Charter Schools - Chartering district must request waivers on your behalf:
California Education Code (EC) Section 33054 used to allow charter schools to submit a waiver request on their own behalf. However, effective January 7, 2007, that section of the EC was repealed.
This means that charter school can no longer submit a general waiver request on its own behalf. Charter schools must have their chartering district submit the waiver request for the charter school. The general waiver request form is available at the Waiver Forms page.
General Waiver Request (and Instructions) - (POSTED 17-May-06; DOC; 83KB; 55pp.)
Information on the State Testing Apportionment Information Report Waiver Request:
The assessment apportionment funds for the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program, California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE), and California English Language Development Test (CELDT) are unrestricted funds to reimburse districts for costs associated with the assessments that are above and beyond the California Department of Education (CDE) statewide contract with test contractors.
California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 5 sections 862(c)(2)(A), 1225(b)(2)(A), and 11517.5(b)(1)(A) were amended establishing the deadline for the Apportionment Information Reports and allow local educational agencies to apply for waivers of the deadline. The general waiver request to the State Board of Education (SBE) is a formal document and requires local board approval, a public hearing, and union participation per Education Code (EC) Section 33050 et seq.
State Testing Apportionment Information Report Waiver (REVISED 01-Jul-08; DOC; 58KB; 1p.)
If your signed apportionment has not been submitted by December 31st for one of the assessments noted above, your district can submit a waiver request as indicated on the form. The Apportionment Information Report should be sent to the address noted on the individual apportionment report. However, payment by CDE will not be made until after the SBE approves your waiver request.
If you have questions regarding STAR Apportionment Information Report, please contact Mei Tan in the Standardized Testing and Reporting Office, at 916-319-0346 or by e-mail at mtan@cde.ca.gov. If you have questions regarding the CAHSEE Apportionment Information Report, please call Shari Dalporto in the CAHSEE Office, at 916-319-0340 or by e-mail at sdalporto@cde.ca.gov.If you have questions regarding the CELDT Apportionment Information Report, please contact Kerri Wong in the CELDT & Psychometrics Office, at 916-319-0333 or by e-mail at kewong@cde.ca.gov.
If you have questions regarding the waiver request process, please contact Judy Pinegar in the Waiver Office, at 916-319-0591, by e-mail at jpinegar@cde.ca.gov or call the main Waiver Office number at 916-319-0824.
Information on Summer School Meal Waivers:
Change In Law Establishes New Conditions And Submission Time Lines
Effective January 1, 2006, public schools must meet one out of three new conditions, established by Assembly Bill 1392 (Umberg), in order to receive approval to waive the requirement to provide a meal during summer school sessions as specified in EC Section 49550.
Additionally, summer meal waiver requests must now be received by the California Department of Education (CDE), Waiver Office, no later than 30 days prior to the last regular meeting of the State Board of Education (SBE) before the commencement of the summer school session for which the waiver is sought. This deadline will ensure timely processing of waiver requests for summer school sessions and, in the case of a denial, will permit the district/county sufficient time to plan for summer meal preparation. This year, the only SBE meeting dates before June 2008 are March 12 – 13, 2008, and May 7 – 8, 2008. Therefore, please have your completed waiver into the waiver office by February 13, 2008 or April 8, 2008 at the latest.
- Waiver Form for Summer School Meal Waiver and Site Information Form (UPDATED 25-Jan-08; DOC; 94KB; 2pp.)
- Condition One Form (POSTED 20-Dec-05; DOC; 43KB; 1p.)
- Condition Two Form - Cost Analysis Worksheet (UPDATED 25-Jan-08; XLS; 38.5KB; 2pp.)
Excerpted from Management Bulletin 06-103:
Summer School Meal Waivers– New Conditions
School sites operating a summer school session may be granted a waiver if they meet one of the following new conditions:
Condition One - Summer School Meal Waiver
Elementary schools shall be granted a waiver if a Summer Food Service Program for Children (SFSP) site is available within one-half mile of the school site. Middle schools, junior high schools, and high schools shall be granted a waiver if a SFSP site is available within one mile of the school site. Additionally, one of the following conditions must exist:
- The hours of operation of the SFSP site commence no later than one-half hour after the completion of the summer school session day.
