CALPADS Update Flash #331

To:           Local Educational Agency (LEA) Representatives

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

Date:       September 25, 2026

Subject:  CALPADS Update FLASH #331

Fall Submission Window Opens October 7

The 2026−27 Fall 1 and Fall 2 submissions open on Census Day, Wednesday, October 7, 2026. LEAs should begin submitting and updating Fall 1 and 2 data and preparing for certification.

Fall 2 Certification Reports Availability

LEAs should begin uploading data and reviewing Fall 2 supplemental reports. To support earlier teaching assignment monitoring activities, Report 4.3 (Staff Teaching Assignments – Detail) is available as a real-time report for both LEAs and county offices, allowing teaching assignment data to be reviewed as it is submitted to CALPADS rather than waiting for Fall 2 certification reports to become available.

The Fall 2 certification reports will be available earlier than previous years. Beginning November 23, 2026, Fall 2 Certification Validation Rule (CVR) errors will be triggered, and Fall 2 certification reports will be available to support earlier review and resolution of data issues prior to certification.

2026–27 CALPADS Submission Windows and Certification Deadlines

Below is the CALPADS Submission Calendar for the 2026–27 academic year.
The calendar is posted on the CDE CALPADS Calendar web page: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/rptcalendar.asp

CALPADS Submission Calendar for the 2026–27 academic year

*The Cohort data pull will occur on August 16, 2027.

No Opportunities to Amend Data Following Deadlines

The 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 teaching 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 for calculating the funding amounts 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 10/7/2026). A student who was enrolled over Census Day, but who became FRPM eligible after Census Day (e.g., 10/08/2026 to 10/31/2026) 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.