Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:

Key Information in Advance of Possible Walkouts or Other Events Causing School Nonattendance

The California Department of Education (CDE) is aware that California local educational agencies (LEAs) anticipate potential student walkouts on Friday, January 30, 2026.

As LEAs develop local plans for addressing any such event, the following portions of California Education Code (EC) may be relevant:

Attendance for Apportionment

• If students are scheduled for at least the minimum school day, attend any portion of that day under the immediate supervision of a certificated employee while engaged in required educational activities – and then walk out – the LEA may still claim attendance for apportionment (EC 46300, 47612.5, 46010.3).
• Students who do not attend any part of the school day due to a protest or walkout cannot generate apportionable attendance.
• A student protest or walkout does not qualify as an event eligible for Form J-13A for material decrease or school closure (EC 41422, 46392).

Instructional Time

• To meet instructional time requirements, LEAs must operate school in accordance with their approved school calendar and bell schedule (EC 46100, 46207, 46208).

• Saturday School: Districts and County Offices of Education (COEs) may recover ADA lost due to protest-related absences by offering in-person Saturday instructional programs (EC 37223).
• Attendance Recovery Programs: LEAs may also use in-person attendance recovery programs to make up ADA for absences caused by student protests or walkouts (EC 46211).

For further information on attendance recovery, please visit the CDE Attendance Recovery web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/it/aarecovery.asp.

Sincerely,

David Schapira
Chief Deputy Superintendent
Chief of Staff

Ingrid Roberson
Chief Deputy Superintendent
California Department of Education