How To File A Waiver:
If your charter school has received an audit penalty for ailing to provide sufficient instructional minutes as required by EC 47612.5, you may submit a waiver to the California Department of Education (CDE) Waiver Office
Assembly Bill (AB) 1610, effective October 5, 2005, set the minimum instructional minutes for students in charter schools. These requirements were already in statute, but the reference was in another Education Code (EC) Section; now the requirements have been clarified and are specific to charters in EC 47612.5 (a), as follows:
47612.5 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law and as a condition of apportionment, a charter school shall do all of the following:
(1) For each fiscal year, offer, at a minimum, the following number of minutes of instruction:
(A) To pupils in kindergarten, 36,000 minutes.
(B) To pupils in grades 1 to 3, inclusive, 50,400 minutes.
(C) To pupils in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, 54,000 minutes.
(D) To pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, 64,800 minutes.
(2) Maintain written contemporaneous records that document all pupil attendance and make these records available for audit and
The bill also set into place with EC 47612.5 (c), the specific fiscal penalties for charters if the annual auditor found them either out of compliance, or unable to prove that they meet these annual minimum minute requirements:
47612.5 (c) A reduction in apportionment made pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be proportional to the magnitude of the exception that causes the reduction. For purposes of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), for each charter school that fails to offer pupils the minimum number of minutes of instruction specified in that paragraph, the Superintendent shall withhold from the charter school's apportionment for average daily attendance of the affected pupils, by grade level, the sum of that apportionment multiplied by the percentage of the minimum number of minutes of instruction at each grade level that the charter school failed to offer
Although the State Board of Education (SBE) may not waive the minimum instructional minutes time requirements themselves, AB 1610 did create a new waiver authority in EC 47612.6 (a). This new authority allows the SBE to waive the fiscal penalties incurred due to such a violation, as long as charter schools met certain conditions:
- Agree to maintain minutes of instruction equal to those minutes of instruction it failed to offer in addition to the required minimum minutes per year (The SBE requires that the make-up time be given to the students affected by the shortfall, that is, to follow those students for two consecutive years, whatever grades they move into whenever possible)and;
- Make up twice the number of years it failed to maintain the required minimum number of instructional minutes. (The SBE requires that the make-up time be given to the students affected by the shortfall, that is, to follow those students for two consecutive years, whatever grades they move into whenever possible).
- Compliance with the condition shall commence no later than the school year following the fiscal year that the waiver was granted and shall continue for each subsequent school year until the condition is satisfied. However, charters should begin make-up as soon as possible to help the affected students before they move to other schools or graduate.
- If the charter school does not comply with the above conditions, or the records are such that an auditor is unable to verify those conditions, the charter school shall be required to pay the fiscal penalty as calculated. Note: It is the intent of the Legislature that charter schools make every effort to make up any instructional minutes lost during the fiscal year in which the loss occurred rather than seek a waiver pursuant to this section.
However, we know that mistakes might be made, and not caught until the school year is over. This would put charters into circumstances where very high penalties may be assessed for noncompliance due to inadvertent shortages.
Use the Specific Waiver Request Form – Instructional Minute Requirements at:
Charter School Instructional Time Penalty Waiver - (Revised 24-Apr-09; DOC; 57KB; 1p.)
Authority for the waiver: EC 47612.6(a)
EC being waived: EC 47612.5(c)
Following is a list of additional documentation to be attached with the waiver request:
- Copy of the final audit finding showing penalty amount and shortage information, and your response to the audit finding.
- Planned make-up:
- Two years worth of calendars (showing minimum and regular days, holidays, non student time etc.) with bell schedules with minutes for indicated. Summaries of minutes, days etc. are appreciated and CDE staff must be able to verify all of your proposed make-up time.
Explain:
- Why shortage occurred (what was not done or done by the school for what grade levels of students)
- Number of minutes or days short for what grade levels of students
- How many grade levels you serve (to be able to follow affected students for two years)
For further questions about these future or current statutes for charter schools or the waiver process, call the Waiver Office at (916) 319-0824.
