Education finance: Classified School and Community College Employee Summer Assistance Programs.

Existing law establishes the Classified School and Community College Employee Summer Assistance Programs. Existing law authorizes local educational agencies and community college districts to elect to participate in the applicable program, and authorizes a classified employee of a participating local educational agency or community college district who meets specified requirements to withhold an amount from the employee's monthly paycheck during the academic school year to be paid out during the summer recess period, as provided. Existing law authorizes a classified employee to be eligible to participate in the applicable program if the classified employee is employed by the local educational agency or community college district in the employee's regular assignment for 11 months or fewer out of a 12-month period. For certain school years, for purposes of determining a classified employee's total months employed by the local educational agency or community college district, existing law requires the employing local educational agency or community college district to exclude any hours worked by the classified employee as a result of an extension of the academic school year directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as provided. This bill would define "month," for purposes of these provisions, as 20 days or 4 weeks of 5 days each, including legal holidays. The bill would extend, for the 2023–24 and 2024–25 school years, the exclusion of hours worked by the classified employee of a local educational agency as a result of an extension of the academic school year directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic.