Assembly BillIntroducedEducation
AB 2509: Education finance: average daily attendance: apportionments.
What AB 2509 does, verified May 16, 2026
<p>The bill amends sections 42238.05 and 42238.051 of the education code to adjust how a school district’s fiscal year average daily attendance (ADA) is calculated for the local control funding formula. Currently, ADA is based on the second principal apportionment regular ADA from the current or prior fiscal years, or the average of the three most recent prior fiscal years. The bill proposes that if the average of the five most recent prior fiscal years yields a higher value, it should be used instead.</p>
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: In committee: Held under submission. (2026-05-14)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions10 total · showing 5
| May. 14, 2026 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| May. 06, 2026 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Apr. 21, 2026 | Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr. 20, 2026 | Read second time and amended. |
| Apr. 16, 2026 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 2.) (April 15). |
Latest bill textAmended version, April 20, 2026 · 1,200 words
| Amended IN Assembly April 20, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly March 16, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2509
| Introduced by Assembly |
February 20, 2026 |
An act to amend Sections 42238.05 and 42238.051 of the Education Code, relating to education finance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2509, as amended, Schultz. Education finance: average daily attendance: apportionments.
Existing law establishes a public school financing system that requires state funding for county superintendents of schools, school districts, and charter schools to be calculated pursuant to a local control funding formula, as specified. Existing law requires the local control funding formula, in part, to be based on average daily attendance, as defined. For purposes of the local control funding formula, existing law requires a school district’s fiscal year average daily attendance to be computed using the 2nd principal apportionment regular average daily attendance for the greater of the current fiscal year, the prior fiscal year, or the average of the 3 most recent prior fiscal years, as specified.
This bill, for purposes of the local control funding formula, would require a school district’s fiscal year average daily attendance to be computed using the average of the 5 most recent prior fiscal years, if that average is greater than the 3 averages described above. For purposes of computing the regular average daily attendance, the bill would authorize a school district to exclude the 5 days, in which attendance was taken, with the lowest recorded attendance from the current fiscal year and the prior fiscal year.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 42238.05 of the Education Code is amended to read:42238.05.
(a) For purposes of Sections 42238.02, 42238.025, and 42238.03, the fiscal year average daily attendance for a school district shall be computed pursuant to paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, as applicable.(1) (A) The second principal apportionment regular average daily attendance that is the greatest of the following:
(i) The current fiscal year.
(ii) The prior fiscal year.
(iii) The average of the three most recent prior fiscal years.
(iv) The average of the five most recent prior fiscal years.
(B) The average daily attendance computed pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall exclude units of average daily attendance resulting from pupils attending schools funded pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 42280).
(2) The units of average daily attendance resulting from pupils attending schools funded pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 42280).
(3) Average daily attendance for any applicable prior fiscal year shall be adjusted for any loss or gain of average daily attendance due to a reorganization or transfer of territory.
(b) For purposes of this article, regular average daily attendance shall be the base grant average daily attendance.
(c) For purposes of this section, the Superintendent shall distribute total ungraded enrollment and average daily attendance among kindergarten and each of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in proportion to the amounts of graded enrollment and average daily attendance, respectively, in each of these grades.
(d) Subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive, shall only apply to average daily attendance generated by school districts and shall not apply to average daily attendance generated by charter schools.
(e) A pupil shall not be counted more than once for purposes of calculating average daily attendance pursuant to this section.
(f) For purposes of Sections 42238.02, 42238.025, and 42238.03, average daily attendance for a charter school shall be the total current year average daily attendance in the corresponding grade level ranges for the charter school.
(g) For purposes of computing the average of the three and five most recent prior fiscal years for a school district pursuant to this section, the Superintendent shall adjust a school district’s average daily attendance applicable to the 2021–22 fiscal year by the amount computed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 42238.023.
SEC. 2.
Section 42238.051 of the Education Code is amended to read:42238.051.
(a) For purposes of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 42238.05, a sponsoring school district’s average daily attendance shall be computed as follows:(1) Compute the sponsoring school district’s regular average daily attendance in the current fiscal year, excluding the attendance of pupils in charter schools.
(2) (A) Compute the regular average daily attendance used to calculate the second principal apportionment of the school district for the three and five most recent prior fiscal years, excluding the attendance of pupils in charter schools.
(B) For the purpose of computing attendance for the three and five most recent prior fiscal years pursuant to subparagraph (A), the following adjustments shall be made:
(i) For a pupil attending a noncharter school of the school district between July 1, and the last day of the second attendance period, inclusive, in the current, prior, second, third, or fourth prior fiscal year, who attended a charter school sponsored by the school district in the respective prior fiscal year, the amount of second period attendance generated by that pupil at the charter school shall increase the sponsoring school district’s attendance for the respective prior fiscal year.
(ii) For a pupil attending a charter school between July 1, and the last day of the second attendance period, inclusive, in the current, prior, second, third, or fourth prior fiscal year, who attended a noncharter school of the sponsoring school district in the respective prior fiscal year, the amount of second period attendance generated by that pupil at the noncharter school of the school district shall decrease the sponsoring school district’s attendance for the respective prior fiscal year.
(iii) For purposes of clauses (i) and (ii), a pupil enrolled in a grade at a charter school sponsored by the school district shall not be counted if the school district does not offer classes for pupils enrolled in that grade for the respective prior fiscal year.
(iv) In each fiscal year, school districts shall report to the Superintendent the total prior year increase or decrease in second period attendance pursuant to clauses (i) and (ii) at the first and second principal apportionments.
(v) For the 2022–23 fiscal year, an adjustment shall not be made to attendance in the second and third prior fiscal years.
(vi) For the 2023–24 fiscal year, an adjustment shall not be made to attendance in the third prior fiscal year.
(vii) Notwithstanding clauses (v) and (vi), if in any fiscal year the adjustments described in clauses (i) and (ii) result in a 50 percent or greater reduction of the school district’s second period attendance for the prior or second prior fiscal year, the school district’s average second period attendance for the three and five most recent prior fiscal years shall be zero.
(3)For purposes of computing the regular average daily attendance pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2), the sponsoring school district may exclude the five days, in which attendance was taken, with the lowest recorded attendance from the current fiscal year and the prior fiscal year, as applicable.
(b) For purposes of this section, a “sponsoring school district” shall mean a “sponsoring local educational agency,” as defined in Section 47632, as that section read on January 1, 2013.
Text of AB 2509 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions