Access California Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten and Full-Day Kindergarten Facilities Grant Program Funding

CALIFORNIA PRESCHOOL, TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN AND FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN FACILITIES PROGRAM

ELIGIBILITY FOR FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN AND TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN

Pursuant to Program statute, school districts may apply for funding to construct new classrooms or retrofit existing school facilities for the purposes of providing transitional kindergarten and full-day kindergarten instruction. County offices of education, charter schools, joint powers of authority, and the State Department of Education, may not apply for Transitional Kindergarten or Full-Day Kindergarten grants. Projects submitted by school districts are eligible for funding if they meet the following requirements:

1. School districts that have or will have school board approval to provide transitional and/or full-day kindergarten.
2. School districts that lack the facilities to appropriately provide transitional and/or full-day kindergarten.

Per Education Code Section 17375(b)(1), grants will only be awarded to school districts that lack the facilities to provide transitional kindergarten or full-day kindergarten or lack the facilities that satisfy the design requirements required for new kindergarten classrooms as specified by California Code of Regulations Section 14030(h)(2). For the purposes of determining classroom capacity, each classroom will be loaded pursuant to State loading standards for (K-6) classrooms at 25 pupils. If the school site in the application has kindergarten classrooms that currently house more than 25 pupils in a kindergarten classroom (for example, AM and PM kindergarten classes in the same classroom), then they may be eligible for the Program funding to create two full-day classrooms.

Per Program Regulation Section 1860.8, prior to the School District requesting Program funds for facilities, the School District must hold title to the real property where the facilities will be located.

For more detailed information on program eligibility refer to Program Regulation Sections 1860.5 and 1860.5.1.

ELIGIBILITY FOR STATE PRESCHOOL

School districts, County offices of education, and Community Colleges may apply for funding to construct new classrooms or retrofit existing school facilities for the purposes of providing California preschool instruction. Charter schools, joint powers of authority, and the State Department of Education, may not apply for California Preschool grants.

Projects submitted by school districts are eligible for funding if they meet the following requirements:

1. School districts that have school board approval to provide or expand preschool instruction and must certify that the school district has or will apply for a contract to operate a preschool program before occupying the to-be-constructed or retrofitted facility.

    

2. School districts that lack the facilities to appropriately provide California preschool instruction.

For the purposes of determining classroom capacity, each classroom will be loaded at 25 pupils. If the school site in the application has preschool classrooms that currently house more than 25 pupils in a classroom, then they may be eligible for the Program funding.

Per Program Regulation Section 1860.8, prior to the School District requesting Program funds for facilities, the School District must hold title to the real property where the facilities will be located. Community College projects must be placed on the Community College campus.

For more detailed information on program eligibility refer to Program Regulation Section 1860.5.2.

Type of Funding Available

• New Construction
  • New Construction projects may include constructing new classroom facilities or the acquisition and conversion of existing structures for public educational purposes. Must be on or adjacent to an existing school site.
• New Construction with Advance
  • Projects may apply for an advance of funds if they do not have all required documents at the time of the submittal of Application for Funding (Form SAB 70-01)
• Retrofit
  • A construction project to retrofit an existing school facility to adequately house full-day kindergarten, transitional kindergarten, or preschool pupils.
• Retrofit with Advance
  • Projects may apply for an advance of funds if they do not have all required documents at the time of the submittal of Application for Funding (Form SAB 70-01)
• The following additional grants may be requested:

Application Submittal

• All school districts applying for Program funding must include the following documents with the submittal, as applicable given the grant type and supplemental grants requested:
• Narrative of the proposed project, which should include:
• Identify usage of all facilities on the project site
• Explain the District’s proposed scope of work in the project plans
• Explain the District’s planned classroom usage at the completion of the project
• Identify the enrollment year when Full-Day Kindergarten instruction was first offered at the project site
• CalPads report of the current enrollment at the site and enrollment three years immediately preceding the enrollment reporting year
• Site map:
• Identify and label all current classrooms and the grade level being housed
• Identify and label existing kindergarten compliant classrooms
• Identify any classrooms that will not provide full-day instruction at the completion of the project (If applying for retrofit funding, identify which facilities the district plans to retrofit)
• Preschool Projects should include:
• The most recent childcare needs assessment conducted by its regional local planning council for preschool age children.
• A future or current contract with the Department of Education

• Financial Hardship:

• Applicants requesting Financial Hardship on Form SAB 70-01 must submit a complete and valid Phase 1 Financial Hardship Checklist and all required supporting documentation with the Form SAB 70-01. For more information on Financial Hardship assistance, please visit 

  Access Financial Hardship Assistance for School Construction.

Funding Timelines

• Fund Release Authorization (Form SAB 70-02) documents must be submitted with all required District approvals within 18 months of receiving funding approval.
  
  • Districts may submit extension request letters to OPSC for SAB approval detailing evidence of substantial progress and/or circumstances beyond district control that preclude the District from submitting Fund Release Authorization within 18 months of first apportionment.
  • Projects funded in the fifth funding round may only request extensions to their Fund Release Authorization up to 12 months from their original deadline and no later than April 28, 2029, whichever comes first.
  • Districts that do not submit Fund Release Authorization documentation or an extension request by the Fund Release Authorization deadline will have their projects rescinded without SAB approval.
• Expenditure Reports (Form SAB 70-03) must be submitted with all accompanying documentation within three years of apportionment.
  
  • OPSC cannot provide extensions for the submission of Expenditure Reports Form SAB 70-03.

For a list for all approvals required for each grant type and available supplemental grants, refer to the “Special Instructions” section of the Application for Funding (Form SAB 70-01).

A school district that has received funds in accordance with the program must submit a valid Expenditure Report (Form SAB 70-03) at the completion of the project. A project is considered complete when either of the following occurs: 1) When the notice of completion has been filed; all outstanding invoices, claims, and change orders have been satisfied and the facility is currently in use by the school district, or 2) Three years from the date of the first apportionment. If applicable, a final savings report shall be due one year after the first expenditure report. OPSC will use the information provided on and with the 70-03 to ensure that expenditures made by the school districts for Program projects comply with program statute and other applicable State requirements pertaining to construction.