SSBC Data Collection Instructions

Background

The purpose of submitting this information is to provide the California Department of Education (CDE) with supplemental information to determine whether individual students are eligible to receive SUN Bucks for a specified summer. The Supplement SUN Buck Collection (SSBC) data are provided in conjunction with data from the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) and provided to the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to provide SUN Bucks benefits to eligible students. Information and resources regarding SUN Bucks can be found on the SUN Bucks web page as well as in Flash 297 – Revised.

Before Submitting

First, make sure you have access to the Education Data Collection System (EDCS) by selecting the Access to EDCS link.

Second, review the following sections of Flash #297 – Revised, dated June 12, 2025.

• Supplemental SUN Bucks Collection (SSBC) to the Education Data Collection System (EDCS)
• CALPADS and EDCS Pull Dates
• UBA Verification Requirements

Third, read these instructions and view the samples below to better collect, format, and import students' SSBC data into the EDCS for the reporting year.

Step 1 Data Collection

Local Educational Agencies (LEA) will need to maintain and have access to specified data for all students who meet any of the following conditions:

1. Universal Benefits Application (UBA): Have submitted a UBA that has been approved by the LEA; or
2. National School Lunch Program (NSLP): Have submitted an NSLP application that has been approved by the LEA; or
3. Direct Certification: Have been directly certified by a local direct certification process conducted between the LEA and their county welfare department; or
4. Extended Benefits: Have benefits extended by the LEA based on another member within the student’s household being directly certified to receive CalFresh or CalWORKS through CALPADS or a local direct certification process.

LEAs may want to work with their point of sales or student information system to collect and maintain this data. LEAs will submit data for a specific SUN Bucks administration year. For example, for the 2025 SUN Bucks administration, LEAs will submit students who, during the eligibility period of July 1, 2024 to September 2, 2025 (inclusive):

1. Submitted Universal Benefits Applications (UBAs) that have been approved by the LEA; or
2. Submitted National School Lunch Program (NSLP) applications that have been approved by the LEA; or
3. Have been directly certified by a local direct certification process conducted between the LEA and their county welfare department (LEAs only need to submit students ages 0–5, or 19–22 (inclusive); LEAs do not need to submit for students who were directly certified through CALPADS); or
4. Have benefits extended by the LEA based on another member within the student’s household being directly certified to receive CalFresh or CalWORKS through CALPADS or a local direct certification process. 

Specifically, LEAs will submit the following data to EDCS as part of the SSBC collection:

Step 2 Create Verification Pools

Three percent of approved UBAs must be verified. LEAs are required to identify three points in time during the operational period (June 1, 2025 – September 2, 2025) to create verification pools from which a random sample of approved UBAs are selected for verification. Refer to Flash #297 – Revised (dated June 12, 2025) for suggested steps on how to create verification pools, select samples, and upload data to EDCS in a manner that ensures that the UBAs that have been selected for verification are not uploaded until they have been verified. LEAs should establish a plan and then take steps to meet verification requirements and maximize the amount of student data uploaded to EDCS each month.

Step 3 Create Import File

Once you have gathered your individual student SSBC information, you will need to format a text file to import to EDCS. The file may be a comma delimited, or caret delimited file with a .CSV or .TXT extension.

Follow the next steps to create a CSV file that will be ready for import to the system.

