Humboldt County Office of Education: Resources for Schools & Districts | COVID-19

On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Governor Newsom announced Executive Order N-56-20, which extends the deadline for a Local Education Agency (“LEA”) to adopt its Local Control and Accountability Plan (“LCAP”) for 2020-2021 and waives requirements for physical education, effective immediately.

View Update from School & College Legal Services

• Official CDE COVID-19 Guidance Page
• College Admissions, Grading, and Grad Requirements
• FAQs Regarding Grading and Graduation Requirements for 2019-2020
• Joint K-12 and Higher Education Statement of April 1, 2020
• Thurmond Announces Preliminary Federal Approval of Testing and Accountability Waivers | March 27, 2020

A Factsheet on the Impact of COVID-19 on Assessments and Accountability under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act addresses a range of concerns about how extended school cancellations and absences may affect school accountability.

In addition to the possibility of waiving testing requirements, the Education Department may consider a targeted waiver for schools that don’t meet the minimum student participation rate of 95 percent in state tests, the guidance says.

And the department will also consider targeted waivers for schools that see high rates of chronic absenteeism related to the coronavirus. Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia include chronic absenteeism as a school quality indicator in their ESSA plans.

Guidance on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, outlines how schools can honor their obligations to student privacy while communicating with the public about COVID-19 or while sharing information with health agencies that are working to track its spread.

“Through information sharing and coordination with public health departments, educational agencies and institutions can help protect their schools and communities,” that document says.

Parents must provide consent before schools can release any personably identifiable student information publicly, it cautions, but some educational records and health data kept by schools may be released to relevant health agencies under FERPA’s health or safety emergency exception.

Guidance on Students with Disabilities and the Coronavirus reminds schools that, if they “continue to provide educational opportunities to the general student population during a school closure” through activities like distance learning and online programs, they must ensure that students with disabilities also have equal access to the same opportunities.

That guidance, which mirrors a directive the department previously released related the H1N1 virus, also urges that homebound services and individualized education plan meetings may be required for medically fragile students who stay home to avoid getting ill.

In the event of school closure and/or loss of attendance due to unforeseen emergency conditions, school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education should submit a J-13A waiver material decrease request to the CDE in order to mitigate the loss of ADA funding.  Approved material decrease requests will provide these LEAs with the authority to add apportionment days to their reported ADA, thereby alleviating what would otherwise be a loss in LCFF funding.

FAQs on the J-13A waiver request forms can be found on CDE’s web site at: https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/formj13afaq.asp.

J-13A waiver request forms can be found at: https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/documents/j13a.pdf.

Any impacted school or LEA can contact EmergencyServices@cde.ca.gov to connect with the CDE team for assistance.

In support of public health guidance promoting social distancing to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on March 12, 2020, that eased certain Bagley-Keene Act and Brown Act requirements for local and state legislative bodies.

Read the full Fiscal Report.

Senate Bill No. 117 Education Finance: average daily attendance and timeline waivers: protective equipment and cleaning appropriation: COVID-19. 

The Department of Labor has created new posters regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

• Employee Rights: Paid Sick Leave and Expanded Family and Medical Leave under The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
• Federal Employee Rights: Paid Sick Leave and Expanded Family and Medical Leave under The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
• Families First Coronavirus Response Act Notice – Frequently Asked Questions