Deadline Looming for School Districts to Opt into the Classified Summer Assistance Program
November 2018
Number 80
The 2018 education omnibus trailer bill, Assembly Bill (AB) 1808, was approved by Governor Jerry Brown this summer. Among other things, the bill creates the Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program for the 2019-2020 school year. The first deadline for this program is January 1, 2019. Therefore, the governing boards of local educational agencies (LEAs) must determine before the end of the 2018 calendar year whether or not to participate in the program.
The Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program allows a classified employee of a participating LEA who meets specified requirements to withhold an amount up to 10% from his or her monthly paycheck during the 2019-2020 school year to be paid out during the summer recess period. AB 1808 provides state matching funds to participating employees, and requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to apportion funds to participating LEAs to provide the matching funds - up to $1 for each $1 that the participating classified employee has elected to have withheld for his or her monthly paycheck. The program has only been funded for 2019-2020, and it is not clear whether it will continue to be funded in future years.
Classified Employee Eligibility
To be eligible to participate in the program, a classified employee must:
2019-20 Program Timeline
AB 1808 sets forth the following deadlines concerning the Classified School
Employee Summer Assistance Program:
Next Steps
LEAs must determine before the January 1, 2019 deadline whether or not to participate in the program. Many school districts have received "Demand to Bargain" letters concerning AB 1808 from their local union. LEAs should contact legal counsel regarding which aspects of AB 1808 are subject to negotiations, in order to ensure that any bargaining implications are addressed. We also recommend consulting with legal counsel regarding how and when to obtain board approval for participation in the program.
If you have any questions about this new program, please contact the authors of this Client News Brief or an attorney at one of our eight offices located statewide. You can also visit our website, follow us on Facebook or Twitter or download our Client News Brief App.
Number 80
The 2018 education omnibus trailer bill, Assembly Bill (AB) 1808, was approved by Governor Jerry Brown this summer. Among other things, the bill creates the Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program for the 2019-2020 school year. The first deadline for this program is January 1, 2019. Therefore, the governing boards of local educational agencies (LEAs) must determine before the end of the 2018 calendar year whether or not to participate in the program.
The Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program allows a classified employee of a participating LEA who meets specified requirements to withhold an amount up to 10% from his or her monthly paycheck during the 2019-2020 school year to be paid out during the summer recess period. AB 1808 provides state matching funds to participating employees, and requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to apportion funds to participating LEAs to provide the matching funds - up to $1 for each $1 that the participating classified employee has elected to have withheld for his or her monthly paycheck. The program has only been funded for 2019-2020, and it is not clear whether it will continue to be funded in future years.
Classified Employee Eligibility
To be eligible to participate in the program, a classified employee must:
- be employed with the LEA for at least one year at the time the employee elects to participate in the Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program;
- be employed by the LEA for fewer than 12 months per fiscal year; and
- not earn more than two times the full-time pay for an entire school year of a person earning minimum wage, paid at the state minimum wage, at the time of enrollment.
2019-20 Program Timeline
AB 1808 sets forth the following deadlines concerning the Classified School
Employee Summer Assistance Program:
- January 1, 2019-LEA must notify classified employees the LEA has elected to participate in the Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program for the 2019-2020 school year. Once an LEA elects into the program, the LEA is prohibited from reversing its decision to participate for the 2019-2020 school year.
- March 1, 2019-Employee must notify the LEA, in writing on a form developed by CDE that the employee elects to participate in the Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program for the 2019-2020 school year.
- April 1, 2019-LEA must notify the CDE, in writing on a form developed by CDE, that it has elected to participate in the Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program for the 2019-2020 school year.
- May 1, 2019-The CDE must notify the LEA, in writing, of the estimated amount of state-matched funding that a participating employee can expect to receive.
- June 1, 2019-LEA must notify participating employees of the amount of estimated state matched funds participating employee can expect to receive.
- No later than 30 days after the start of the 2019-2020 school year, an employee may withdraw his or her election to participate in the Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program or reduce the amount to be withheld from his or her paycheck.
- July 31, 2020-LEA must request payment from the CDE, in writing on a form developed by CDE, for the amount of employee pay that has been deposited into the Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program fund.
- Within 30 days of receiving a request for payment, CDE must apportion funds to participating LEAs.
Next Steps
LEAs must determine before the January 1, 2019 deadline whether or not to participate in the program. Many school districts have received "Demand to Bargain" letters concerning AB 1808 from their local union. LEAs should contact legal counsel regarding which aspects of AB 1808 are subject to negotiations, in order to ensure that any bargaining implications are addressed. We also recommend consulting with legal counsel regarding how and when to obtain board approval for participation in the program.
If you have any questions about this new program, please contact the authors of this Client News Brief or an attorney at one of our eight offices located statewide. You can also visit our website, follow us on Facebook or Twitter or download our Client News Brief App.
As the information contained herein is necessarily general, its application to a particular set of facts and circumstances may vary. For this reason, this News Brief does not constitute legal advice. We recommend that you consult with your counsel prior to acting on the information contained herein.
