Chapter 1 Election of School District Board Members
Chapter 2 Boards of Education
Chapter 3 Conduct of Elections

Terms Used In California Codes > Education Code > Title 1 > Division 1 > Part 4 - ELECTIONS

  • Abstract of judgment: In a federal criminal proceeding, A certification from a U.S. District Court clerk that a judgment of restitution was entered against the defendant owing to the victim. If the defendant inherits, owns, or sells real property or holdings, these assets can then be attached at the state and local levels as well.
  • Acquired: means received or taken by conveyance, judgment, decree, or otherwise. See California Code of Civil Procedure 770.010
  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Bequest: Property gifted by will.
  • City: includes city and county and "incorporated town" but does not include "unincorporated town" or "village. See California Public Utilities Code 19
  • Claim: includes a legal or equitable right, title, estate, lien, or interest in property or cloud upon title. See California Code of Civil Procedure 760.010
  • Commission: means the Public Utilities Commission created by §. See California Public Utilities Code 20
  • Commissioner: means any county agricultural commissioner. See California Food and Agricultural Code 26
  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • County: includes "city and county. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
  • County: includes "city and county. See California Public Resources Code 14
  • County: includes city and county. See California Public Utilities Code 18
  • County: includes city and county. See California Food and Agricultural Code 29
  • Credit report: A detailed report of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness. Source: OCC
  • creditor: means the state or the department or agency of the state seeking to collect the liability. See California Code of Civil Procedure 688.040
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • debtor: means the debtor from whom the liability is sought to be collected. See California Code of Civil Procedure 688.040
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • department: means the Department of Transportation. See California Public Resources Code 33910
  • Department: means the Department of Food and Agriculture. See California Food and Agricultural Code 32
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Development: includes , but is not limited to, improvement, rehabilitation, restoration, enhancement, preservation, protection, and interpretation. See California Education Code 20052
  • Devise: To gift property by will.
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. Source: OCC
  • Endowment: means the California Cultural and Historical Endowment created pursuant to Section 20053, or the board of the endowment, as appropriate. See California Education Code 20052
  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • Evidence of debt: means a note or negotiable instrument. See California Civil Code 1918.5
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Fixed Rate: Having a "fixed" rate means that the APR doesn't change based on fluctuations of some external rate (such as the "Prime Rate"). In other words, a fixed rate is a rate that is not a variable rate. A fixed APR can change over time, in several circumstances:
    • You are late making a payment or commit some other default, triggering an increase to a penalty rate
    • The bank changes the terms of your account and you do not reject the change.
    • The rate expires (if the rate was fixed for only a certain period of time).
  • Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • formal notice: means the notice of election which is required to be published and posted in public places, and "card notice" means the notice of election which is required to be mailed to the registered voters of the area in which the election is to be held. See California Education Code 5360
  • Greenhouse: means a structure covered with transparent or translucent materials for the purpose of admitting natural light and controlling the atmosphere for growing plants, including floricultural, ornamental, or other nursery and agricultural products. See California Food and Agricultural Code 33
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Installment judgment: means a money judgment under which a lien may be created on an interest in real property under Section 697. See California Code of Civil Procedure 724.210
  • Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
  • Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
  • library trustees: as used in this chapter mean the regularly elected union high school trustees who reside within the library district. See California Education Code 18300
  • lien: means a mortgage, deed of trust, or other security interest in property whether arising from contract, statute, common law, or equity. See California Code of Civil Procedure 1265.210
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Matured installments: means the sum of all of the following:

    California Code of Civil Procedure 724.210

  • month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See California Civil Code 14
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. Source: OCC
  • Museum: means a public or private nonprofit institution that is organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational or aesthetic purposes and that owns or uses tangible objects, cares for those objects, and exhibits them to the general public on a regular basis. See California Education Code 20052
  • Nonprofit organization: means any nonprofit public benefit corporation that is formed pursuant to the Nonprofit Corporation Law (commencing with §. See California Education Code 20052
  • Oath: includes an affirmation or declaration. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Person: means any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or company. See California Water Code 19
  • Person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
  • Person: means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, or any organized group of persons whether incorporated or not. See California Food and Agricultural Code 38
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
  • Preservation: includes , but is not limited to, identification, evaluation, recordation, restoration, stabilization, development, and reconstruction, or any combination of those activities. See California Education Code 20052
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Process: signifies a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
  • property: includes property real and personal. See California Civil Code 14
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
  • Property: includes real property, and to the extent applicable, personal property. See California Code of Civil Procedure 760.010
  • Property: means any right, title, or interest in or lien upon real property or part thereof. See California Code of Civil Procedure 770.010
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Public agency: means a federal agency, state agency, city, county, district, association of governments, joint powers agency, or tribal organization. See California Education Code 20052
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. Source: FDIC
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Remainderman: One entitled to the remainder of an estate after a particular reserved right or interest, such as a life tenancy, has expired.
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing. See California Civil Code 1918.5
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Food and Agriculture. See California Food and Agricultural Code 35
  • Security document: means a mortgage contract, deed of trust, real estate sales contract, or any note or negotiable instrument issued in connection therewith, when its purpose is to finance the purchase or construction of real property occupied or intended to be occupied by the borrower, containing four or fewer residential units or on which four or fewer residential units are to be constructed. See California Civil Code 1918.5
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • Sheriff: includes marshal. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Water Code 18
  • State: includes the District of Columbia and the territories when applied to the different parts of the United States, and the words "United States" may include the district and territories. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Public Utilities Code 17
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Water Code 10
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Public Utilities Code 10
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Food and Agricultural Code 49
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10
  • Subject land: means that area occupied by the particular described surface and surface zone for which plaintiff seeks to terminate the leasehold right of entry and occupation. See California Code of Civil Procedure 772.020
  • subscription: includes mark when the signer or subscriber can not write, such signer's or subscriber's name being written near the mark by a witness who writes his own name near the signer's or subscriber's name. See California Public Resources Code 17
  • Subsequent owner: means the person to whom property is transferred whether as owner, part owner, or otherwise, or the successors in interest of the person, and includes a distributee of the estate of a decedent. See California Code of Civil Procedure 770.010
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Surface zone: means the zone which lies above a plane which is 500 feet below the surface of the land. See California Code of Civil Procedure 772.020
  • Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
  • Testate: To die leaving a will.
  • Transfer: means voluntary or involuntary transfer and includes a conveyance, reconveyance, satisfaction of a lien, or divestment by judgment, decree, or otherwise. See California Code of Civil Procedure 770.010
  • union high school: shall be deemed to mean unified school district. See California Education Code 18311
  • United States: means the United States of America, and in relation to any particular matter includes the officers, agents, employees, agencies, or instrumentalities authorized to act in relation thereto. See California Water Code 20
  • Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
  • Usury: Charging an illegally high interest rate on a loan. Source: OCC
  • Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
  • will: includes codicil. See California Civil Code 14
  • Will: includes codicil. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
  • Writ: means an order or precept in writing, issued in the name of the people, or of a court or judicial officer. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
  • Writing: includes printing and typewriting. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17