Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:

Upcoming Transition of Data for Students with Disabilities into the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement
Data System

As first announced in an October 2016 letter to superintendents and charter school administrators, the California Department of Education (CDE) will be transitioning the California Special Education Management Information System (CASEMIS) data collection into the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) in 2019–20. This transition will translate into ongoing benefits that include reduced data-related workload and increased data quality. Most importantly, this integration of data also supports programmatic efforts to include students with disabilities (SWD) (students with individualized education plans or service plans) to the maximum extent in a supported general education environment enhancing achievement for all students.

Over the past three years, the CDE has engaged in ongoing discussions with Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPAs), Special Education System (SES) vendors, local educational agencies (LEAs), and Student Information System (SIS) vendors to support this transition. Project information has been provided using multiple platforms including CALPADS Information Meetings, CASEMIS Roadshow trainings, SELPA Monthly meetings, and through the CASEMIS to CALPADS (C2C) Listserv. Currently, SES vendors are making the technical changes needed to transfer data from their systems to CALPADS. The project is on schedule for end-to-end testing beginning in July.

A successful transition of the CASEMIS data collection into CALPADS will depend on active local leadership to ensure that:

• Technical and/or business processes that result in consistent data for SWD in the SES and SIS are documented and followed and that the LEA engages with the SELPAs on an ongoing basis to review the LEA’s special education data.
• The LEA’s authorized charter schools submit data for SWD and general education students in the same way. Currently, some charter schools submit their CALPADS data directly and data for SWD through their authorizing LEA or vice versa. After the transition, the data for both populations must be submitted the same way, either directly to CALPADS or through the authorizing LEA. Charter schools must inform the CDE of changes to how they plan to submit CALPADS data by June 30, 2019, so LEAs and charter schools should be discussing this issue now.
• The LEA approves its Fall 1 submission to CALPADS, which includes data that were previously part or the CASEMIS collection, by the approval deadline of December 6, 2019. The SELPAs are then required to review and approve the data for SWD by the December 20, 2019 certification deadline. Following the first certification deadline, the Amendment Window opens, during which time LEAs may further amend their data. However, the LEA must approve all data and the SELPA must approve the special education data by January 24, 2020 in order for the submission to be certified. Therefore, it is critical that the LEA and the SELPA work together to ensure that the Fall 1 submission is certified by the final January certification deadline. This provides updated data for funding calculations and reduces potential noncompliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and corresponding corrective actions.

Due to the necessary coordination between special education and CALPADS staff, vendors, and SELPAs, it is critical that leadership take an active role in managing this transition. Schedule internal meetings with SIS and SES coordinators to discuss the local plan for integration, roles and responsibility for this work, and internal timelines that support sufficient time to review the CALPADS reports. The statutory requirement that SELPAs review and approve the data for students with disabilities necessitates the new certification workflow which makes it critical for LEAs and SELPAs to work together so LEAs can successfully meet the certification deadline.

The CALPADS Team will offer a comprehensive set of training targeted for specific audiences. SELPAs will receive training during their monthly meeting focused on their role in the process. LEAs will receive training in conjunction with their SES vendor, since data will flow between the SES and CALPADS. Finally, current CALPADS Fall 1 submission training will be enhanced to include the new functionality related to SWD data. Training details will be communicated to each group in late June and July.

The success of this important effort depends on strong collaboration between the CDE, SELPAs, LEAs, SES vendors, and SIS vendors. It is especially critical for local CALPADS and special education staff to receive support to work closely together during and after the transition.

Please send technical or process questions to the CALPADS Service Desk at calpads-support@cde.ca.gov. For other policy questions or concerns, you may contact Shiyloh Duncan-Becerril, Administrator, Special Education Division, by phone at 916-327-3547 or by email at sbecerril@cde.ca.gov; or Karen Almquist [Note: This contact information is no longer valid.], Administrator, CALPADS/CBEDS/CDS Operations Office, by phone at 916-319-0529 or by email at kalmquis@cde.ca.gov [Note: The preceding email address is no longer valid. The CALPADS/CBEDS/CDS Operations Office email address is calpads@cde.ca.gov]

Sincerely,

Jerry Winkler, Director
Educational Data Management Division

Kristin Wright, Director
Special Education Division

JW/KW:ka

cc: CALPADS Administrators