- The hours of operation of the SFSP site conclude no earlier than one hour after the completion of the summer school session day.
- For purposes of this section of law, “elementary school” means a public school that maintains kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 8 inclusive.
Condition Two - Summer School Meal Waiver
- Serving meals during the summer school session would result in a financial loss to the school district, documented in a financial analysis performed by the school district, in an amount equal to one-third of the net cash resources as defined in Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 210.2, which, for purposes of this section of law, shall exclude funds that are encumbered. If there are no net cash resources, the financial loss must be equal to the operating costs of one month as averaged over the summer school sessions.
NOTE: The financial analysis must include a projection of future meal program participation based on either of the following:
- The meal service period beginning after the commencement of the summer school session day and concluding before the completion of the summer school session day. In other words, districts must project profit or loss based on serving a breakfast or a lunch during school hours and not before or after the school day.
- The school site operating as an open Summer Seamless Option or a SFSP site, and providing adequate notification thereof, including flyers and banners, in order to fulfill community needs under the SFSP.
Condition Three - Summer School Meal Waiver
- Summer school sites that operate two hours or less including breaks and recess shall be granted a waiver.
A school district must complete the Specific Waiver Request –Summer School Meal Waiver documents and return the information to the address on the form. Additional copies are available at the Waiver Forms page: Waiver Forms
Information on the Change to the Equity Length of Time Requirement:
Effective January 1, 2005, California Education Code (EC) Section 37202 was revised to allow school districts to offer extended day kindergarten programs at some but not all of the schools in the district without a general waiver of EC 37202. School districts offering extended day kindergarten must have their school boards adopt the Early Primary Program prescribed in EC sections 8970-8974 for implementation as EC 46111 (the four hour per day limit for kindergarteners) still exists in the EC. The law was revised as follows:
37202 (a) Except if a school has been closed by order of a city or a county board of health, or of the State Board of Health, on account of contagious disease, or if the school has been closed on account of fire, flood, or other public disaster, the governing board of a school district shall maintain all of the elementary day schools established by it for an equal length of time during the school year and all of the day high schools established by it for an equal length of time during the school year.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a school district that is implementing an early primary program, pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 8970) of Part 6, may maintain kindergarten classes at different school sites within the district for different lengths of time during the school day.
Waivers of the equity length of time requirement are still required if a district does not provide an equal amount of time to all students in the district in grade levels first through twelfth.
Information on Local Waivers of the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) for Students with Disabilities who use modifications to pass the exam:
California Education Code 60851 (c) provides that at the parent or guardian's request, a school principal shall submit a request for a waiver of the requirement to successfully pass the high school exit examination to the governing board of the school district for a pupil with a disability. The student must have taken the high school exit examination with modifications that alter what the test measures and have received the equivalent of a passing score (on one or both subject matter parts of the high school exit examination).
A governing board of a school district may waive the requirement to successfully pass one or both subject matter parts of the high school exit examination for a pupil with a disability if the principal certifies to the governing board of the school district that the pupil has all of the following:
- An individualized education program (IEP) adopted pursuant to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) or a plan adopted pursuant to Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794(a)) in place that requires the accommodations or modifications to be provided to the pupil when taking the high school exit examination.
- Sufficient high school level coursework either satisfactorily completed or in progress in a high school level curriculum sufficient to have attained the skills and knowledge otherwise needed to pass the high school exit examination.
- An individual score report for the pupil showing that the pupil has received the equivalent of a passing score on the high school exit examination while using a modification that fundamentally alters what the high school exit examination measures as determined by the State Board of Education.
Information and Forms for Attendance Accounting and Multi-Track Calendar Waivers for Charter Schools:
Educational Interpreter Regulations Waivers (for staff working with deaf and hard of hearing students)
On March 23, 2008 the Office of Administrative Law approved new regulations effective July 1, 2008. Check the status of the proposed regulations at this website: Education Interpreters (Outside Source).
