the school districts within the jurisdiction of that COE which themselves operate CDSs (Section 48664[a][1]). While a local school district's ADA for mandatorily expelled students (those students expelled pursuant to Section 48915[d]) enrolled in the district's CDS does not count against that district's funding cap (see Section 48664[a][2]), the attendance of mandatorily expelled students enrolled in a county-operated CDS is subject to the funding cap for the COE, the same as all other county CDS ADA.
Additional Funding for Longer Supervised Day
Districts and COEs operating CDSs are eligible to receive additional funding for a longer supervised day beyond the 360-minute required instructional day (Education Code Section 48664[c]).
The district may receive $5.25 for each hour (up to a maximum of two hours) each school day for each student who remains at the CDS following the completion of the full 360 minutes of instruction (Section 48664[c]).2
During these additional hours, the students must be under the supervision of an employee of the district/COE that reports the attendance for apportionment funding.
Note: In contrast to the cap on apportionments for the required school day, funding for the longer supervised day may be claimed for every student who completes the required school day and attends during the extended day, without any cap or limitation.
Length of School Year and Funding
The Education Code does not specify a minimum or maximum number of days CDSs may operate within a school year. Section 48664(b) instead provides that the ADA of a CDS is to be determined by dividing the total number of days of attendance in all full school months by a divisor of 70 in the first period of each fiscal (school) year, by a divisor of 135 in the second period of each fiscal year, and by a divisor of 180 at the annual attendance reporting time for each fiscal year.
Section 48666 permits school districts to establish CDS attendance policies that require students to attend school for up to seven days each week. Such requirements may be implemented when this action is taken as part of a directed program designed to provide the students with the skills and attitudes necessary for success when they return to a regular school environment. School districts also have the option of operating CDS longer than the districts' normal school year, including year-round.
Usually, ADA is calculated by dividing the total number of student days of attendance in a specified period of months by the number of days school was in session during those months. Specified "fixed divisors", which are substituted in ADA calculations for the number of days schools were in session, automatically increase funding credit proportionally for each additional day of instruction beyond the number in the divisor or, conversely, automatically reduce funding credit proportionally for each day by which the number of days of instruction is smaller than the divisor.
Small District Funding Waivers3
The Legislature recognized that smaller school districts (including COE)3 may have difficulty operating CDSs with the statutory funding formulas. To address this concern, Education Code Section 48664(d) provides that any school district with fewer than 2,501 units of ADA may request a Superintendent's waiver (DOC; 45KB; 1p.) of the statutory funding limitations for CDSs (provided in Education Code Section 48664[a]). Under the waiver, the district is eligible for special small district funding to permit the operation of a CDS of reasonably comparable quality to those offered in larger districts.
A district granted a waiver of the funding formula for a CDS pursuant to Education Code Section 48664(d) will, for the school year for which the waiver is granted, be allocated an amount not to exceed the amount provided for one teacher pursuant to Education Code Section 42284, except that the California Department of Education (CDE) will proportionally reduce the amount by 1/180 for each day fewer than 180 that the school is in session during the year as a whole.
For the 2007-08 school year, the maximum waiver amount is $102,085. The actual amount of each waiver is the amount needed to make up the difference between earned base revenue funding and the $102,085 target amount. In addition to the waiver amount, districts operating a CDS under a funding waiver receive fifth and sixth hour supplemental funding, subject to the funding cap (Education Code Section 48664[a]), as well as funding for additional seventh and eighth hour supervised attendance following the student's completion of the full six-hour instructional day (Education Code Section 48664[c]).
Fiscal Reporting and Apportionments
Education Code Section 48660.2 requires the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to determine if at least 90 percent of each school district's or COE's funding for CDS was spent for CDS purposes.
Each district/COE operating one or more CDSs is required to annually report direct instructional costs and documented support costs for the CDSs to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The reports should follow definitions included in the California School Accounting Manual (PDF; 14.7MB; 613pp.), Part I, as it read on July 1, 1997, except that districts may include in these reports the costs of rents and leases for facilities used by CDSs and maintenance and operations costs for facilities used by CDSs.
For local educational agencies (LEAs) reporting in the Standardized Account Code Structure (SACS), allowable expenditures include the direct costs of the CDS program. LEAs must, however, maintain documentation for all non-instructional costs charged to the program. (Please refer to Part II of the California School Accounting Manual ). The J-200 and SACS software instruction manuals for completing the J-301/501DAY and Form DAY provides detailed instructions of what should be included in the calculation.
These costs are then compared to the total of revenue limit funds and any additional CDS funds generated based on student attendance in CDS to ensure that at least 90 percent of the revenues were spent, as defined, for the CDSs.
Education Code Section 48660.2 provides that, if allowable expenditures are less than 90 percent of the revenues received on behalf of CDS students, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall subtract the amount of the difference from the school district's/COE's next apportionment.
Questions about this matter should be directed to the CDE, Office of Financial Accountability and Information Services at 916-322-1770.
Attendance Accounting
CDS attendance must be maintained and reported in clock hours for each school day (Education Code sections 48663 and 48664). The record must be configured to substantiate that each hour or portion of an hour of a student's credited attendance was separately determined.
School districts and COEs must obtain CDE approval for their CDS attendance accounting systems. To request approval, each district/COE should submit a copy of its CDS attendance accounting system to Kim Clement, CDE, School Fiscal Services Division, 1430 N Street, Suite 3800, Sacramento, CA 95814-5901 . It is strongly recommended that the daily schedule be included. For more information, call Kim Clement at 916-327-0857.
1 This refers to those students expelled pursuant to Education Code Section 48915(d).
2 Adjusted for inflation per Education Code Section 42238.1 for 2007-08.
3 Education Code Section 48667(a) states that, for the purposes of Article 3. Community Day Schools, each COE shall be deemed to be a school district.
