California Department of Education Form J-9MH-A - Special Instructions (07/2008)
Special Instructions These Special Instructions are for school districts affected by the October 2007 fires and located in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara or Ventura. Districts that are claiming funds for classes not affected by the October 2007 fires, irrespective of their county, should follow the regular Instructions for reporting those classes instead of these Special Instructions. 1. Who Should File. Each school district in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura that is participating in the Morgan-Hart Program to Reduce Class Size in Grade 9 (Morgan-Hart CSR), whose program enrollment was adversely affected by the October 2007 fires, and is now requesting additional funding pursuant to Assembly Bill (AB) 1893 (Chapter 30, Statutes of 2008). This measure amended Section 52086 of the California Education Code (EC) to allow affected districts to claim Morgan-Hart CSR funding based on enrollment counts before the October 2007 fires. 2. Reporting Forms. Districts affected by the October 2007 fires should report their classes and enrollment counts on the same Form J-9MH-A that they report their classes and enrollment counts that were not affected by the October 2007 fires. In addition to the Form J-9MH-A, a school district affected by the October 2007 fires must also submit (1) a signed AB 1893 Certification attesting to the fact that it suffered a loss of enrollment in Morgan-Hart CSR classes due to the October 2007 fires which resulted in a decrease in Morgan-Hart CSR funding, and (2) a Request for Allowance of Attendance Because of Emergency Conditions (Form J-13A) pursuant to California EC Section 46392, and due to the October 2007 fires. School districts that have already submitted a Form J-13A should enclose a copy of that form and any CDE letter approving the J-13A. 3. Period of Enrollment Counts. The enrollment period for classes claimed based on enrollment counts prior to the October 2007 fires should be from the first day of instruction through the day before the “emergency days” began. “Class size” should be determined by computing the average daily enrollment in each class using active enrollment. To be considered “actively enrolled,” the student must have attended at least one day during the month. Example 1: A participating class in School A had an average daily enrollment count of 20 prior to the “emergency days,” but due to the fires average daily enrollment for the class fell to 14. The district may claim a full year equivalent enrollment of 20 for this class for the entire school year. Please note that if the 6 students lost from School A are being claimed by School B in the same district, then the district should report class enrollment using the regular Instructions because the school district as a whole will not lose any funding. Example 2: A participating class had an average daily enrollment count of 20 prior to the “emergency days,” but due to the fires the average daily enrollment for the class increased to 26. The district may not claim funding during the time the student to teacher ratio exceeded the
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limits of the program since there is no provision in AB 1893 that allows districts to exceed the limits specified under the Morgan-Hart CSR program. Example 3: A participating class had an average daily enrollment count of 18 prior to the “emergency days,” but due to the fires the average daily enrollment for the class increased to 20. The 2 new students were from a neighboring district. The receiving district should report the class using the regular Instructions, and the sending district may claim the 2 students it lost using Example 1 in the Special Instructions as its guide. Example 4: The enrollment count for a participating class was not affected by the October 2007 fires. The district should follow the regular Instructions for reporting such classes. 4. Submittal Instructions. Please prepare an original and two copies of each page of the J-9MH-A Report of Enrollment, the AB 1893 Certification page, Form J-13A, and any CDE letter approving the J-13A. Retain one copy of the package in the district files. Transmit the original package and one copy to the county superintendent of schools. Please allow sufficient time for the county superintendent to examine and approve the package, and to transmit to California Department of Education (CDE) prior to the deadline. After examination and approval, the county superintendent should forward the original package by August 29, 2008, to: Janice Huarte School Fiscal Services Division California Department of Education 1430 N Street, Suite 3800 Sacramento, CA 95814 5. More Information. If you have any questions, please contact Janice Huarte, School Fiscal Services Division, at 916-322-9128 or by e-mail at jhuarte@cde.ca.gov. The Form J-9MH-A, AB 1893 Certification, Form J-13A, and all instructions are available on the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/mhcsr9thgrade.asp.
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