CDIF Glossary and Instructions
Glossary and instructions for reporting CBEDS County/District Information Form (CDIF) data.The following information is relevant only for the 2024–25 California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) data collection. Each tab provides information on how to complete that section.
Return to CBEDS-ORA Glossary and Instructions web page.
County/District Information Form (CDIF) Section A. Full-Time Equivalent of Classified Staff
Glossary and instructions for reporting district full-time equivalent (FTE) of Classified Staff data.
Glossary
Classified Staff Employee
Classified staff are employees of a school, district, or county office of education who are in a position not requiring certification. Classified staff include paraprofessionals, office/clerical staff, as well as other classified staff, such as custodians, bus drivers, and business managers. For more information and examples of classified staff, please see definitions for each of the classifications below.
- Paraprofessionals
Staff members who provide instructional support, including those who: (1) provide one-on-one tutoring if such tutoring is scheduled at a time when a student would not otherwise receive instruction from a teacher, (2) assist with classroom management, such as organizing instructional and other materials, (3) provide instructional assistance in a computer laboratory, (4) conduct parental involvement activities, (5) provide support in a library or media center, (6) act as a translator, or (7) provide instructional support services under the direct supervision of a teacher. Common job titles include: teaching assistants, teacher aides, bilingual aides, pupil service aides, and library aides.
Please note that paraprofessionals working in positions supported by Title I are subject to additional requirements pursuant to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). For more information on these requirements, please refer to the CDE Promoting Equitable Access to Teachers – Paraprofessional web page.
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Office/Clerical
Staff members who provide support to administration, business services, data processing, or support of teaching and administrative duties of the office of principal or department chairpersons. Common job titles include: administrative assistants and secretaries. -
Other Classified
Support staff not reported in instructional or student support and staff below the level of assistant, deputy, or associate superintendent. Common job titles include: health services staff, plant and equipment maintenance staff, custodians, food service staff, managers, after school staff, bus drivers, security, and noon duty supervisors.
Full Time
CBEDS coordinators shall refer to their county or district’s definition of full time when determining the full-time equivalent (FTE) of classified staff. If your county or district does not have a definition of full time, for CBEDS purposes, staff who work 30 hours or more per week shall be considered full time.
Racial/Ethnic Designation
The following racial and ethnic designations and definitions are aligned with the federal standards for collecting and reporting race and ethnicity categories.
American Indian or Alaska Native, Not of Hispanic Origin
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.
- Asian, Not of Hispanic Origin
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent (e.g., Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam). - African American, Not of Hispanic Origin
A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. - Filipino, Not of Hispanic Origin
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Philippine Islands. - Hispanic or Latino of any race
A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. - Pacific Islander, Not of Hispanic Origin
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands (excludes the Philippine Islands). - White, Not of Hispanic Origin
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East (e.g., England, Portugal, Egypt, and Iran). - Two or More Races, Not of Hispanic Origin
This designation shall be used to report aggregate data for staff with more than one race, or for staff who did not report an ethnicity or racial designation. This designation shall not be used for local collection of racial/ethnic data from individuals.
Instructions
The CDIF shall be completed by county and district offices only. This includes Statewide Benefit Charter (SBCs) and State Board of Education (SBEs). Independently Reporting Charter Schools are not to complete a CDIF. Data reported on the CDIF shall be current as of Information Day, unless otherwise indicated.
Note: Single-school districts, including state board of education charters, are not to use the CDIF to report classified staff data. Classified staff data for single-school districts shall be reported on the school information form (SIF).
Full-Time Equivalent of Classified Staff
Report in full-time equivalent (FTE), by gender and racial/ethnic designation, the FTE of the paraprofessional, office/clerical, and other classified staff members assigned to the district office or county office of education and not to a specific school.
If a classified staff position is vacant and/or the regular staff member is on leave of absence on Information Day but will return on or prior to October 31, report the regular staff. If the regular classified staff will not return until after October 31, report the substitute instead.
When reporting classified staff, do not include:
- The sum of the classified staff reported on each school’s SIF.
- Adult education, Regional Occupational Center/Program (ROC/P), or children’s center/preschool classified staff.
- Teachers, administrators, or pupil services certificated staff.
- Employees of your district who work at another district or county office. The district where the employees are physically working should report the staff even if your district is reimbursed for services.
- Volunteer aides.
Reporting Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)
When reporting FTE, first determine the FTE for each classified staff employee. Employees who work full-time should be counted as 1.00 FTE, and employees who work less than full-time should be counted by the percentage of time they work (e.g., a half-time position is .50 FTE, a one-third position is .33 FTE, etc.).
Calculating FTE
Take the number of hours the employee works each day (e.g., 2.50) and divide it by the number of full-time hours (e.g., 6). The result is .41666. Since you are to report to two decimal places, the FTE would be .42.
Then total the FTEs for each type, gender, and racial/ethnic designation. For example, if your school has one full-time, female, American Indian paraprofessional (1.00 FTE) and one half-time, female, American Indian paraprofessional (.50 FTE), add the two FTEs together, and report the FTE for female, American Indian, paraprofessional as 1.50 FTE.
Reporting Staff Who Hold More than One Assignment
Classified staff who work in more than one position at the county or district office should report the FTE for each position. For example, if a full-time employee serves half-time as a paraprofessional and half-time as an office/clerical employee, report the position as .50 FTE paraprofessional and .50 FTE office/clerical.
