Background Information
California’s 2013-14 Budget Act included landmark legislation that greatly simplifies the state’s school finance system. The changes introduce the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) which represents a major shift in how California funds public schools. For nearly 40 years, California has relied on a system that included general purpose funding (known as revenue limits) and more than 40 tightly defined categorical programs to provide state funding to school districts. Under LCFF, California funds school districts per student with adjustments based on grade levels and demographic characteristics.
This major change comes with state mandates for new accountability measures that include the development of a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) that requires parent and community input prior to adoption. District staff members are in the process of developing a comprehensive implementation plan that aims to provide a clear framework for EDUHSD schools to follow. This plan would strive to connect resources to goals and accountability for performance expectations in a transparent and seamless process, and align with the new LCAP requirements.
The plan includes a description of annual goals for all students as well as for the following student subgroups: English language learners, foster youth and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Furthermore, the plan includes a description of the specific action that the district will take to achieve these goals.
This new method streamlines the sharing of performance data, needs, actions and anticipated outcomes that guide the use of available Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) funds.
In its most simple form, this new model includes a base grant for each student and two additional grants (the Supplemental and Concentration grants) for students of low income, English learners and foster youth. The Concentration Grant is distributed to only those school districts with 55 percent or higher of students of low-income, English learners and foster youth.