Dear Select Charter School Administrators and CBEDS Coordinators for Independently Reporting Charter Schools:

CALIFORNIA BASIC EDUCATIONAL DATA SYSTEM
DATA SUBMISSION PROCESS

The California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) is a statewide data collection that gathers basic demographic information on schools and students from local educational agencies (LEAs) and independently reporting charter schools. These data are collected through an Online Reporting Application (ORA). The CBEDS data are to be collected as of Information Day, October 5, 2011, and completed online on or before October 28, 2011. Since your charter school has elected to report aggregate data independently of your authorizing agency, you are responsible for submitting data directly to the California Department of Education (CDE) through the CBEDS-ORA. This mailing includes the information your charter school will need to complete the 2011 CBEDS data collection.

CBEDS Coordinator Contact

In correspondence dated July 11, 2011, we requested that each independently reporting charter school designate a CBEDS coordinator. If you did not receive the correspondence, or have not yet designated a coordinator, we listed the charter administrator as the CBEDS coordinator. To assign a different coordinator, logon to the CBEDS-ORA at http://www3.cde.ca.gov/opuscbeds/login.aspx using the user name and password enclosed on the CBEDS Online Reporting Application User Name and Password sheet and select the “Update User Information” option from the Main Menu.

CBEDS Coordinator’s Responsibilities

It is the CBEDS coordinator’s responsibility to:

• participate in online CBEDS Overview and ORA Demonstration trainings;
• review the List of Expected Schools and work with your LEA’s CDS coordinator to report school closures, school name changes, and grade-span changes;
• ensure that the school data are submitted using the CBEDS-ORA;
• send summary reports to appropriate staff for review;
• correct all data errors and resolve warnings, if needed;
• update the CBEDS contact information using the CBEDS-ORA (if the coordinator changes); and
• serve as the point of contact for any questions about the data submitted.

List of Expected Schools

The List of Expected Schools provides the name of the independently reporting charter school expected to submit CBEDS data. The accuracy of the list is critical in the submission of your data as inaccurate information may prevent the processing of your data. To verify that the List of Expected Schools is up-to-date, logon to the CBEDS-ORA at http://www3.cde.ca.gov/opuscbeds/login.aspx. Enter the user name and password enclosed on the CBEDS Online Reporting Application User Name and Password sheet and select “Logon.” Then select the “CBEDS-ORA List of Expected Schools” option from the Main Menu. If the List of Expected Schools is not accurate, please follow the instructions provided on the form to make corrections.

Data Submitted through the CBEDS-ORA

School Information Form (SIF) data will be collected through the CBEDS-ORA. This online application contains formatted data entry screens, built in edit checks, summary reports, and the ability to import/export data files. The CBEDS-ORA is located at http://www3.cde.ca.gov/opuscbeds/login.aspx and requires a unique user name and password to access the application. The logon information may be found on the enclosed CBEDS Online Reporting Application User Name and Password sheet.

Resources

The July 11, 2011 correspondence sent to Charter School Administrators also detailed the changes to the October 2011 CBEDS collection. There are additional reporting requirements for independently reporting charter schools this year, so be sure to review this letter if you are unaware of these changes. The CBEDS Fall 2011 Data Collection and Contact Survey letter is posted on the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/dc/cb/cbedschangeltr11.asp.

Information for CBEDS coordinators including detailed instruction on CBEDS, training and collection materials, forms, letters, policies and guidelines, the CBEDS-ORA, and information on CALPADS may be viewed on the CBEDS Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/dc/cb/index.asp.

If you have questions about this mailing or the CBEDS submission process, please call the Educational Demographics Office at 916-327-0219.

Sincerely,

Karl Scheff, Administrator
Educational Demographics Office

KS:md
Enclosure