File Structure - Public Schools Database

CDS_CODE

Character

14

This 14-digit code is the official, unique identification of a school within California. The first two digits identify the county, the next five digits identify the school district, and the last seven digits identify the school. 

Please note that a CDS code ending in '0000000' indicates a district record not a school.

STAT_TYP

Character

7

This field identifies the status of the school or district. Definitions of the valid status types are listed below:

• Open: The district or school is in operation and providing instructional services.
• Closed: The district or school is not in operation and no longer providing instructional services.
• Merged: The district has combined with another district, and the schools within the merged district have closed and re-opened in the newly formed district.
• Pending: The district or school has not opened yet, but plans to open within the next 9-12 months.

COUNTY

Character

15

County name.

DISTRICT

Character

50

District name.

SCHOOL

Character

50

School name.

STR_ADDR

Character

60

The street address (physical) address of this school. Note: Some schools (primarily closed or retired schools) may not have data in this field.

STR_CITY

Character

25

The city for the street address of this school. Note: Some schools (primarily closed or retired schools) may not have data in this field.

STR_ZIP

Character

10

The zip code for the street address of this school. Note: Some schools (primarily closed or retired schools) may not have data in this field.

STR_ST

Character

2

The state in which the school is located.

MAIL_ADR

Character

60

The mailing address of this school (i.e., P.O. Box). Note: Many schools have not provided a mailing address that is distinct from the street address. If you are using this file to create mailing labels, we advise that you replace missing data in this field with data from the STR_ADDR field. For your convenience we have filled the previously unpopulated mail_adr cells with str_addr data.

MAIL_CTY

Character

25

The city for the mailing address of this school. Note: Many schools have not provided the city for the mailing address that is distinct from the city of the street address. If you are using this file to create mailing labels, we advise that you replace missing data in this field with data from the STR_CITY field. For your convenience we have filled the previously unpopulated mail_city cells with str_city data.

MAIL_ZIP

Character

10

The zip code for the mailing address of this school. Note: Many schools have not provided the zip code for the mailing address that is distinct from the zip code of the street address. For your convenience we have filled the previously unpopulated mail_zip cells with str_zip data.

MAIL_ST

Character

2

The state within the mailing address.

DST_TYPE

Character

20

The type of school district. A brief description of the different types of school districts are listed below:

• A unified school district includes both elementary and high school educational levels.
• An elementary school district usually includes kindergarten and grades one through six or eight.
• A high school district usually includes grade nine and above but may include grade seven and above.
• The word union in the name of an elementary school district indicates that it was formed from two or more districts.
• The word joint in a district's name indicates that it includes territory from more than one county.
• State special refers to California State Special Schools.

SCH_TYPE

Character

20

The type of school. Types of public schools include:

• Special Education School
• County Community School
• Youth Authority Facility
• Opportunity School
• Juvenile Court School
• Other County-Wide Programs
• Elementary School
• Single Elementary School in District
• Intermediate/Middle School
• Alternative schools of choice
• Junior High School
• K-12 School
• High School
• Single High School in District
• Continuation High School
• Community Day School
• State Special School
• Adult Education Center.

START_DT

Date

8

This field identifies the start date of schools. An empty cell indicates that the start date precedes the date that the California Department of Education began to maintain this information. The Department began to maintain this information on July 1, 1980.

END_DT

Date

8

This field identifies the end date of schools. An empty cell indicates that the school is not closed.

CHARTER

Character

1

This field identifies charter schools. The field is coded as follows: 

• Y = The school is a charter school, but not a State Board of Education sponsored charter school.
• S = The school is a State Board of Education sponsored charter school.
• N = The school is not a charter.

CHARTER_NU

Character

5

This field represents the charter school number. Only charter schools have numbers in this field.

ASM_DIST

Character

3

Number of the California Assembly district in which this school is located.

ASM_MEM

Character

30

Name of the California Assembly member for the district in which this school is located.

ASM_PRTY

Character

1

Political party affiliation of this Assembly member. 

• G = Green 
• R = Republican 
• D = Democrat

SEN_DIST

Character

3

Number of the California Senate district in which this school is located.

SEN_MEM

Character

30

Name of the California Senate member for the district in which this school is located.

SEN_PRTY

Character

1

Political party affiliation of this Senate member. 

• R = Republican 
• D = Democrat

CON_DIST

Character

3

Number of the U.S. congressional district in which this school is located.

CON_MEM

Character

30

Name of the U.S. congressional member for the district in which this school is located.

CON_PRTY

Character

1

Political party affiliation of this U. S. congressional member.

• R = Republican 
• D = Democrat

LATITUDE

Character

10

The angular distance (expressed in degrees) between the location of this school and the equator measured north to south.

LONGITUD

Character

10

The angular distance (expressed in degrees) between the location of this school and the prime meridian (Greenwich, England) measured from west to east.

