Dear County Superintendents of Schools:

Fourth Quarter Apportionment for the Education Protection Account, Fiscal Year 2020–21

This apportionment, in the amount of $6,048,635,630, is made from the Education Protection Account (EPA) in accordance with Section 36 of Article XIII of the Constitution of the State of California in support of county offices of education, school districts, and charter schools as directed by law.

With the implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) in fiscal year 2013–14, EPA entitlements will continue to be calculated based on adjusted revenue limits, including the allowance for necessary small schools, and charter school block grant funding. In accordance with Section 36 of Article XIII of the Constitution of the State of California, these funding amounts continue as components of the LCFF. The California Department of Education (CDE) will allocate EPA revenues on a quarterly basis through the 2030–31 fiscal year. Charter schools newly operational in the 2013–14 fiscal year and after receive the EPA minimum funding level of $200 per unit of average daily attendance (ADA).

A local educational agency’s (LEA) governing board is required to make spending determinations for EPA funds at an open public meeting and post on the LEA’s website an accounting of how much money was received from the EPA and how that money was spent.

2020–21 Fourth Quarter Entitlement Calculation

Using a 2020–21 EPA revenue amount of approximately $14.2 billion, the CDE calculated estimated EPA entitlements using a factor of 70.067850650 percent based on the statewide total of revenue limits and charter school block grant funding as of the 2020–21 Second Principal Apportionment (P-2). Each LEA’s EPA entitlement was then reduced so that funding from local property taxes and the EPA combined did not exceed the LEA’s adjusted revenue limit or charter school general purpose funding, provided that each LEA received the minimum EPA funding of $200 per unit of ADA.

Pursuant to Senate Bill (SB) 98 (Chapter 24, Statutes of 2020) and SB 820 (Chapter 110, Statutes of 2020), current year (Fiscal Year 2020-21) attendance for apportionment was not collected. Instead, LEAs were funded on either the 2019–20 ADA adjusted according to provisions specified in Education Code (EC) Section 43502, or current year ADA proxy calculated pursuant to EC Section 43505. The SB 820 ADA Determination Calculation for Growth LEAs and Newly Operational Charter Schools has been posted to the CDE website, and can be found at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/documents/sb820p2gwapp.xlsx.

The final EPA revenue amount for 2020–21 increased by 43 percent over the estimated revenue used for the previous quarterly apportionments of 2020-21, as a result the EPA entitlement for many LEAs has increased significantly. For most LEAs, EPA funding offsets LCFF state aid allocated through the Principal Apportionment. LEAs experiencing an increase in their EPA entitlement can expect to see a commensurate reduction in their LCFF state aid. EPA entitlements will be recalculated at the 2020–21 Annual Principal Apportionment and will be based on both Annual Apportionment data and the final EPA revenue amount noted above. EPA entitlements for 2020–21 will become final as of the 2020–21 Annual Certification.

2019–20 P-2 to Annual Adjustment

Fiscal year 2019–20 EPA entitlements became final as of the 2019–20 Annual Certification and have not changed from the 2020–21 Third Quarter Apportionment for the EPA. Any adjustment (positive or negative) in 2019–20 EPA entitlements calculated between 2019–20 P-2 and 2019–20 Annual for an LEA has been applied against its 2020–21 current year EPA apportionment and is shown on the Education Protection Account Fourth Quarter Apportionment - Payment Schedule by Local Educational Agency, which can be found at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/documents/epapayschedlea20q4.xlsx.

Payment Information

This apportionment equals 100 percent of each LEA’s 2020–21 EPA entitlement, net of 2019–20 adjustments, less any amounts apportioned in September 2020, December 2020, and March 2021. Future payments may be adjusted for ADA changes, local property taxes, and previous over or underpayments of EPA funds.

As explained in the previous section, EPA revenue for the 2020–21 P-2 recalculation was significantly higher than prior certifications for the fiscal year. Many LEAs will have increased EPA entitlement, and a large fourth quarter payment, which may cause the LEA to have a reduced or negative P-2 payment.

The State Controller’s Office estimates that payments for this apportionment will be issued to county treasurers on June 24, 2021, and school districts and charter schools should be advised immediately of this apportionment. For standardized account code structure (SACS) coding for current year funds, use Resource 1400, Education Protection Account, and Revenue Object 8012, Education Protection Account Entitlement. The 2019–20 EPA Entitlement adjustment from P-2 to Annual that was not accrued in the prior year should be recorded to Resource 1400 using Object 8019, Revenue Limit State Aid – Prior Years.

Resources

For additional information on EPA calculations, letters of apportionment, payment schedules, spending restrictions, frequently asked questions, SACS financial reporting, and more, please refer to CDE’s EPA web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/epa.asp.

If you have questions regarding the EPA entitlement calculation, please contact the Principal Apportionment Section by email at PASE@cde.ca.gov. For questions related to SACS financial reporting, please contact the Office of Financial Accountability and Information Services by email at sacsinfo@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Wendi McCaskill, Associate Director

School Fiscal Services Division

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