CALPADS Update Flash #329

To:           Local Educational Agency (LEA) Representatives

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

Date:       August 12, 2026

Subject:  CALPADS Update FLASH #329

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2026−27 School Year Rollover

This Flash summarizes the major changes primarily impacting Fall 1 and Fall 2 that will be in the production environment on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 as part of the 2026−27 school year rollover release. All changes have been previously announced and are currently reflected in the CALPADS File Specifications system documentation Version 18 (v.18.0). This Flash summarizes these changes as a reminder to the field.

Key Flashes to Review

The following Flashes provide more detailed information on some of the key changes that are part of the 2026−27 school year rollover.

• Flash 328 – Updated Student Exit Category Codes

• Flash 326 – 2026−27 Updates to Job Classification Codes and Course Section File Impacting Fall 2 Data Submission

• Flash 325 – Section: Updates to Homeless Dwelling Type Code definitions to better align with homeless questionnaire

NEW CALPADS Codes

As part of the 2026−27 school year rollover on August 25, 2026, the California Department of Education (CDE) implemented changes to CALPADS codes with an effective start date of July 1, 2026. For 2026−27, some codes were also retired or have updated definitions. Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) should review the Revision History of the CALPADS Code Sets, v18.0, to identify the specific changes. Additionally, the key Flashes listed above provide background for significant changes.

Table 1 lists all of the new codes added to various codes sets.

Table 1: 2026−2027 Code Set Updates

*Six Cambridge course codes were retired and replaced by these six new course codes. While the course title and content were largely similar, the content of the courses was substantive enough to warrant retiring the previous codes and implementing new codes.

LEAs should ensure that all Course Group State changes are reviewed with their local credential analyst. For changes related to teaching assignments or authorization requirements, refer to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) resource, Appropriate Credential Authorizations for CALPADS Coding, located on the California State Assignment Accountability System (CalSAAS)Information web page at: https://www.ctc.ca.gov/employers/calsaas/. Note that this resource will not be updated with these new codes until the end of the current monitoring cycle.

File Format Changes

Course Section (CRSE) File: With the school year rollover, the CRSE file will include two new fields:

• 9.37 – Itinerant Teaching Assignment
• 9.38 – Pull-Out/Push-In Assignment

Refer to Flash 326 – 2026−27 Updates to Job Classification Codes and Course Section File Impacting Fall 2 Data Submission for information on the use of these two new fields.

New Validations

The following validations are new for data submitted in the 2026−27 academic year.

Abbreviations used in Table 2 that are not otherwise defined:

AY – Academic Year
CDD – Certification Data Discrepancy
DD – Data Discrepancy
ISP – Individual Service Plan
RFEP – Reclassified Fluent English Proficient
SASS – Staff Assignment
SEID – Statewide Educator Identifier
SPRG – Student Program

Table 2:
New Validations for Data Submitted in the 2026−2027 Academic Year

**To ensure accuracy of counts of immigrant students used to meet federal reporting requirements, LEAs should review this warning to ensure that students are accurately identified as being enrolled in a US school for less than three cumulative years.

2026–27 Changes Coming Later in School Year

Change to Career Technical Education (CTE) Collection

To meet a federal reporting requirement to report CTE concentrators, a change will be made to the CTE collection as part of the End-of-Year 2 submission. We have already begun discussions with the Student Information System (SIS) vendors, which will likely entail a change to the Student Career Technical Education (SCTE) file. Additional details will be provided in an upcoming Flash, with implementation planned in early 2027.

Changes to the Student Incident (SINC) Reporting for Unilateral Removals to an Interim Alternative Setting for Students with Disabilities

To support federal reporting requirements related to unilateral removals of students with disabilities to an interim alternative setting, changes will be made to the Student Incident (SINC) file. The changes will improve CALPADS' ability to accurately capture and report unilateral removals and the reasons for those removals, including distinctions required for federal reporting. The proposed changes will be discussed with Student Information System (SIS) and Special Education Data System (SEDS) vendors. Additional information will be provided in a future Flash, with implementation planned in early 2027.