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SSCE Schedule of Significant Events

State Seal of Civic Engagement (SSCE) Schedule of Significant Events.

Development of the SSCE Criteria

Event Schedule
Distribution of the State Seal of Civic Engagement (SSCE) Advisory Group recruitment letter and online application posted September 4, 2018
Closing date for recruitment of Advisory Group members September 21, 2018
California Department of Education (CDE) staff recommends Advisory Group members to the Deputy Superintendent of the Teaching and Learning Support Branch September 2018
Deputy Superintendent approves Advisory Group members October 2018
Advisory Group members notified November 1, 2018
Advisory Group video conference meeting November 15, 2018
Recommended criteria posted online March 6, 2019
21-day public review period March 6– 26, 2019
Recommended criteria updated to incorporate stakeholder input April 2019
Draft criteria recommended to the State Board of Education (SBE) by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) July 10, 2019
SSCE criteria presented to the SBE September 11, 2019

Resources to Support Civic Engagement web page finalized

June 2020
SSCE criteria adopted by the SBE

September 10, 2020

Statutory deadline for SBE action January 31, 2021

Civic Engagement Work Group

At the July 2019 SBE meeting, the SBE requested that the CDE consider the possibility of formally recognizing civic engagement by incorporating SSCE into the California Dashboard as a College and Career Indicator (CCI).

The California Department of Education (CDE) determined that the criteria would need to be revised significantly to provide standardization measures that are valid, reliable, and fair; a requirement of the California Dashboard. This could reduce the number of students who would have the opportunity to earn the SSCE.

In August 2019, the CDE communicated this to the SBE in an Information Memorandum, titled "Considerations for Including the SSCE in the College and Career Indicator" (DOCX). The CDE recommended that the SBE adopt the proposed criteria to use for awarding a SSCE to ensure that as many students as possible have the opportunity to earn the SSCE as soon as possible, as required by statute. The CDE further recommended that the SBE consider exploring other ways to incorporate civic engagement into the CCI in the future.

To support this work, the CDE convened a Civic Engagement Work Group (CEWG) in August, October, and December 2020. CEWG work was paused following the December 2020 meeting, due to the re-architecture of the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). The CEWG reconvened periodically in 2021 and 2022 to share updates. The CDE shared updates periodically with the SBE throughout this process. For additional background information on this process, please refer to the SBE Items Related to the SSCE web page.

Beginning with the 2023–24 school year, the CALPADS Operations Office anticipates administering a new ad hoc collection tool, which will collect student-level data on the SSCE. Additional information and updates will be available from the CALPADS web page as they become available. 

The below timeline outlines key steps in the process of formally recognizing civic engagement in the CCI.

Event Schedule
SBE recommends recognizing civic engagement in the CCI July 10, 2019
CDE issues an Informational Memorandum (DOCX) to the SBE recommending a CEWG August 20, 2019
First meeting of the CEWG

August 18, 2020

SBE adopts SSCE criteria with amendments

September 10, 2020

Second meeting of the CEWG

October 14, 2020

Third meeting of the CEWG

December 15, 2020

Fourth meeting of the CEWG August 19, 2021
Fifth meeting of the CEWG August 28, 2022
Ad hoc SSCE data collection tool available March–June, 2024
Questions:   Educator Excellence and Equity Division | SSCE@cde.ca.gov | 916-323-6440
Last Reviewed: Friday, December 15, 2023