SSC Glossary

Academic Funding Per Student: A school or district’s funding for its general educational program, divided by its enrollment.

Average Daily Attendance (ADA): A measure of actual in-class student attendance used as the basis for providing LCFF revenue to school districts.

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act): https://www.ada.gov The ADA protects qualified individuals with disabilities. An individual with a disability is a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits major life activities; has a record of such an impairment; or is regarded as having such an impairment.

Audit: A review of documents and records to ensure that school district financial statements provide an accurate picture of its fiscal operations and status.

Base Grant Funding: These are the largest category of LCFF grants, and are provided to school districts based on their total average daily attendance. They must be reported in a school district’s annual LCAP.

Board of Education: Elected officials representing seven different regions of the district who are responsible for budget development, oversee the Superintendent, and set overall policies for student services.

Bond: The state as well as districts can borrow money by issuing bonds, which it later must repay. Bond funding is typically used for school construction or renovation.

Budget: A plan of financial activity for a specified fiscal year indicating all planned revenues and expenditures for the year.

Carryover: Unspent financial resources that are carried forward from one fiscal year to the next.

Central Office: The district-wide administrative office of OUSD.

(ELL) English Language Learner: students who are unable to communicate fluently or learn effectively in English, who often come from non-English-speaking homes and backgrounds, and who typically require specialized or modified instruction in both the English language and in their academic courses.

Enrollment: The number of students formally enrolled in a school or district as of the first week.

Expenditure: A payment made for salaries, benefits, materials, equipment, or capital improvements.

Final Budget: The Superintendent’s budget as approved by the Board of Education.

(FY) Fiscal Year: Budgets plan on spending for a single fiscal year at a time. The fiscal year for California school districts begins July 1st and ends on the following June 30th.

Homeless Students: The number of students reported as experiencing homelessness.

(IDEA) The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act:  IDEA is the primary federal program that authorizes state and local aid for special education and related services for children with disabilities.

(IEP) Individualized Education Program: The Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) is a plan or program developed to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under the law and is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives specialized instruction and related services.

(LCAP) Local Control and Accountability Plan: A district-wide plan identifying specific funding for the strategies it will use to support high-need students. Typically this centers on spending LCFF supplemental and concentration grants. Districts are required to seek input from parents, teachers, community leaders, and students themselves in developing the plan.

(LCFF) Local Control Funding Formula:  The primary state funding stream for school districts. Under this law, all districts receive same base funding per student, depending on grade level, and some get more in the form of supplemental and concentration grants to educate high-need student groups: Low-income students, English learners, and foster youth. Districts are required to outline how they spend these extra dollars in their annual LCAP and provide opportunities for communities to engage in its development.

Non-discretionary Funding: Funding received by a school that must be spent for specific purposes, such as teachers or the school lunch program. Most of a school’s funding is non-discretionary.

One-time: Revenue or expenditures that are available for use once.

Ongoing: Revenue or expenditures that are expected to continue into multiple years.

Reserve: An account used to set aside a portion of financial resources for future purposes, often to protect against recessions. The amounts held in reserve cannot be expended without the Board’s formal approval.

Restricted: Funding the District receives that is limited to specific students or expenditures. This includes Title I funding from the federal government and special education funding.

Revenues: Resources the district receives during the fiscal year as income. This includes LCFF state revenue and federal and state grants.

(SSC) School Site Council: Compromised of school administrators, teachers, parents and community members, a School Site Council is responsible for the development, annual review, and update of the School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA), which sets goals for improving student achievement and addresses how discretionary funds will be used to improve academic performance. 

(SPSA) School Plan for Student Achievement: A document prepared annually by the School Site Council, providing details about the school’s planned actions and discretionary expenditures to support student outcomes and overall performance.  SPSAs typically contain plans on how to spend Title I and Student Equity Need Index dollars.

(SPED) Special Education):  Programs that provide special services for students with disabilities.

(SDC) Special Day Class: The Special Day Class provides services to SPED students who have more intensive needs than can be met by the general education class with Resource Specialist and Designated Instructional Services (DIS) support. This may include students identified as learning disabled, physically disabled, etc. Students are served in special education class for the majority of their school day.

Special Education Funding Per Student with Disabilities: A school or district’s total funding for special education, divided by its enrollment of students with disabilities.

Special Fund: Financial resources that are separate from the General Fund, for specific uses (including adult education, building funds, and school nutrition programs).

Students with Disabilities: These are students who have disabilities, which can include physical or learning disabilities.

Students per Social Emotional Support Staff: The ratio of students to staff providing social emotional support, such as counselors, psychologists, social workers, and restorative justice counselors.

Students per Teacher: The ratio of students to ordinary classroom teachers.  This excludes teachers with specialized roles, such as long-term substitutes, teacher-librarians, and special education teachers.

Superintendent: Appointed by the Board of Education, the Superintendent leads the administration of the district. This includes budget implementation, school-site management, staff services, and legislative affairs. 

Supplemental and Concentration Grant Funding: These are LCFF grants provided to school districts based on their number of high-need students.  They are meant to be spent to support those high-need students, and must be reported in a school district’s annual LCAP.

(TSP) Targeted Student Population: Another term for high-need students who receive additional funding under the Local Control Funding Formula. They are defined as students who are English learners, low-income students, and/or foster youth. 

Total Funding Per Student: A school or district’s total funding, divided by its enrollment.  To avoid misleading users, WeBudget excludes some spending from this indicator, such as one-time funding from bond revenues.

Unrestricted: Financial resources that can be spent by the District for any purpose, usually housed in the General Fund.

The 504 Plan is a plan developed to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under the law and is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives accommodations that will ensure their academic success and access to the learning environment.