There is a general waiver process which allows the governing board of LEAs to request a waiver of state regulations. It is currently suggested that all waivers be requested for the time period of July 1, 2008 through June 31, 2009 only. Use the general waiver form for this purpose. The regulation being waived is Title 5 CCR section 3051.16(b)(1) and (2). The Waiver Office number is 916-319-0824 if you have additional questions on the waiver process that my staff can help you with.
Your LEA should complete one general waiver form for each employee, (although they could all be approved by your board at the same public hearing and a single board vote), and taken in groups to committees and bargaining units as needed. The waiver should include (or attach) the following information for each employee.
- Information on the person, length of employment in your LEA, information and when the LEA first notified the employee regulation after August 28, 2002.
- Efforts made by the employee, personally to be certified since the regulations were enacted on August 28, 2002.
- Efforts made by the LEA on behalf of the employee, to achieve this certification since August 28, 2002.
- Any information on current assessments, or current levels on tests for certification for the employee, as well as educational transcript of the employee.
- A remediation plan signed by the employee and the collective bargaining representative that includes a plan for remediation of each employee before June 31, 2009.
When received in the Waiver Office, waivers will be sent to the appropriate special education office in the California Department of Education for review, analysis and recommendation to the State Board of Education. Notice will be sent to the LEA when the waivers are scheduled to be heard by the board, and they will also notify you of the department recommendation.
The department recommendations on waivers and particularly the State Board of Education vote on the waiver cannot be predicted at anytime.
The current regulations follow (bolded section is what needs to be waived or struck out in this case):
5 CCR 3051.16 - Specialized Services for Low-Incidence Disabilities
3051.16. Specialized Services for Low-Incidence Disabilities.
(a) Specialized Services for low-incidence disabilities may include:
(1) Specially designed instruction related to the unique needs of pupils with low-incidence disabilities provided by teachers credentialed pursuant to Education Code section 44265.
(2) Specialized services related to the unique needs of pupils with low-incidence disabilities provided by qualified individuals such as interpreters, notetakers, readers, transcribers, and other individuals who provide specialized materials and equipment.
(b) Certification requirements for educational interpreters for deaf and hard of hearing pupils.
(1) By July 1, 2008, an educational interpreter shall be certified by the national Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), or equivalent; in lieu of RID certification or equivalent, an educational interpreter shall have achieved a score of 3.0 or above on the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA), the Educational Sign Skills Evaluation-Interpreter and Receptive (ESSE-I/R), or the National Association of the Deaf/American Consortium of Certified Interpreters (NAD/ACCI) assessment. If providing Cued Language transliteration, a transliterator shall possess Testing/Evaluation and Certification Unit (TECUnit) certification, or have achieved a score of 3.0 or above on the EIPA - Cued Speech.
(2) By July 1, 2008, an educational interpreter shall be certified by the national RID, or equivalent; in lieu of RID certification or equivalent, an educational interpreter must have achieved a score of 3.5 or above on the EIPA, the ESSE-I/R, or the NAD/ACCI assessment. If providing Cued Language transliteration, a transliterator shall possess TECUnit certification, or have achieved a score of 3.5 or above on the EIPA - Cued Speech.
(3) By July 1, 2009, and thereafter, an educational interpreter shall be certified by the national RID, or equivalent; in lieu of RID certification or equivalent, an educational interpreter must have achieved a score of 4.0 or above on the EIPA, the ESSE-I/R, or the NAD/ACCI assessment. If providing Cued Language transliteration, a transliterator shall possess TECUnit certification, or have achieved a score of 4.0 or above on the EIPA - Cued Speech.
(c) An "educational interpreter" provides communication facilitation between students who are deaf or hard of hearing, and others, in the general education classroom and for other school related activities, including extracurricular activities, as designated in a student's Individualized Educational Program (IEP).
[Authority cited: Section 56100(a) and (i), Education Code.] [Reference: Section 56363, Education Code; and Sections 300.34 and 300.156(b)(1), Title 34, Code of Federal Regulations.]
[Notice: Repealer and new subsection (b)(1), new subsections (b)(2)-(c) and amendment of Note filed 2-22-2008; operative 3-23-2008.]
If you have further questions about what exactly this means in terms of assessment scores, please call Nancy Sager at 916-327-3868
