Existing law establishes that a local educational agency’s apportionment is based on average daily attendance (ADA) and authorizes independent study (IS), including course‑based independent study (CBIS), under specified conditions. Existing law does not require a school district or county office of education to offer IS.
This bill would require each school district and county office of education to offer short‑term independent study and to annually certify a baseline menu of course‑based independent study courses by grade band that may be scheduled on campus while a pupil remains enrolled and physically attends the pupil’s school of enrollment for other courses and services. The bill would provide that any day of off‑campus learning claimed for apportionment shall be deemed independent study for that day and shall comply with the independent study statutes. The bill would require the State Board of Education and the State Department of Education to adopt standardized templates for independent study documentation and to publish CALPADS business rules to preserve statewide data comparability. The bill would appropriate funds for implementation, teacher time, training, and SIS/CALPADS updates, and would provide audit safe harbors, small‑LEA capacity supports, and protections for special education and interscholastic athletic eligibility. The bill would make related findings and declarations, provide a cure period for clerical defects, include a sunset and reporting requirement, and provide that no reimbursement is required if the appropriation fully covers the mandates created by this act.
Section 1 states findings. Section 2 amends Section 46300 to deem any day of off‑campus learning claimed for apportionment to be independent study for that day. Section 3 amends Section 51745 to clarify on‑campus scheduling of IS/CBIS and prohibit double‑counting of ADA. Section 4 adds Section 51745.15 to require a statewide minimum offering of short‑term IS and a baseline CBIS menu, including a parent request process. Section 5 adds Section 51747.7 to require standardized IS documentation templates as a condition of apportionment. Section 6 amends Section 51749.5 to harmonize CBIS and on‑campus scheduling. Section 7 adds Section 51745.16 to authorize county office or partner‑LEA memoranda of understanding to support small LEAs. Sections 8 through 15 address appropriation, rulemaking, pilot and statewide timelines, special education and athletics, procurement controls, audit safe harbors, privacy and electronic signatures, sunset, severability, and no reimbursement.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
(a) The Legislature finds that permitting pupils to earn attendance through verified independent study while remaining enrolled and physically attending their schools of enrollment for other courses and services promotes engagement, reduces chronic absenteeism, and advances equitable access to instruction.
(b) The Legislature further finds that statewide uniformity in independent study documentation and data reporting is necessary to maintain fiscal integrity and comparability of accountability indicators across local educational agencies.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to require a minimum level of independent study access in every school district and county office of education, to authorize on‑campus scheduling of independent study and course‑based independent study, and to provide funding and safeguards to support implementation without creating new attendance categories.
46300. (a)–(g) [No change]
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, a day of off‑campus learning claimed for apportionment by a local educational agency shall be deemed independent study for that day and shall comply with Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 51745), including course‑based independent study authorized by Section 51749.5. A local educational agency shall not claim more than one day of apportionment per pupil per calendar day.
51745. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that independent study provide an alternative to classroom instruction consistent with the local educational agency’s course of study and be equal in quality and rigor to classroom instruction.
(b) Independent study and course‑based independent study may be scheduled on the campus of a pupil’s school of enrollment during the regular schoolday in conjunction with other classroom‑based courses and services. Scheduling pursuant to this subdivision shall not authorize the claiming of more than one day of apportionment per pupil per calendar day.
(c)–(f) [No change]
51745.15. (a) Each school district and county office of education shall offer all of the following:
(b) A local educational agency shall provide a written response to a parent or guardian request for access to independent study or course‑based independent study within 10 schooldays, including the basis for any denial and information regarding appeal to the superintendent or designee.
(c) A pupil served pursuant to this section shall remain enrolled in the pupil’s school of enrollment and may physically attend that school for other courses, services, and activities.
(d) Nothing in this section limits placement determinations required by an individualized education program pursuant to federal law.
51747.7. (a) As a condition of apportionment for independent study and course‑based independent study, a local educational agency shall use standardized documentation adopted by the State Board of Education, including all of the following:
(b) The State Department of Education shall publish the standardized documentation in multiple languages and shall update the documentation as necessary to maintain alignment with the most recent K–12 Audit Guide.
