On January 16, the State Board of Education adopted emergency spending regulations for the supplemental and concentration grant funds that Local Educational Agencies (districts, county offices of education and some charter schools) will receive under the Local Control Funding Formula.

Under the new regulations, each LEA must calculate a “proportionality percentage” for its budget. The percentage is based on its supplemental and concentration grant funding, prior-year expenditures to support targeted students (low-income, English learners and foster youth) compared to its total base funding.

The LEA must identify the proportionality percentage in its Local Control Accountability Plan and demonstrate how services for targeted students will be increased or improved by at least that percentage, as compared to services provided to all pupils. LEAs can use these funds under the following regulatory guidelines:

» For districtwide or schoolwide purposes, the LEA must identify expenditures on targeted students and describe in the LCAP how it meets district goals for those students;

» For districtwide services to schools where targeted students account for less than 55 percent of enrollment, districts must also describe how services provided are the most effective use of funds for those students;

» For schoolwide services in a school where targeted students account for less than 40 percent of enrollment, districts must additionally describe how the services are the most effective use of funds for those students.

The State Board also adopted an LCAP template, along with the regulations and a sample scenario that shows how to calculate the proportionality percentage.

—By Emily Gordon, CFT Research Specialist