Information on Williams Case Lawsuit Settlement Requirements for Wildfire Affected Districts – Sufficiency of Instructional Material and Teacher Misassignments:
Q. What should districts do if the wildfire prevented them from holding the hearing and board resolution of sufficient of texts as required in a part of the Williams Case Settlement, Education Code (EC) Section 60119 (as listed below) within the correct time frame?
A. Go ahead and complete the public hearing and approve the board resolution as soon as possible but do not worry if you don’t meet some of the specifics of the requirement which is verified within the annual Local Educational Agency Audit Guide.
If this happens, a district will probably get an audit finding regarding sufficiency of instructional which includes:
Education Code 60119 Requirements:
- Hold a public hearing before the end of the eighth week from the first day pupils attended school.
- Provide a 10-day notice of the required public hearing or hearings.
- Post the notice at a minimum of three public locations in the school district or county, respectively.
- Hold the hearing at a reasonable time to accommodate parent and teachers (not during, or immediately following school hours).
- Certify that students have sufficient textbooks.
If a district gets such an audit finding the district can ask their county superintendent to certify that the audit exception was corrected or that an acceptable plan of correction was submitted pursuant to EC 41344.4 (below).
EC 41344.4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a local educational agency is not required to repay an apportionment based on a significant audit exception related to the requirements specified in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 14501 if the county superintendent of schools certifies to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Controller that the audit exception was corrected by the local educational agency or that an acceptable plan of correction was submitted to the county superintendent of schools pursuant to subdivision (k) of Section 41020. With respect to textbooks and instructional materials, the plan shall be consistent with the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119.
Below is EC 14501(b), that the above section refers to:
EC 14501(a). As used in this chapter, "financial and compliance audit" shall be consistent with the definition provided in the "Standards for Audits of Governmental Organizations, Programs, Activities, and Functions" promulgated by the Comptroller General of the United States. Financial and compliance audits conducted under this chapter shall fulfill federal single audit requirements. (b) As used in this chapter, "compliance audit" means an audit that ascertains and verifies whether or not funds provided through apportionment, contract, or grant, either federal or state, have been properly disbursed and expended as required by law or regulation or both and includes the verification of each of the following: (1) The reporting requirements for the sufficiency of textbooks or instructional materials, or both, as defined in Section 60119. (2) Teacher misassignments pursuant to Section 44258.9. (3) The accuracy of information reported on the School Accountability Report Card required by Section 33126. The requirements set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) and this paragraph shall be added to the audit guide requirements pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14502.1.
Q. What do districts do if the wildfire caused problems with teacher misassignments pursuant to EC 41344.4 (above).A. If there are issues in the district with teacher misassignments as described in EC 44258.9 pursuant to wildfire, any audit finding of that problem may also certified by the county superintendent as cited in EC 41344.4 (above).
