(a) (1) If there is a significant barrier to pupil participation in a program established pursuant to this article at the school of attendance, a grantee may request approval from the department to transfer program services to another schoolsite within the same local educational agency. The schoolsite to which the program will be transferred shall satisfy either of the following requirements:

(A) The schoolsite shall agree to receive pupils from, and have an existing grant of the same type as, the transferring school.

(B) The schoolsite shall not have a 10-percent lower percentage of pupils eligible for free or reduced-price meals than the transferring school. If the proposed schoolsite is not yet open, feeder school free or reduced-price meal data, as determined by the department, shall be considered in evaluating the proposed transfer.

(2) The schoolsite shall not increase the funding at the proposed schoolsite above the maximum after school grant amount established in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 8483.7. An applicant that requests approval to transfer program services shall describe the manner in which the applicant intends to provide safe, supervised transportation; ensure communication among teachers in the regular school program, staff in the before school and after school components of the program, and parents of pupils; and coordinate the educational and literacy component of the before and after school components of the program with the regular school programs of participating pupils.

(b) For purposes of this article, a significant barrier to pupil participation in the before or after school component of a program established pursuant to this chapter means any of the following:

(1) Fewer than 20 pupils participating in the component of the program.

(2) Extreme transportation constraints, including, but not limited to, desegregation bussing, bussing for magnet or open enrollment schools, or pupil dependence on public transportation.

(3) A local educational agency opens a new schoolsite and either merges an existing schoolsite into the new schoolsite or splits an existing schoolsite’s pupils with the new schoolsite so that the existing schoolsite before or after school component of the program is subject to a grant reduction pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 8483.7.

(c) In addition to the authority to transfer funds among school programs pursuant to Sections 8483.7 and 8483.75, and in addition to the flexibility provided by subdivisions (a) and (b), a program grantee that is temporarily prevented from operating a program established pursuant to this article at the program site due to natural disaster, civil unrest, or imminent danger to pupils or staff may shift program funds to the sites of other programs established pursuant to this article to meet attendance targets during that time period.

(d) If a program grantee is temporarily prevented from operating its entire program due to natural disaster, civil unrest, or imminent danger to pupils or staff, the department may approve a request by the grantee for pupil attendance credits equal to the average annual attendance that the grantee would have received if it had been able to operate its entire program during that time period.

(e) Upon the request of a program grantee, the department may approve other unforeseen events as qualifying a program grantee to use the authority provided by subdivisions (c) and (d).

(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 561, Sec. 27. (AB 1516) Effective January 1, 2018.)