Article 3Waiver Authority

Section § 33050

Explanation

In California, a school district's governing board or a county board of education can ask the state board to waive certain education code sections or regulations after holding a public hearing. There are specifics that cannot be waived, which includes various chapters and sections related to financial requirements, teacher employment, and student assessments, among others. When requesting a waiver, boards must provide a statement about whether the employees' union was involved and their stance on the waiver. For waivers involving regional occupational centers operated by joint powers, the request must be unanimous among all participating districts.

(a)CA Education Code § 33050(a) The governing board of a school district or a county board of education, on a districtwide or countywide basis or on behalf of one or more of its schools or programs, after a public hearing on the matter, may request the state board to waive all or part of any section of this code or any regulation adopted by the state board that implements a provision of this code that may be waived, except:
(1)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(1) Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 2574) of Part 2 of Division 1 of Title 1.
(2)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(2) Article 1 (commencing with Section 15700) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 15780) of Chapter 4 of Part 10 of Division 1 of Title 1.
(3)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(3) Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 16000) of Part 10 of Division 1 of Title 1.
(4)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(4) Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 17000), Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 17070.10), and Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 17085) of Part 10 of Division 1 of Title 1.
(5)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(5) Part 13 (commencing with Section 22000), Part 13.5 (commencing with Section 25900), and Part 14 (commencing with Section 26000) of Division 1 of Title 1.
(6)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(6) Section 35735.1.
(7)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(7) Paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 37220.
(8)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(8) The following provisions of Part 10.5 (commencing with Section 17210) of Division 1 of Title 1:
(A)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(8)(A) Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 17210).
(B)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(8)(B) Article 1 (commencing with Section 17251) to Article 6 (commencing with Section 17365), inclusive, of Chapter 3.
(C)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(8)(C) Sections 17416 to 17429, inclusive; Sections 17459 and 17462; subdivision (a) of Section 17464; and Sections 17582 to 17590, inclusive.
(9)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(9) The following provisions of Part 24 (commencing with Section 41000) of Division 3:
(A)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(9)(A) Sections 41000 to 41360, inclusive.
(B)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(9)(B) Sections 41420 to 41423, inclusive.
(C)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(9)(C) Section 41544.
(D)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(9)(D) Sections 41600 to 41863, inclusive.
(E)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(9)(E) Sections 41930 to 42850, inclusive.
(10)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(10) Sections 44504 and 44505.
(11)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(11) Article 3 (commencing with Section 44930) of Chapter 4 of Part 25 of Division 3 and regulations in Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations adopted pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 44930) of Chapter 4 of Part 25 of Division 3.
(12)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(12) Part 26 (commencing with Section 46000) of Division 4.
(13)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(13) The following provisions of Part 26.8 (commencing with Section 47600) of Division 4:
(A)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(13)(A) Subdivision (i) of Section 47632.
(B)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(13)(B) Section 47635.
(C)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(13)(C) Section 47652.
(D)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(13)(D) Article 6 (commencing with Section 47660) of Chapter 6.
(14)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(14) Article 1 (commencing with Section 48000) of Chapter 1 of Part 27 of Division 4.
(15)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(15) Section 48310.
(16)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(16) Section 48359.5.
(17)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(17) Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 48900) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 49060) of Part 27 of Division 4.
(18)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(18) Section 51513.
(19)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(19) Section 52163.
(20)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(20) The identification and assessment criteria relating to any categorical aid program, including Sections 52164.1 and 52164.6.
(21)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(21) Sections 52165, 52166, and 52178.
(22)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(22) Section 56364.1, except that this restriction shall not prohibit the state board from approving any waiver of Section 56364.2, relating to full inclusion.
(23)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(23) Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) of Chapter 5 of Part 33 of Division 4, relating to the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), and any other provisions of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 60600) of Part 33 of Division 4 that establish requirements for the CAASPP.
(24)CA Education Code § 33050(a)(24) Part 38 (commencing with Section 65000) of Division 4.
(b)CA Education Code § 33050(b) A request for a waiver submitted by the governing board of a school district or a county board of education pursuant to subdivision (a) shall include a written statement as to both of the following:
(1)CA Education Code § 33050(b)(1) Whether the exclusive representative of employees, if any, as provided in Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code, participated in the development of the waiver.
(2)CA Education Code § 33050(b)(2) The exclusive representative’s position regarding the waiver.
(c)CA Education Code § 33050(c) A request for a waiver submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) relating to a regional occupational center or program established pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 52300) of Chapter 9 of Part 28 of Division 4, which is operated by a joint powers entity established pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, shall be submitted as a joint waiver request for each participating school district and shall meet both of the following conditions:
(1)CA Education Code § 33050(c)(1) Each joint waiver request shall comply with all of the requirements of this article.
(2)CA Education Code § 33050(c)(2) The submission of a joint waiver request shall be approved by a unanimous vote of the governing board of the joint powers agency.
waiver request public hearing governing board state board regional occupational center joint powers entity education code sections exclusive representative employee union participation California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress categorical aid program requirements
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 48, Sec. 17. (SB 114) Effective July 10, 2023.)

Section § 33051

Explanation

This law states that the state board must approve waiver requests unless specific problems are identified. These problems include unmet educational needs, lack of schoolsite council approval, inadequate review by advisory committees, risks to student or staff safety, threats to parental involvement, increased state costs, and lack of employee representative participation. If a school district has received the same waiver for two years in a row, they don't need to apply again every year unless information changes, but updates may be required. Waivers related to teacher credentialing must still be submitted yearly.

