The method California uses to count students for funding purposes is an important decision that drives both resources and behaviors. For more than 100 years, California has funded school districts based on the average number of students who attend school each day. Although this average daily attendance (ADA) method was once used by many states, the practice has faded. Now, California is one of just six states that use ADA to allocate state education funding to school districts. The remaining states use other student count methods such as average enrollment. In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced shocks to attendance and enrollment patterns in schools, creating budgetary uncertainty as well as challenges regarding how to effectively engage and serve all students. Some state legislators, advocates, and education leaders have proposed that California switch from an attendance-based funding system to one that funds based on enrollment, and some are debating ways to adjust count methods to protect districts experiencing attendance volatility and declining enrollment. As policymakers engage in these discussions, it is critically important that they understand California's current count method as well as potential alternatives to it. This report reviews student count methods used in California and other states, and then explores the following: (1) To what extent do ADA-based funding systems incentivize higher attendance? (2) What is known about enrollment and attendance trends before and since the pandemic? (3) What would the fiscal impact be if California were to shift from attendance-based to enrollment-based funding? and (4) How might various state goals be addressed by the current ADA-based system, an alternative enrollment-based system, or other policy solutions? This study aims to inform policymakers and advocates as they consider whether and how to revise existing policies or craft new policies to address a variety of state priorities related to fiscal stability, equity, attendance, and more.