Reporting Staff Who Serve at More than One Site
Classified staff who serve at the county/district office and at a school should report the FTE on both the CDIF and the SIF. Therefore, if a full-time employee works half-time at the district and half-time at a school, the employee’s FTE is reported as .50 FTE on the CDIF and .50 FTE on the SIF. Another example is if a half-time employee works .25 FTE as a teacher at a school in the district and .25 FTE as a business manager at the district office, report the position on the CDIF as the .25 FTE other classified staff. Since teachers are in certificated positions, which are not reported in CBEDS, the FTE in the teaching position should not be reported in CBEDS.
Reporting Racial Ethnic Designations
- Report an employee who chooses not to report a racial ethnic designation in the “Two or More Races, not Hispanic” column.
- Report an employee who designates one or more races, as well as Hispanic in the “Hispanic or Latino of any race” column.
County/District Information Form (CDIF) Section B. Estimated Number of Teacher Hires (2025–26)
Glossary and instructions for reporting district Estimated Number of Teacher Hires data.
Instructions
Report the projected or estimated full-time equivalent (FTE) of new or vacated positions the local educational agency (LEA) plans to fill in the 2025–26 school year. A vacated position occurs if a teacher is expected to retire, resign, transfer, or begin a leave of absence.
Include information about classroom teaching and specialist positions, including those funded by local, state, or federal monies.
When reporting estimated teacher hires, do not include:
- Teachers expected to remain with the school in a new specialization.
- Administrative, guidance, media, library, health service, or noncertificated positions in “other specializations.”
Independently reporting charter schools are to report their estimated teacher hires on the school information form (SIF), so authorizing agencies should not include teacher hires from their independently reporting charter schools on the CDIF.
County/District Information Form (CDIF) Section C. Work Visa Applications
Glossary and instructions for reporting district Work Visa Applications data.
Glossary
H-1B Work Visa
Applies to employers seeking to hire nonimmigrant aliens as workers in specialty occupations or as fashion models of distinguished merit and ability. A specialty occupation is one that requires the application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and the attainment of at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.
The intent of the H-1B provisions is to help employers who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S. workforce by authorizing the temporary employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the U.S.
Instructions
Report the number of H-1B work visas applied for on behalf of potential local educational agency (LEA) and school employees, and the number of those applications that were granted.
The reporting period for work visa applications is the day after the previous information day through the current information day.
Visa data for charter schools are to be reported on the charter school’s school information form (SIF). LEAs are not to include visa application data from their charter schools on the CDIF.
Districts with all charter schools, including State Board of Education (SBEs) and Statewide Benefit Charter (SBCs), are not to include visa data about their charter schools on the CDIF, as these data are to be reported on the charter school’s SIF. Visa data reported on the CDIF for these types of districts should only include visa data that pertains to potential personnel at the district office, if applicable.
County/District Information Form (CDIF) Section D. Home-to-School Transportation (2023-24)
Glossary and instructions for reporting district Home-to-School Transportation data.
Glossary
Home-to-School Transportation
Home-to-school transportation includes all the following:
- The transportation of pupils between their homes and the regular full-time day school they attend, as provided by a school district or county superintendent of schools.
- The payment of moneys by a school district or county superintendent of schools to parents or guardians of pupils made in lieu of providing for the transportation of pupils between their homes and the regular full-time day schools they attend.
- Providing board and lodging to pupils by a school district or county superintendent of schools made in lieu of providing for the transportation of pupils between their homes and the regular full-time day schools they attend.
- The transportation of pupils between the regular full-time day schools they would attend and the regular full-time occupational training classes they attend, as provided by a regional occupational center or program.
- The transportation of individuals with exceptional needs as specified in their individualized education programs, who do not receive special education transportation as defined in subdivision (d) of EC Section 41850.
- The payment of moneys by a school district or county superintendent of schools for the replacement or acquisition of school buses.
Special Education Transportation
As defined in subdivision (d) of EC Section 41850, special education transportation means either of the following:
- The transportation of severely disabled special day class pupils, and orthopedically impaired pupils who require a vehicle with a wheelchair lift, who received transportation in the prior fiscal year, as specified in their individualized education program.
- A vehicle that was used to transport special education pupils.
Definitions
Average Daily Ridership
On average, the number of students that are provided daily home-to-school services; calculated daily like average daily attendance.
Number of Annual Riders
The number of students enrolled to receive home-to-school services annually; calculated annually like enrollment.
Number of Days Transported
The number of days home-to-school transportation services are provided in the fiscal/school year.
Number of Miles Driven
The number of miles traveled by local educational agency owned vehicles or contracted vehicles to provide home-to-school transportation services.
Number of Home-to-School (HTS) Routes
The number of home-to-school routes the local educational agency provides or contracts to provide on a regular basis.
Number of Seatbelt Equipped Buses
The number of local educational agency owned or contracted school buses that have lap/shoulder restraint systems in all student seating positions (not including driver's seat).Instructions
Report the number of students who received home-to-school transportation services by race/ethnicity. Report ridership information such as the number of daily riders and number of socioeconomically disadvantaged riders. Round up to the average daily riders to the nearest whole number.
Report General Transportation information such as number of days transported, number of home-to-school miles driven, number of home-to-school routes, and number of lap/shoulder belt equipped buses.
Report types of fuel sources and select all that apply. Choices are diesel, bio-diesel, gasoline, propane, electric, hydrogen, methanol, and/or compressed natural gas.