(a)CA Education Code § 33051(a) The state board shall approve any and all requests for waivers except in those cases where the board specifically finds any of the following:
(1)CA Education Code § 33051(a)(1) The educational needs of the pupils are not adequately addressed.
(2)CA Education Code § 33051(a)(2) The waiver affects a program that requires the existence of a schoolsite council and the schoolsite council did not approve the request.
(3)CA Education Code § 33051(a)(3) The appropriate councils or advisory committees, including bilingual advisory committees, did not have an adequate opportunity to review the request and the request did not include a written summary of any objections to the request by the councils or advisory committees.
(4)CA Education Code § 33051(a)(4) Pupil or school personnel protections are jeopardized.
(5)CA Education Code § 33051(a)(5) Guarantees of parental involvement are jeopardized.
(6)CA Education Code § 33051(a)(6) The request would substantially increase state costs.
(7)CA Education Code § 33051(a)(7) The exclusive representative of employees, if any, as provided in Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code, was not a participant in the development of the waiver.
(b)CA Education Code § 33051(b) The governing board of a school district that has requested and received a general waiver under this article for two consecutive years for the same general waiver is not required to reapply annually if the information contained on the request remains current. The state board may require updated information for the request whenever it determines that information to be necessary. This section does not prevent the state board from rescinding a waiver if additional information supporting a rescission is made available to the board. This waiver process shall not apply to waivers pertaining to teacher credentialing, which shall be submitted to the state board annually.
waiver requests state board approval educational needs schoolsite council bilingual advisory committees parental involvement state costs pupil protections school personnel protections employee representative government participation annual reapplication updated information requirements rescinding waivers teacher credentialing waivers
(Amended by Stats. 2008, Ch. 179, Sec. 42. Effective January 1, 2009.)

Section § 33051.5

Explanation

Before holding a public hearing about waiving certain education provisions, the State Board of Education must notify all relevant public agencies at least 30 days ahead of the hearing.

Not less than 30 days prior to any public hearing it conducts pursuant to Section 33050 concerning a request to waive any provision of Article 5 (commencing with Section 39390) of Chapter 3 of Part 23, the State Board of Education shall provide written notice of the hearing to each public agency to which an offer of sale or lease must be made under Section 39394.
public hearing notice waiver request Article 5 provisions offer of sale or lease State Board of Education public agencies notification Section 39394 hearing notification requirements education provisions waiver advance notice obligation public agency involvement Chapter 3 Part 23 30-day notice requirement education law hearing Section 33050 hearing
(Added by Stats. 1985, Ch. 837, Sec. 3.)

Section § 33052

Explanation

If the State Board of Education doesn't take official action on a waiver request by their second regular meeting after getting a complete request, the waiver is automatically approved for a year, starting the next month. However, any issues related to Article 5 starting with Section 39390 can only be waived by the board's formal decision.

(a)CA Education Code § 33052(a) If formal action by the State Board of Education on a waiver request is not taken by the second regular meeting of the board following receipt of a complete and documented waiver request by the State Department of Education, the waiver shall be deemed approved for one year, commencing the first day of the following month.
(b)CA Education Code § 33052(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), no provision of Article 5 (commencing with Section 39390) of Chapter 3 of Part 23 shall be waived except by formal action of the State Board of Education.
State Board of Education waiver request formal action automatic approval one-year approval Article 5 Section 39390 formal decision regular meeting State Department of Education
(Amended by Stats. 1988, Ch. 1461, Sec. 6.)

Section § 33052.3

Explanation

This law allows the Superintendent of Public Instruction to temporarily waive certain legal and regulatory requirements for school districts and county education offices for up to three years. However, this waiver is only available if these institutions volunteer to try out new and improved financial management and reporting practices before these practices are officially implemented.

For the purposes of improving the financial management and reporting practices of school districts and county offices of education, and developing and testing those practices prior to implementation, the Superintendent of Public Instruction may waive for up to three consecutive fiscal years the requirements of current law and the regulations that are in conflict with the proposed improvements. A waiver shall only be available to school districts and county offices of education that volunteer to develop and test the proposed improved financial management and reporting practices.
financial management reporting practices school districts county offices of education Superintendent of Public Instruction waiver volunteer improvement testing conflict with regulations fiscal years financial management improvements regulatory waiver education finance implementation testing
(Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 1461, Sec. 7.)

Section § 33052.5

Explanation

This law states that whenever the term "school district" is used in this article, it also refers to county offices of education. Basically, county offices are treated the same as school districts for the purposes of this article.

For purposes of this article, “school district” shall include county offices of education.
school district county offices of education definition interpretation inclusion educational agencies article school administration California education educational governance regulation clarification county education
(Added by Stats. 1983, Ch. 1302, Sec. 1.5. Effective September 30, 1983.)

Section § 33053

Explanation

Every year, the State Department of Education in California must create a report for the Governor, Legislature, State Board of Education, and others. This report talks about the waivers requested, how the board handled these requests, and where to find more information about these or new waivers.

The State Department of Education shall annually submit a report to the Governor, Legislature, State Board of Education, and make the report available to the superintendent and board president of each school district and county office of education. This report shall include a description of the number and types of waivers requested of the board, the actions of the board on those requests, and sources of further information on existing or possible waivers.
State Department of Education annual report Governor Legislature State Board of Education school districts county office of education waivers board requests actions of the board information on waivers superintendent board president
(Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1298, Sec. 1.)