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California Department of Education
Official Letter
California Department of Education
Official Letter
August 10, 2021

Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:

Mandate Block Grant Application for Funding
Fiscal Year 2021–22

The purpose of this letter is to notify local educational agencies (LEAs) that the 2021–22 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). The list of programs has been amended for 2021–22 to add Public School Restrooms: Feminine Hygiene Products.

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/mandatebg21rfa.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 2021–22, 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, LEAs will 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 2021–22 application.

Submission of the MBG Application must be completed by August 30, 2021, to receive 2021–22 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 2021–22 MBG is available on the MBG web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/mandatebg.asp.

The 2021 Budget Act (Chapter 21, Statutes of 2021), as amended by Senate Bill 129 (Chapter 69, Statutes of 2021), appropriates $246,611,000 for the MBG program. Allocation of funds is based on average daily attendance (ADA) used for funding at the 2020–21 Second Principal Apportionment. Specific categories of ADA used to calculate funding are available on the CDE’s MBG web page.

The 2021–22 funding rates set forth in Item 6100-296-0001 of the 2021 Budget Act, as amended, 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 2021–22 Funding Rate
COE Grades K–8 $32.79
COE Grades 9–12 $63.17
COE Countywide1 $1.10
School Districts Grades K–8 $32.79
School Districts Grades 9–12 $63.17
Charter Schools Grades K–8 $17.21
Charter Schools Grades 9–12 $47.84


MBG Frequently Asked Questions are available on CDE’s website at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/mandatebgfaq.asp.

If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Julie Klein Briggs, Fiscal Consultant, Categorical Allocations and Audit Resolution Office, or Tonya Holmes, Fiscal Analyst, Categorical Allocations and Audit Resolution Office, by email at mandate@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Keith Smith, Education Fiscal Services Administrator
Categorical Allocations and Audit Resolutions Office
School Fiscal Services Division

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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.

Last Reviewed: Monday, August 07, 2023
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