51749.5. (a) Course‑based independent study may be offered to pupils pursuant to this section and shall be subject to board certification and progress monitoring as specified by statute and regulation.
(b) A local educational agency may schedule course‑based independent study on the campus of a pupil’s school of enrollment during the regular schoolday in conjunction with other classroom‑based courses and services, subject to the limitation in subdivision (h) of Section 46300.
(c)–(g) [No change]
51745.16. (a) A school district may enter into a memorandum of understanding with a county office of education or another local educational agency to provide course‑based independent study instruction to pupils enrolled in the district when necessary to ensure access under Section 51745.15. The memorandum shall specify roles and responsibilities, including the teacher‑of‑record, grading, documentation custody, and data exchange.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the local educational agency that claims apportionment for a pupil pursuant to this article shall employ the certificated employee who serves as the pupil’s teacher‑of‑record for purposes of determining the time value of work products or verifying course progress.
(a) The sum of ____ dollars ($____) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of Education for the 2025–26 fiscal year for allocation as grants to local educational agencies to support implementation of this act, including training and professional development, teacher‑of‑record time for verification and pupil contact, translation of standardized documentation, and student information system alignment.
(b) The department may allocate a portion of the appropriation for CALPADS and vendor interface updates necessary to implement Section 9 of this act and for technical assistance to small local educational agencies.
(a) The State Board of Education shall adopt the standardized documentation required by Section 51747.7 and any necessary regulations to implement this act on or before January 1, 2026.
(b) The State Department of Education shall publish CALPADS business rules and codes necessary to implement this act, including daily flags for seat‑time present, independent study present, absence, and absence recovered through attendance recovery, validation rules enforcing the one‑day apportionment limit, and logic preserving the comparability of chronic absenteeism reporting.
(a) The department may designate a pilot cohort of local educational agencies to implement the standardized documentation and CALPADS rules during the 2026–27 school year and shall provide technical assistance and conduct midyear audit sampling of documentation.
(b) Commencing with the 2027–28 school year, all local educational agencies shall implement Sections 51745.15 and 51747.7.
(c) The department shall report annually to the Legislature on participation, apportionment effects, chronic absenteeism, subgroup outcomes, audit findings, and teacher workload associated with implementation of this act.
(a) Placement of a pupil with an individualized education program into independent study or course‑based independent study shall be determined by the individualized education program team, and services may be delivered on campus while the pupil participates in independent study.
(b) A pupil who remains enrolled in and physically attends the pupil’s school of enrollment while participating in independent study or course‑based independent study shall retain interscholastic athletic eligibility consistent with applicable association rules; participation pursuant to this act shall not be deemed a school transfer.
(a) Nothing in this act authorizes a local educational agency to provide cash, gift cards, or things of value to families or pupils in connection with independent study beyond what is provided to pupils in classroom‑based programs.
(b) A local educational agency may establish a preapproved vendor catalog for curriculum materials and services to support independent study, provided that all purchases are made by the local educational agency as school property and are subject to inventory and return controls consistent with the K–12 Audit Guide.
(a) For purposes of audit, a local educational agency shall maintain, for each pupil day claimed as independent study, the standardized documentation adopted pursuant to Section 51747.7 and evidence of the teacher‑determined time value of work products in hours or fractions of hours and any synchronous instruction offered and attended.
(b) Prior to disallowing apportionment due solely to clerical defects in standardized documentation and where substantive participation is otherwise evidenced, the department or its designee shall provide written notice and a period of 30 calendar days to cure the defect.
(a) Documentation and data collected pursuant to this act shall comply with applicable state and federal pupil privacy laws.
(b) A local educational agency may execute and retain documentation required by this act using electronic signatures and electronic records consistent with applicable law.
(a) This act shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before July 1, 2030, deletes or extends that date.
(b) The Legislature intends that any extension of this act consider audit error rates, statewide data comparability, equitable participation, and educator workload indicators reported pursuant to Section 10.
If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.
Notwithstanding the appropriation in Section 8 of this act, no reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the state has provided an appropriation that fully covers the cost of the state mandates created by this act.
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