Acquiring SSIDs for TK and KN and ELPAC Enrollment

To:           Local Educational Agency (LEA) Representatives

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

Date:       July 22, 2026

Subject:  CALPADS Update FLASH #327

This Flash provides best practices and steps to follow for:

1. Acquiring Statewide Student Identifiers (SSIDs) for Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and Kindergarten (KN) students.
2. Pre-enrolling students (generally KN students) in the summer for Initial English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) and Initial Alternate ELPAC Testing.

Best Practices for Acquiring SSIDs for TK and KN Students

When enrolling TK and KN students, along with any student new to the LEA, LEAs should always first determine whether the students already have an SSID in CALPADS. It is very likely that many incoming TK and KN students already have SSIDs because students with disabilities (SWD) who are in preschool are required to have SSIDs, and KN students will already have SSIDs if they were enrolled in TK. Searching for and then using students’ existing SSIDs avoids the creation of Multiple Identifier (MID) anomalies and the workload associated with both resolving anomalies and addressing the problems they create.

Use the SSID Match Tool to Search for SSIDs

It is important that LEAs do not submit Student Enrollment (SENR) records until they have first determined whether students already have SSIDs. This is because CALPADS automatically assigns new SSIDs to SENR records with blank SSID fields, which potentially creates MID anomalies that require additional staff time to resolve and to address other problems that are created, such as students taking statewide assessments using different SSIDs.

When searching to determine whether students already have SSIDs, LEAs should always use the SSID Match Tool, which can be used to conduct a search for multiple students at once. This is particularly true for incoming KN students, since it is now very likely that these students were assigned SSIDs when they were enrolled in a California public school in grade TK. In cases when there are only a few students, LEAs may choose to use the online SSID search functionality in CALPADS instead.

Training videos for the SSID Match Tool are posted on the California School Information Services (CSIS) Training Channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsnFpLOXpp4JL5IOLtlNe5e03Erhk7MhZ

Submit English Language Acquisition Status for TK Students

When enrolling TK students, LEAs should administer the Home Language Survey (HLS). If the HLS indicates a primary language other than English or American Sign Language on any of the first three questions, LEAs should:

• Submit a Student English Language Acquisition (SELA) record with an English Language Acquisition (ELAS) of TBD – To Be Determined.
• Use the TK enrollment start date as the ELAS Start Date.
• Submit the student’s primary language, which must be a language other than English (eng) or American Sign Language (ase).
• Continue providing appropriate language support as needed.

Pursuant to Education Code sections 313 and 60810(b)(3), TK students are not required to be assessed with the Initial ELPAC or Initial Alternate ELPAC within 30 calendar days of enrollment. Students enrolled in TK should remain in a TBD status throughout their TK year and cannot be administered the Initial ELPAC or Initial Alternative ELPAC while enrolled in TK. When these students subsequently enroll in KN, they will become eligible for Initial ELPAC or Initial Alternate ELPAC testing. They must be assessed within 30 calendar days of their first day of enrollment in KN.

LEAs are also reminded to enroll TK students in grade level TK, not KN, as CALPADS validates grade levels and age requirements for TK and KN enrollments.

Best Practices for Pre-Enrolling Students in the Summer for Initial ELPAC Testing

LEAs are discouraged from pre-enrolling students in CALPADS before they are expected to attend school. However, one recognized exception is pre-enrolling KN students, or any student new to California, for Initial ELPAC or Initial Alternate ELPAC testing during the summer.

Administering the Initial ELPAC or the Initial Alternate ELPAC testing before the school year begins allows LEAs to identify students as English Learners (EL) or Initial Fluent English Proficient (IFEP) and prepare appropriate services before the first day of school.

The specific steps for pre-enrolling KN students (or any newly enrolled grade-level student in a California public school) for the purpose of summer administration of the Initial ELPAC or Initial Alternate ELPAC depends on whether the student has existing enrollment and SELA records in CALPADS. Table 1 below summarizes the steps for pre-enrolling students that do not have any enrollment records in CALPADS as well as for students who have enrollment records in CALPADS. In many cases, these are students enrolling in KN who were previously enrolled in TK.

For KN students, note that the requirement to administer the Initial ELPAC or Initial Alternate ELPAC within 30 calendar days is based on the student’s Kindergarten Enrollment Start Date, not the existing ELAS Start Date carried forward from TK.

Table 1: Steps for Pre-Enrolling Students for Purposes of Administering the Initial ELPAC/Initial Alternate ELPAC

This information is provided from CALPADS to the Test Operations Management System (TOMS) on a nightly basis, which registers students to take the Initial ELPAC and Initial Alternate ELPAC. Once students have completed testing, TOMS sends CALPADS the students’ new ELAS of EL or IFEP, and LEAs can then download results into their student information system.

What should LEAs do if pre-enrolled students do not show up when school starts?

If pre-enrolled students are tested during the summer but do not ultimately attend the school, the student should be exited using:

• Student Exit Category code: N470 – No Show.
• Enrollment Exit Date equal to, or one day prior to, the Enrollment Start Date. (Note: If the student was pre-enrolled for purposes of being evaluated for special education services, the Enrollment Exit Date should be equal to the Enrollment Start Date.)

Note: New charter schools opening in the 2026–27 school year will not have access to CALPADS until they submit a Charter Reporting Status Form and the CDE has processed the form. As a result, these schools will be unable to enroll or pre-enroll students in CALPADS until access has been granted. Please visit the CDE’s Charter Reporting Status Form Instructions web page to learn more about completing the form and designating the method for reporting CALPADS data: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/charterforminstructions.asp

Key Reminders

As you prepare for the upcoming school year:

• Use the SSID Match Tool before requesting new SSIDs for incoming students, particularly KN students.
• Consider assessing KN students in the summer with the Initial ELPAC/Alternate ELPAC by following the pre-enrollment steps outlined in Table 1 in this document. 
• Exit any pre-enrolled students who do not attend using N470 (No Show).

Following these practices will help ensure accurate CALPADS data, prevent the creation of MID anomalies, and support timely EL identification and services for EL students.