Pursuant to Chapter 914, Statutes of 2004 (Assembly Bill 1858), all nonpublic, nonsectarian schools are required to prepare a SARC in accordance with Education Code Section 33126. This requirement applies to nonpublic, nonsectarian schools but does not apply to nonpublic, nonsectarian agencies. The law became effective January 1, 2005.
Step 1: Update the school or agency SARC Coordinator contact information.
If there changes from the previous year, provide current SARC Coordinator contact information on the California Department of Education (CDE) Accountability Report Card Listserv [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/accntrprtcrdlstsrv.asp] Web page to ensure timely receipt of important messages sent to all SARC Coordinators. The CDE will provide a user ID and password to the SARC Coordinators upon receipt of an e-mail request sent to sarc@cde.ca.gov. This user ID and password can be used to download a pre-populated SARC for each public school.
Step 2: Download the SARC template.
To assist nonpublic schools in complying with state law, the CDE maintains a SARC template that is available for downloading at 2011–12 SARC [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/sarc1112.asp]. On the 2011–12 SARC Web page, select the "SARC Template in Word" link. Although the use of the template is not mandatory, the template does contain all the reporting elements required under both state and federal law. The template may be redesigned to suit the school's design preferences.
Step 3: Determine the data elements that must be reported for your school or agency and prepare the SARC.
In determining how to prepare a nonpublic school report card, review the template with two considerations in mind.
- First, if a particular reporting element is not applicable (such as graduation rate data for a school whose mission does not involve "graduation" in the conventional sense), this reporting element should not be included in the completed report card.
- Second, if there are no data or other information available for a particular reporting element (such as state assessment results in a case where the students are not required to be tested), this reporting element should not be included in the completed report card.
For most nonpublic schools, the report card should include at least contact information, a school description and mission statement, a narrative about opportunities for parental involvement, a description of the school's facility conditions and safety plans, information about staff qualifications, and a description of the educational materials that are used at the school. Additional information about the school that might be of interest to parents and the community may be added.
Step 4: Post SARCs to the school or agency Web site.
The intention of the SARC program is to make SARCs easily available for parents. After SARCs are locally prepared, LEAs must post the SARCs to the Internet. The CDE strongly recommends that LEAs post a SARC on each school's Web site.
Step 5: Provide the CDE with the Web site link to the SARCs.
Provide the CDE the school Web site address where links to their SARCs are located. Submit the links via the CDE Update Your SARC Web Site Link [http://www3.cde.ca.gov/sarcupdate/link.aspx] Web page. The CDE does not collect electronic or paper copies of individual SARCs.
Step 6: Notify parents about the SARC.
Notify parents about the availability of the SARC. Provide instructions about how the SARC can be obtained both through the Internet and on paper (upon request). Encourage schools to have copies of the SARC available in the school office and at public forums, such as parent information events.