On April 23, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the highly anticipated . The administration acknowledged the challenges Local Education Agencies are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and recognizes LEAs need the flexibility to continue focusing on the issues at hand while still providing transparency to their communities.  

Newsom announced that the deadline for adopting the current year LCAP is extended until Dec. 15, 2020 on the condition that the governing board of an LEA adopts a written report to the community that explains the changes to program offerings that have been made in response to COVID-19 school closures.  The conditional report, based on a form developed by the California Department of Education, is intended to include a description on how LEAs are meeting the needs of unduplicated students and the steps they are taking to:

• Continue delivering high-quality distance learning;
• Provide school meals; and
• Arrange for the supervision of students during school hours.

The report must be adopted during the same meeting at which the governing board or body of the LEA adopts the annual budget due July 1, 2020.

“Throughout the shelter in place, our governor has asked us to do what is practicable to educate, feed, and care for our students, and he has committed to providing regulatory relief so we can do so. Executive Order N-56-20 is an example of just that,” said ACSA Executive Director Wes Smith. “By providing relief from LCAP timelines and physical education requirements, the governor is helping us focus on the most important work.” Additional waivers to assist in the simplification of the LCAP process includes:

• Removing the requirement that approval of the budget must include the adoption of the LCAP;
• Suspending the requirement for data that is to be publicly reported for the Dashboard in conjunction with the adoption of the LCAP.  

Furthermore, the executive order waives the Physical Education instructional minutes and annual physical fitness tests and intends to partner with the Legislature to address the Dashboard in the near future.   The governor’s office has assured ACSA that the conditional report is not intended to evaluate LEAs. Instead, it is an effort to understand what actions the district has taken and the dollars expended to address the issues related to these priorities. It is also the intent of the governor’s office that the report should be brief and ACSA will work with the CDE to ensure the form that is developed meets this objective. ACSA members with any questions should contact Edgar Zazueta, ACSA Senior Director of Policy and Governmental Relations at ezazueta@acsa.org.