Under state law, school district funding is provided based on student average daily attendance (ADA), meaning the average percentage of students who attend school over the course of the school year. Crucial district funding can be reduced if students are unable to attend school due to an emergency beyond the control of the district.

Section 46392 of the Education Code permits districts to apply to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction for an allowance permitting a district which suffers ADA loss due to an emergency to receive funding based on an estimate by the State Superintendent of the ADA average daily attendance that would have been credited to the district, county office of education, or charter school had the emergency not occurred.

Floods are among the qualifying emergencies recognized by section 46392, and in the wake of recent underground flooding at the district’s Ruby Bridges Elementary School site, the school lost electrical power, heat, and the ability to make or receive telephone calls for three school days. The absence of power, heat, and communications presented an emergency health and safety risk to students at Ruby Bridges. Due to these health and safety risks, the District cancelled classes at Ruby Bridges until the effects of the flooding conditions could be repaired and the site restored to allow safe occupancy by students and staff.

In the absence of an ADA allowance from the State Superintendent, the district faces reduced funding because of its decision to cancel classes and is now asking the Board of Education to authorize and direct staff to file an "Application for Allowance of Attendance due to Emergency Conditions" in the form of the attached document and to take all other actions required to seek and obtain an emergency ADA allowance for the Ruby Bridges closure.