POP_STAT

Character

1

This field classifies the location of a school relative to seven categories of populous areas. The categories, descriptions, and codes are listed below. The data in this field are provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. It may take 1-2 years to get a designation for a new school.

1. Large City: A central city of Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) with the city having a population greater than or equal to 250,000. 
2. Mid-size City: A central city of a CMSA or Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), with the city having a population less than 250,000.
3. Urban Fringes of Large City: Any incorporated place, Census Designated Place, or non-place territory within a CMSA or MSA of a Large City and defined as urban by the Census Bureau. 
4. Urban Fringes of Mid-size City: Any incorporated place, Census Designated Place, or non-place territory within a CMSA or MSA of a Mid-size City and defined as urban by the Census Bureau. 
5. Large Town: An incorporated place or Census Designated Place with a population greater than or equal to 25,000 and located outside a CMSA or MSA. 
6. Small Town: An incorporated place or Census Designated Place with a population less than 25,000 and greater than 2,500 and located outside a CMSA or MSA. 
7. Rural, outside MSA: Any incorporated place, Census Designated Place, or non-place territory designated as rural by the Census Bureau. 
8. Rural, inside MSA: Any incorporated place, Census Designated Place, or non-place territory within a CMSA or MSA of a Large or Mid-Size City and defined as rural by the Census Bureau.

Blank (Data Not Available): New school not yet assigned a population status code by the Census Bureau, or where there has been a change in the CDS Code, or a school not reporting on the California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) collection.

CSIS_CON

Character

25

The California School Information System (CSIS) Consortium to which the district belongs. CSIS is a program to facilitate the transfer of information within the kindergarten through grade twelve public school system. For more information about CSIS please visit their Web site at http://www.csis.k12.ca.us/ (Outside Source). Each CSIS consortium is composed of districts using the same student information system, so these groupings of districts may not be regional. Populated cells represent schools that are participating in any of the current CSIS data collections.

CSISAGNT

Character

7

The 7-digit county-district code for the district or county office that serves as the fiscal agent for the CSIS consortium to which this district belongs. Populated cells represent schools that are participating in any of the current CSIS data collections.

CSIS_CBEDS

Character

1

The status of how local educational agencies (LEAs) and/or charter schools submit their fall California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) data.

• 0 = Not expected to submit CBEDS data for the fall submission cycle.
• 1 = School is not within a CSIS-participating LEA and therefore is expected to submit CBEDS data ONLY through traditional means for the fall submission cycle.
• 2 = Charter school within a CSIS parallel LEA that has elected not to participate in CSIS and therefore is expected to submit CBEDS data ONLY through traditional means for the fall submission cycle.
• 3 = Charter school within a CSIS state reporting LEA that has elected not to participate in CSIS and therefore is expected to submit CBEDS data ONLY through traditional means for the fall submission cycle.
• 4 = Expected to submit CBEDS data through traditional means AND through CSIS for the fall submission cycle (i.e. the school is in a CSIS parallel LEA).
• 5 = Expected to submit CBEDS data ONLY through CSIS for the fall submission cycle (i.e. the school is in a CSIS state reporting LEA).

CSIS_LCEN

Character

1

The status of how LEAs and/or charter schools submit their spring Language Census (R30-LC) data.

• 0 = Not expected to submit Language Census data for the spring submission cycle.
• 1 = School is not within a CSIS-participating LEA and therefore is expected to submit Language Census data ONLY through traditional means for the spring submission cycle.
• 2 = Charter school within a CSIS parallel LEA that has elected not to participate in CSIS and therefore is expected to submit Language Census data ONLY through traditional means for the spring submission cycle.
• 3 = Charter school within a CSIS state reporting LEA that has elected not to participate in CSIS and therefore is expected to submit Language Census data ONLY through traditional means for the spring submission cycle.
• 4 = Expected to submit Language Census data through traditional means AND through CSIS for the spring submission cycle (i.e. the school is in a CSIS parallel LEA).
• 5 = Expected to submit Language Census data ONLY through CSIS for the spring submission cycle (i.e. the school is in a CSIS state reporting LEA).

GRD_SPAN

Character

5

The lowest grade and the highest grade in which student enrollment was reported in the most recent certified CBEDS data collection. This field may not represent the actual range of grades that a school supports.

Note: Special programs at schools such as independent study, alternative education, and special education will often expand the grade span beyond that which is typically considered the grade span for schools of that type (i.e. high schools may have a grade span of grade three through twelve).

LASTUPDT

Date

8

This field identifies the last time that the school record was updated. This field was created on June 24, 1999.

The unabbreviated street (physical) address of this school. Note: Some schools (primarily closed or retired schools) may not have data in this field.

The unabbreviated mailing address of this school (i.e., P.O. Box). Note: Many schools have not provided a mailing address that is distinct from the street address. If you are using this file to create mailing labels, we advise that you replace missing data in this field with data from the street address field.