CALPADS Update Flash #315

To:           Local Educational Agency (LEA) Representatives

From:      California Department of Education (CDE) –
                California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) Team

Date:       October 24, 2025

Subject:  CALPADS Update FLASH #315

2025−26 Fall 1 and 2 Reminders and Changes

The collection window for Fall 1 and 2 is now open. The deadlines are similar to past year deadlines. For specific dates, refer to the 2025−26 CALPADS Calendar found here: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/rptcalendar.asp.

Fall 1: Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) can now review their Fall 1 certification reports, certification validation rules (CVRs), and Certification Data Discrepancies (CDDs). LEAs should strive to resolve all fatal CVRs and CDDs by November 21, 2025, to allow sufficient time for reviewing and approving certification reports by the December 12, 2025 Certification Deadline. Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPAs) are strongly encouraged, though not required, to approve their LEAs’ Fall 1 submissions by this date.

Fall 2: LEAs can now access Fall 2 RealTime reports through the Reports>RealTime Reports menu and CDDs through the Data Discrepancy screens. LEAs should begin uploading Fall 2 related files and reviewing the following RealTime reports:

• 4.1 – Staff Count and FTE by Job Classification

• 4.3 – Staff Teaching Assignments – Detail

A thorough review of these reports will help LEAs:

• Confirm the accuracy of staff counts and full-time equivalency (FTE) data, which are posted on DataQuest and used to calculate student/staff ratios.

• Identify and address data issues related to assignment monitoring, which is tied to the Teaching Assignment Monitoring Outcome (TAMO) report also posted on DataQuest.

Fall 2 certification reports and CVRs will begin rendering on December 15, 2025. LEAs should strive to resolve all fatal CVRs and CDDs by February 6, 2026, to allow sufficient time for reviewing and approving certification reports by the February 27, 2026 Certification Deadline. LEAs are reminded there is no amendment window for Fall 2.

No Opportunities to Amend Data Following Deadlines

The California Department of Education (CDE) reminds LEAs that following the Fall 1 Amendment Window Deadline, there will be no opportunity to amend data that impacts any funding calculations except through the local audit process. Similarly, following the Fall 2 Certification Deadline, there will be no opportunity to amend any data that impacts assignment monitoring. Any data issues related to assignment monitoring need to be resolved through the assignment monitoring process and the California State Assignment Accountability System (CalSAAS). Finally, there will be no opportunity to amend any data that impacts the Dashboard or DataQuest reports.

Reminder of Important Difference between Certification Reports 1.1 and 1.17

LEAs should always submit program records using the actual start and end dates that students began or ended their participation in or eligibility for a program. CALPADS reports—using rules specific to the report—include or exclude students in certain counts based on the start and end dates. Therefore, it is critical that LEAs review each certification report for accuracy.

It is particularly important that LEAs carefully review certification reports 1.1 – Enrollment – Primary and Short-term Enrollment Count by Subgroup, and 1.17 – Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) – Unduplicated Pupil Count (UPC) because the data certified in these reports are used to determine significant funding for the LEA. The Free or Reduced Price Meal (FRPM) counts in reports 1.1 and 1.17 are based on different rules and are used for different funding calculations. Certifying incorrect data in these reports can have a significant impact on funding. The key differences between the two reports are:

• Report 1.1: The data that LEAs certify in Certification Report 1.1 – Enrollment – Primary and Short-term Enrollment Count by Subgroup are used for state and federal reporting. Additionally, the certified FRPM data are used for determining students’ socioeconomically disadvantaged (SED) status and are the funding source for numerous grants.

The FRPM counts that LEAs certify in report 1.1 are substantively different from FRPM counts included in report 1.17. To be included in the FRPM count on report 1.1, students must have 181 (Free Meal) or 182 (Reduced-Price Meal) program records with Start Dates within the academic year that overlap Census Day (i.e., on or before the first Wednesday in October).

• Report 1.17: The data that LEAs certify in Certification Report 1.17 – LCFF – Unduplicated Pupil Count (UPC) are used in the calculation of Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) supplemental and concentration grants. To be included in the FRPM count on report 1.17, students must have 181 or 182 records with Start Dates that are July 1 through October 31, with no program exit date before Census Day.

Note: If the program record is closed before Census Day and there is a subsequent program record, at the same school or another school in the same LEA, with a Start Date on or before October 31, the record will be counted.

In other words, report 1.17 includes students who were determined FRPM eligible on or before October 31, whereas report 1.1 only includes students whose eligibility overlaps Census Day, the first Wednesday in October (i.e., Start Date is on or before 10/1/2025). A student who was enrolled over Census Day, but who became FRPM eligible after Census Day (e.g., 10/02/2025 to 10/31/2025) would be included in report 1.17 and would not be included in report 1.1. Therefore, LEAs should not assume that the FRPM count on report 1.17 is the same as the FRPM count on report 1.1, and LEAs should review both counts for accuracy.

The CALPADS User Manual defines and outlines the criteria for Reports 1.1 and 1.17 and can be accessed here: https://documentation.calpads.org/. These requirements are also described on the CDE Free or Reduced-Price Meal (Student Poverty) Data web page at: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/ad/filessp.asp.

Change to Input Validation Rule SENR0269

CALPADS Update Flash #310 announced the implementation of Input Validation Rule (IVR) SENR0269, which triggers on Student Enrollment (SENR) records that include grade levels that are outside the grade level range offered by the school as reflected in the California School Directory. Additionally, SENR0269F1 was implemented as a Data Discrepancy (DD) that would become a Fatal Certification Data Discrepancy (CDD) in Fall 1.

The CDE will be modifying these validations to exclude triggering when there are records for students with disabilities (SWD). Specifically, IVR SENR0269 will be disabled, and SENR0269F1 will be modified to not trigger when the records of SWDs are outside the grade levels offered by the school as designated in the California School Directory. The CDE encourages LEAs to enroll students at grade level appropriate schools within the LEA and to ensure that the grade levels offered, as displayed in the California School Directory, accurately reflect the grade levels offered by their schools.

SENR0742: New Fatal Input Validation Rule for Invalid Academic Year based on Enrollment Start Date

As part of our ongoing data quality improvements, a new fatal Input Validation Rule (IVR) SENR0742 will be implemented in early November 2025 on the Student Enrollment (SENR) file to ensure that the Academic Year aligns with the Enrollment Start Date.

Our analysis has shown that Academic Year data submitted in SENR files may not always match the Enrollment Start Date. Since the Academic Year should be derived directly from the Enrollment Start Date, this validation will be fatal if the alignment is not correct, preventing submission of inconsistent data.

The Academic Year ID is validated on other files. This enhancement is intended to ensure consistency between enrollment data and academic year assignments across all submissions.