Liability Limit for Willful Pupil Misconduct + ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT TO BID THRESHOLD FOR CONTRACTS - Correspondence (CA Dept of Education)

Liability Limit for Willful Pupil Misconduct - Correspondence (CA Dept of Education):

Dear County and District Superintendents and Chief Business Officials, and Charter School Administrators:

ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT TO LIABILITY LIMIT OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN
FOR WILLFUL PUPIL MISCONDUCT

California Education Code (EC) Section 48904(a)(1)  provides that the parent or guardian of a minor is liable for all damages caused by the willful misconduct of the minor that results in the injury or death of any pupil, school district or private school employee, or school volunteer. The parent or guardian is also liable for damages to real or personal property belonging to the school district or private school, or personal property belonging to a school employee, resulting from the willful misconduct of the minor. The liability of the parent or guardian shall not exceed $10,000, adjusted for inflation per EC Section 48904(a)(2).

EC Section 48904(a)(1) also specifies that the parent or guardian of a minor is liable for any reward offered by a local agency pursuant to Government Code Section 53069.5  for information leading to the identification and apprehension of the minor who willfully damages or destroys property, or whose willful misconduct results in injury or death to any person. This liability also shall not exceed $10,000, adjusted for inflation per EC Section 48904(a)(2).

The State Superintendent of Public Instruction is required to annually adjust both of the above $10,000 liability limits specified in EC Section 48904(a)(1) to reflect the percentage change in the Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchases of Goods and Services for the United States, as published by the United States Department of Commerce for the 12-month period ending in the prior fiscal year. Effective January 1, 2013, the inflation adjustment is rounded to the nearest one hundred dollars ($100).

Pursuant to the above calculation, and effective January 1, 2014, the SSPI has determined that the inflation adjusted liability limit will increase from $18,100 to $18,300. Shown below are the inflation adjusted bid thresholds for the current and two prior years.

Calendar Year	Liability Limit	Percentage Change in Implicit Price Deflator
2012	$17,593	2.81%
2013	$18,100	2.99%
2014	$18,300	.858%

This letter (with links to the Government Code and EC sections cited) has been posted to the Office of Financial Accountability and Information Services Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/ac/co/.

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact the Office of Financial Accountability and Information Services by phone at 916-322-1770 or by e-mail at sacsinfo@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Peter Foggiato, Director
School Fiscal Services Division

Dear County and District Superintendents and Chief Business Officials, and Charter School Administrators:

ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT TO BID THRESHOLD FOR CONTRACTS
AWARDED BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Public Contract Code (PCC) Section 20111(a)  requires school district governing boards to competitively bid and award any contracts involving an expenditure of more than $50,000, adjusted for inflation, to the lowest responsible bidder. Contracts subject to competitive bidding include:

1. Purchase of equipment, materials, or supplies to be furnished, sold, or leased to the school district.
   
2. Services that are not construction services.
   
3. Repairs, including maintenance as defined in PCC Section 20115, that are not public projects as defined in PCCSection 22002(c) .

The State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) is required to annually adjust the $50,000 amount specified in PCCSection 20111(a) to reflect the percentage change in the annual average value of the Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchases of Goods and Services for the United States, as published by the United States Department of Commerce, for the 12-month period ending in the prior fiscal year. The inflation adjustment is rounded to the nearest one hundred dollars ($100).
Pursuant to the above calculation, and effective January 1, 2014, the SSPI has determined that the inflation adjusted bid threshold will increase by $700, from $83,400 to $84,100. Shown below are the inflation adjusted bid thresholds for the current and two prior years.

Calendar Year	Bid Threshold	Percentage Change in Implicit Price Deflator
2012	$81,000	2.72%
2013	$83,400	2.99%
2014	$84,100	.858%

Also note that public projects as defined in PCC Section 22002(c), such as construction or reconstruction of publicly owned facilities, have a lower bid threshold of $15,000 that is not adjusted for inflation. For more information on bidding requirements for all projects, refer to PCC sections 20110 to 20118.4.
This letter (with links to the PCC sections cited above) is posted on the Office of Financial Accountability and Information Services Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/ac/co/.
If you have questions regarding this subject, please contact the Office of Financial Accountability and Information Services by phone at 916-322-1770 or by e-mail at sacsinfo@cde.ca.gov.
Sincerely,
Peter Foggiato, Director
School Fiscal Services Division