1. Open a workbook in a spreadsheet editing program (such as Excel) or download the SSBC Sample CSV Data File.
2. In the order listed below, format your header row (first row of the worksheet) with each attribute as the column header. The first three fields – CDS Code, SSID, and Local ID – are required. For the date fields, only one needs to be populated per record for the import to be accepted.
   • cds_code: This is the 14-digit unique county, district, school code where the student is enrolled. Make sure a code that starts with 0 retains the 0 in the file. To search County, District and School information, select the CDE School Directory link.
   • ssid: This is the 10-digit unique CALPADS Statewide Student Identifier for the student.
   • local_student_id: This is the student's local student identifier assigned by the LEA.
   • uba_received_date: This is the date when the Universal Benefits Application (UBA) was received, formatted CCYYMMDD. For example, 20230415.
   • nslp_received_date: This is the date when the National School Lunch Program Application (NSLP) was received, formatted CCYYMMDD. For example, 20230415.
   • local_direct_certified_date: This is the date the student was directly certified through a local matching process conducted between the LEA and their county welfare department. Formatted CCYYMMDD. For example, 20230415.
   • benefits_extended_date: This is the date when a student was extended benefits based on another member of the student’s household being directly certified either through CALPADS or a local direct certification process. Formatted CCYYMMDD. For example, 20230415.
   There is no limit to the number of schools or students that can be imported. All schools for a LEA must be in one file.
3. Review your file to ensure all data are valid and accurate. The EDCS will validate that the file is formatted correctly, that there are no duplicate records, SSIDs, or local ids, and that all codes are valid. The EDCS will not validate that the student listed is enrolled at the school. However, when merged with CALPADS data, the student will be removed from the data sent to CDSS unless the student is enrolled in a school participating in a federal meals program during the eligibility period. The EDCS will also validate that the dates submitted for the UBA application, NSLP application, local direct certification, and benefit extension are within the eligibility period. The eligibility period is announced every year and is generally July 1 through the end of August of the following calendar year. For 2025 SUN Bucks the eligibility period is July 1, 2024 – September 2, 2025.
4. Once the file has been prepared and reviewed, save the file on your local computer with a .CSV or .TXT extension.
5. Navigate to the SSBC Data Submission system to import your file.

Step 4 SSBC Data Submission Steps

1. Access EDCS:
   Begin by selecting the EDCS Login link to open the Education Data Collection System web page. If you have not yet gained access to EDCS, please refer to the Access to EDCS web page for additional instructions for gaining access.
2. Log In:
   Log in using your CALPADS LEA Administrator email and password.  If you are not the CALPADS LEA Administrator, and you have been provided access to EDCS, log in with your email and password.
3. Open the SSBC Dashboard:
   Select the SSBC program to access the SSBC Dashboard page. Use the dropdown menu to select your LEA.
4. Initiate Data Import:
   After selecting your LEA, click the Import SSBC Data for 2025 button to be redirected to the SSBC Import page.
5. Certify Data Accuracy:
   Before selecting the file to import, LEAs must check the certification checkbox to confirm that the data being submitted is accurate and complete to the best of their knowledge. This certification is required in order to proceed with the import.
6. Select Your File:
   Follow the instructions on the SSBC Import page. When ready, select the Choose File button. In the Windows Open dialog box, locate and select your file. After closing the dialog box, the selected file name will appear.
7. Import the File:
   Click the Import SSBC Data for 2025 button to begin the upload.
8. Review Import Results:
   If the file is valid, you will see a message: “Import was successful.”
   If the file contains errors, the system will display messages indicating the row number and error description. You must correct all errors before re-importing.
9. Confirm Submission:
   Return to the SSBC Dashboard. The newly submitted file will appear under “Active Submission.” Any previously active file will be moved to “Archived Submissions.”
10. Important Reminder:
    EDCS uses a full file replacement model. To correct or add student data after submission, update the file and re-import the entire file. Each new import replaces the previous file.
    

IMPORTANT NOTE: Since the eligibility period for each SUN Bucks administration overlaps, LEAs will be required to re-submit some records when the 2026 SUN Bucks administration opens. For example, for the 2025 SUN Bucks administration, LEAs will submit records for students with UBA, NSLP, local direct certification, or extended benefits dates that are from July 1, 2024 to September 2, 2025 (inclusive). LEAs will be able to submit those records up until December 31, 2025, and the SSBC collection in the EDCS will close on December 31 at 5 p.m.

When the 2025 SUN Bucks collection in the EDCS closes, all 2025 SUN Bucks data will be purged from the EDCS. When the EDCS opens for the SSBC collection for the 2026 SUN Bucks administration, LEAs will submit records for students with UBA, NSLP, local direct certification, or extended benefits dates that are from July 1, 2025 to August 31, 2026 (inclusive). Therefore, records that had been submitted for 2025 SUN Bucks with dates between July 1, 2025 – September 2, 2025, which overlap the 2026 SUN Bucks eligibility period, will need to be resubmitted (not re-collected) to the EDCS for the 2026 SUN Bucks administration. Therefore, students who submit UBA applications on July 1, 2025 – September 2, 2025 are eligible for both 2025 and 2026 SUN Bucks benefits. While the student will not have to re-submit another application for 2026 SUN Bucks, the LEA will need to upload the record to the EDCS.

Go back to the main CDE EDCS page