Question:  Do club advisors need to be certificated staff?

Response:  Education Code section 48933(b) states "The funds shall be expended subject to such procedure as may be established by the student body organization subject to the approval of each of the following three persons, which shall be obtained each time before any of the funds may be expended: an employee or official of the school district designated by the governing board, the certificated employee who is the designated adviser of the particular student body organization, and a representative of the particular student body organization.".  This Education Code language is what dictates that the advisor is a certificated staff member.  However, a classified employee could be an assistant advisor to a certificated employee, which is what we often see in athletic clubs as many coaches are not certificated employees.  Then, the Education Code is still being followed as a certificated employee is the actual advisor, but a classified employee could actually be the employee with the more direct interaction with the club.