March 10, 2004
TO: County Office Superintendents
FROM: Geno Flores, Deputy for Accountability and Assessment Branch
California Department of Education
RE: School Identification
I am writing to let you know the application and review process for county-district-school (CDS) codes have been revised. The CDS database provides the department with a central repository of information for identifying and classifying county offices, school districts and schools. Virtually all of our administrative functions rely on this data being accurate, consistent and current.
For many of you, it has been a long outstanding issue that the number of CDS codes assigned for schools ran by county offices of education has been limited. A historical issue of concern has been the absence of guidance to distinguish a school from a nonschool entity (e.g., program). The California Department of Education (CDE) has agreed to lift the limit on the number of CDS codes issued to county offices of education (COEs), now that an operational definition of school has been forged.
As you may know, CDE staff, along with local educational agency (LEA) representatives, forged an operational definition of school. This effort took significant time, given the various questions that needed to be confronted along the way. Attached is a copy of the operational definition. The CDE will employ this operational definition when identifying and classifying schools, unless the law provides a definition. Each COE should carefully review the operational definition of school and take appropriate action to ensure that it has one, and only one, CDS code for each entity that meets the definition of school.
The CDS application has been revised to allow us to review applications for CDS codes in light of the common characteristics expected to be present for a school. This change affirms that the manner in which COEs choose to arrange or divide their operations is a local decision. It is important to note that all schools are subject to the state and federal academic accountability system and that they are expected to administer the statewide standard assessments.
Attached is a list, generated from the CDS database, of schools that are associated with your county. We anticipate that we will be receiving applications for new CDS codes from you and ask that you e-mail Karl Scheff, Manager, Educational Demographics Office, at kscheff@cde.ca.gov and let him know how many CDS codes you anticipate applying for within the next several months. This will allow his office to mobilize their efforts to process your applications in a timely and efficient manner. You can apply for new CDS codes on-line at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/si/ds/index.asp. All new CDS codes will have an effective date of July 1, 2004. You must submit your requests for new CDS codes by May 1, 2004 to ensure that the CDE can issue the new CDS codes before July 1, 2004.
If you apply for multiple CDS codes, please request new codes for all of your schools. The current CDS code that encompasses these schools should be retired and not reused. This will ensure the proper allocation of test results for accountability purposes.
If you have questions relating to the CDS application process, contact the CDS Administrator at 916-327-4014. For questions regarding the definition of school, contact Sonya Edwards at 916-327-2014.
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814