Official Letter
Official Letter
Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:
Mandate Block Grant Application for Funding
Fiscal Year 2019–20
The purpose of this letter is to notify local educational agencies (LEAs) that the 2019–20 Mandate Block Grant (MBG) Application has been released. The MBG funding is available to county offices of education (COEs), school districts, and charter schools (both direct and locally funded) that elect to participate. MBG funds are specifically intended to fund the costs of mandated programs and activities identified in Government Code (GC) Section 17581.6(f); for 2019–20 the list of programs has been amended to add the Cal Grant: Opt-Out Notice and Grade Point Average Submission Program.
The MBG Application and other important details, including this informational letter, the list of mandated programs and activities supported by the MBG, and the notification of suspended mandates, may be accessed on the MBG Request for Application (RFA) web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r14/mandatebg19rfa.asp.
Pursuant to GC Section 17581.6, LEAs make an annual choice to receive funds for specified mandated programs and activities, either through the MBG or through the claim reimbursement process pursuant to GC Section 17560. Because the claims process does not include charter schools, the MBG is the only vehicle for charter schools to receive such funding.
In fiscal year 2019–20, each LEA will notify the California Department of Education (CDE) of its decision to participate in the MBG by submission of the web-based MBG Application, which serves as the Letter Requesting Funding. On the MBG RFA web page, select the link titled “MBG Application” to find logon instructions or to request a new password. LEAs that have maintained their prior year password for the MBG Application may use the same password to access the 2019–20 application.
Submission of the MBG Application must be completed by August 30, 2019, to receive 2019–20 MBG funding.
An election not to participate may be communicated to the CDE by submitting the MBG Application with a selection of non-participation or by sending an email to mandate@cde.ca.gov with the LEA’s name and county-district-school code. Prior to the application deadline, follow-up emails will be sent to LEAs that have not notified the CDE of their election. The participation status of all LEAs eligible for the 2019–20 MBG may be found on the MBG web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/mandatebg.asp.
The 2019 Budget Act appropriates $243,173,000 for the MBG program. Allocation of funds is based on average daily attendance (ADA) calculated as of the 2018–19 Second Principal Apportionment. Specific categories of ADA used to calculate funding are available on the CDE’s MBG web page.
The 2019–20 funding rates set forth in Item 6100-296-0001 of the 2019 Budget Act are displayed in the table below. If available funds are insufficient to apportion funding to participating LEAs at the established rates, funding rates shall be reduced proportionally.
| LEA Type | Grade Span | 2019–20 Funding Rate |
|---|---|---|
COE |
Grades K–8 |
$32.18 |
COE |
Grades 9–12 |
$61.94 |
COE |
Countywide1 |
$1.08 |
School Districts |
Grades K–8 |
$32.18 |
School Districts |
Grades 9–12 |
$61.94 |
Charter Schools |
Grades K–8 |
$16.86 |
Charter School |
Grades 9–12 |
$46.87 |
1Countywide ADA is defined as the aggregate number of units of ADA within the county attributable to all school districts for which the county superintendent of schools has jurisdiction pursuant to Section 1253 of the California Education Code, charter schools within the county, and the schools operated by the county superintendent of schools.
The 2019–20 Audit Guide includes audit procedures for the Comprehensive School Safety Plan and the School Accountability Report Card, both mandated programs funded by the MBG. Although other mandated programs covered by the MBG may be subject to review in the overall annual compliance audit per California Education Code Section 41020, no additional procedures are currently included for 2019–20.
If you have any questions regarding this letter, please send an email to mandate@cde.ca.gov or contact Julie Klein Briggs, Fiscal Consultant, Categorical Allocations and Management Assistance Office, by phone at 916-323-6191, or Tonya Holmes, Fiscal Analyst, Categorical Allocations and Management Assistance Office, by phone at 916-323-6028.
Sincerely,
Nick Schweizer, Deputy Superintendent
Operations and Administration Branch