CALPADS Update Flash #328
Updated student exit category codes based on Assembly Bill 1984, (Chapter 368, Statutes of 2024).To: Local Educational Agency (LEA) Representatives
From: California Department of Education (CDE) –
California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System
(CALPADS) Team
Date: July 24, 2026
Subject: CALPADS Update FLASH #328
Updated Student Exit Category Codes
Background
Assembly Bill 1984, (Chapter 368, Statutes of 2024) added the following section to the California Education Code:
33317.3 (a)Commencing with the 2026–27 school year, the department shall collect and publish on its internet website, and local educational agencies shall provide to the department, data on pupil transfers due to disciplinary reasons, including whether the pupil transferred to an alternative school based on a referral by the school.
(b)The department, when providing guidance on its internet website about reducing disproportionate discipline of pupil subgroups in schools, shall advise local educational agencies against the use of transfers to avoid reporting suspensions and expulsions.
(c)For purposes of this section, “local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
Changes to Student Exit Category Codes
To meet the new statutory reporting requirement, the CDE is retiring T167, creating two new codes, T166 and T169, and streamlining the definition of T165. With these changes, all transfers for disciplinary reasons should be captured by the following three codes: T165, T166, and T169.
Additionally, the CDE is updating the definition of T160 and retiring T168. All of these changes to the Student Exit Category code set are in the CALPADS Code Sets v18.0 and are summarized in Table 1 below. Once the CALPADS 2026–27 School Year rollover work is complete on August 25, 2026, the retired transfer codes cannot be used for enrollment exit dates after June 30, 2026. The new student exit category codes will take effect for enrollment records with enrollment exit dates beginning July 1, 2026.
Table 1: Summary of Student Exit Category Code Changes
| Code | Code Name | Change | Description of Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| T160 | TransCASchlRegular | Definition Updated |
The definition is being updated to specify that it may be used for students completing their sentence at a Juvenile Court School and are released without documented evidence of a subsequent transfer. This code should be used for all transfers not specified by another transfer code. This includes transfer to and from an independent study program, previously captured in T167 and T168. |
| T165 | TransSpecDiscRsnsOrJudg | No content change; wording has been streamlined |
The content of this code is unchanged. The specific wording of the definition has been streamlined to clearly identify the use of the code for mandatory transfers due to a disciplinary reason. LEAs should continue to use T165 as they have in the past. |
| T166 | TransRefAltSchlDisc | New |
This new code captures the new, specific, statutory requirement for the CDE to report on students who transfer based on a referral to an alternative school due to disciplinary reasons other than those involving a mandatory expulsion or judge referral, which are currently reported using T165. LEAs previously used T167 to report these students. |
| T167 | TransAltSchlPrgm | Retired |
This code is being retired because it includes two different reasons regarding why a student is transferring: (1) transfer to an independent study program for non-disciplinary reasons, or (2) referral to an alternative school for any disciplinary reason except those which involve a mandatory expulsion or referral by a judge. LEAs should use T160, T166 (new), or T169 (new). |
| T168 | AltIndStdySchlDschrg | Retired |
This code is being retired because there is no statutory requirement for capturing this transfer reason. LEAs should use T160. |
| T169 | TransOtherDiscRsns | New |
This new code captures all transfers to any school due to disciplinary reasons not captured by T165 or T166. |
Table 2 below provides the definitions for the three discipline transfer codes.
Table 2: Three Discipline Transfer Codes
Existing Code (Updated) T165 TransSpecDiscRsnsOrJudg Mandatory Transfer for Disciplinary Reason (No substantive change to definition; wording has simply been streamlined) |
New Code T166TransRefAltSchlDisc Referral to Alternative School for Disciplinary Reason |
New Code T169TransOtherDiscRsns Other Transfer to Another School for Disciplinary Reason |
|---|---|---|
The student withdrew from a school in the district and the district has acceptable documentation that the student has transferred to another California public school in the same district or in a different district, due to: (1) a referral by a juvenile court judge or other correctional or judicial official; or (2) an expulsion pursuant to Education Code Section 48915 (a), (b), or (c). Note: Use code T166 if a student transferred, based on a referral by the school district, to an alternative education school due to disciplinary reasons other than those specified in this code, T165 TransSpecDiscRsnsOrJudg. Use code T169 if a student transferred to another California public school for any disciplinary reason not covered by T165 or T166. |
The student transferred, based on a referral by the school district, to an alternative education school in the same district or in another California public school district, for any disciplinary reason other than those specified in Education Code (EC) Section 48915(a), (b), or (c), and was not based on a referral by a juvenile court judge or other correctional or judicial officer. This may include transfers to Continuation Schools pursuant to EC Section 48432.5(d). The district should have acceptable documentation that the student enrolled in the school. Alternative education schools are a subset of Education Option school types, and include: County Community, Community Day, Continuation, Juvenile Court, and Opportunity. Note: Use code T165 if a student withdrew and transferred to another California public school due to a referral by a juvenile court judge or other correctional or judicial official, or an expulsion pursuant to Education Code Section 48915 (a), (b), or (c). Use code T169 if a student transferred to another California public school for any disciplinary reason not covered by T165 and if the student was not referred to an alternative school due to disciplinary reasons. |
The student transferred to another California public school in the same district or in a different district due to any disciplinary reason other than those specified in Education Code Section 48915(a), (b), or (c). The district should have acceptable documentation that the student enrolled in the school. Note: Use code T165 if a student withdrew and transferred to another California public school due to a referral by a juvenile court judge or other correctional or judicial official, or an expulsion pursuant to Education Code Section 48915 (a), (b), or (c). Use code T166 if a student transferred, based on a referral by the school district, to an alternative education school for any disciplinary reason other than those specified in Education Code Section 48915 (a), (b), or (c). |
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