An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 2 - Governance

All California nonprofits must keep current records, which includes keeping a copy of the Bylaws at its principal California office. Bylaws should be kept up to date by filing copies of amendments with the Bylaws as they are adopted by resolutions of the Board or members. 71 Periodically, and particularly when contemplating any amendments to the Bylaws, it may be beneficial to conduct a comprehensive review of the entire document to ensure it is both clear and current. There are several benefits to doing so. First, the Board should ensure the Bylaws are consistent with the Articles of Incorporation. Second, reviewing the Bylaws helps to ensure that the Board is conducting itself in the manner required by the Bylaws. Third, the review provides an opportunity for the Board to fine tune the Bylaws so that it can run the School as efficiently as possible. F. P RIVATE S CHOOL A FFIDAVIT A Private School Affidavit (PSA), also referred to as the R-4 Form, must be filed with the Superintendent of Public Instruction each year between October 1 and 15. 72 A school is required to file the PSA through the California Department of Education (CDE) website ( http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/rq/affidavit.asp ). The information collected through the PSA is used by the CDE to create an online Private School Directory. Filing a PSA may also be necessary for private schools to participate in No Child Left Behind grants and services. Students who attend a private school that did not file a PSA may not be exempt from California’s compulsory education laws. 73 Private schools are not required to file the PSA until they have at least one (1) student. The PSA must include all of the following information:  All names, whether real or fictitious, under which the school has done and is doing business;  The address, including city and street, of every place the school does business within the State of California;

 The address, including city and street, of the location of the records of the school, and the name and address, including city and street, of the custodian of such records;  The names and addresses, including city and street, of the directors, if any, and principal officers of the school;  The school enrollment, by grades, number of teachers, coeducational or enrollment limited to boys or girls and boarding facilities;  That the following records are maintained at the address stated, and are true and accurate:  The attendance of the pupils in a register that indicates clearly every absence from school for a half day or more during each day that school is maintained during the year;  The courses of study offered by the institution.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 45