Gateway Community Charters - Local Control & Accountability Plans (LCAP)

Local Control & Accountability Plans (LCAP)

In July 2013, Governor Brown signed into law a new way to distribute funds to California school districts. The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) changed the funding formula for public education and requires school districts to develop a Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). The LCAP is a three year plan that aligns the District’s educational goals with financial resources. The LCAP is a critical part of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Under LCFF, school districts serving high-needs students receive additional funds, based on the number and percentages of high-needs students they serve called Supplemental and Concentration funds. Supplemental and Concentration LCFF funds are allocated to support students who qualify as low-income (as measured by their eligibility for free or reduced-price meal program), students who are in foster care, and students who are English language learners.

Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)

Under the LCFF, all local educational agencies (LEAs) including school districts, county offices of education (COEs), and charter schools are required to prepare an LCAP, which describes how they intend to meet annual goals for all pupils, with specific activities to address state and local priorities identified pursuant to California Education Code (EC) sections 52060(d), 52066(d), and 47605.

California school districts must engage with families, students, educators, employees, and the community to develop the district’s LCAP. The LCAP will describe the school district’s overall vision for students, annual goals, and specific actions that will be taken to achieve the vision and goals. The LCAP must focus on the eight areas identified as state priorities. The plan will also demonstrate how the district’s budget will help achieve the goals, and will annually assess how well the strategies in the plan were able to improve outcomes.

What are the eight state priority areas that must be addressed in the plans?

There are eight areas for which school districts, with parents and community input, must establish goals and actions, district-wide and also for each school. The areas are:

- Providing all students access to fully credentialed teachers, instructional materials that align with state standards, and safe facilities.
- Implementation of California’s academic standards, including the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and math, Next Generation Science Standards, English language development, history social science, visual and performing arts, health education, and physical education standards.
- Parent involvement and participation, so the local community is engaged in the decision-making process and the educational programs of students.
- Improving student achievement and outcomes along multiple measures, including test scores, English proficiency and college and career preparedness.
- Supporting student engagement, including whether students attend school or are chronically absent.
- Highlighting school climate and connectedness through a variety of factors, such as suspension and expulsion rates and other locally identified means.
- Ensuring all students have access to classes that prepare them for college and careers, regardless of what school they attend or where they live.
- Measuring other important student outcomes related to required areas of study, including physical education and the arts. In addition to these eight areas, a district may also identify and incorporate in its plan goals related to its own local priorities.