SARC Preparation Guide for Nonpublic Schools

Pursuant to Chapter 914, Statutes of 2004 (Assembly Bill 1858), and pursuant to Education Code (EC) Section 56366(a)(9), all nonpublic, nonsectarian (NPS) schools are required to prepare a SARC in accordance with EC Section 33126. This requirement applies to NPS schools but does not apply to NPS agencies. The law became effective January 1, 2005.

For the purpose of the SARC program, a local educational agency (LEA) is a school district or a county office of education or a direct funded charter (DFC) school or a NPS school.

The California Department of Education (CDE) has developed the new myCDEconnect unified system for the convenience of the LEAs to manage multiple program reports all in one location. In the myCDEconnect system LEAs can register for one or more programs at one time, work on their program reports in one location, and do all of this through one login user account.

The various programs will be installed in the myCDEconnect system one at a time. Currently, the program available in the myCDEconnect system is the School Accountability Report Card (SARC). During 2023 and 2024, the following programs will be incorporated in this unified system and made available: Accountability Listserv, California School Dashboard Coordinators, and Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) e-Template.

Register for a SARC User Account

Main Authorizers

Main Authorizers are the persons listed on the California School Directory in the categories of County/District Superintendent, DFC School Administrator, and NPS School Administrator.

Upon the open date of the SARC User Account Registration, the system will automatically generate, and send an email (from noreply@mycdeconnect.org) with, a SARC user account information (i.e., usernames and passwords) to the Main Authorizers, as listed on the California School Directory. At that time, the SARC User Account Registration system will be open for registration by the designated SARC Coordinators and designated Alternate Authorizers.

1. Upon registration by Coordinators (limit up to 2) and Alternate Authorizers (limit of 1), an email from noreply@mycdeconnect.org will be sent to the Main Authorizer for approval or denial.
   
   
2. The option of designating an Alternate Authorizer is for the convenience of the Main Authorizer. An Alternate Authorizer will have all the same system responsibilities and capabilities as the Main Authorizer. If an Alternate Authorizer has been designated/approved, the system will also send to the Alternate Authorizer all the same emails sent to the Main Authorizer, including the registration emails for approval/denial.

Coordinators

A SARC Coordinator is an employee of the school/LEA and/or a third-party vendor contracted with the school/LEA, designated to prepare and process the LEA’s SARCs on the myCDEconnect system.

How to register as a Coordinator:

• Step 1: Go to the myCDEconnect . In the top right menu select “Registration”.
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  Step 2: Select the button “I am registering to be a Coordinator”.
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  Use the “Search for individual schools” if selecting one or more NPS schools; type the name of the NPS school, select the school; repeat until you have completed your list of NPS schools.
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  Once you have your completed list of school(s), scroll to the bottom of the web page, select “Continue”.
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  Step 3: Either check the box “Designation for SARC” for each school individually or select the button “Select All Schools for SARC Program” to check all the boxes at one time. All boxes must be checked in order to proceed.
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  Scroll to the bottom of the web page, select “Continue”.
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  Step 4: Populate the requested information. All mandatory fields identified with an asterisk (*) must be completed in order to submit this form.
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  Scroll to the bottom of the web page, select “Submit".
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  Step 5: You have completed the registration process. You are advised to print this confirmation web page for your records.
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  Your registration request has been emailed to your Main Authorizer (and to the Alternate Authorizer, if designated). The registration request email remains active/valid until processed by the Main Authorizer (i.e., approved or denied).
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  If approved, you will receive an email from noreply@mycdeconnect.org with username and password information. If denied, you will receive an email from noreply@mycdeconnect.org with denial notification.

Alternate Authorizers

An Alternate Authorizer is an employee of the LEA, designated by the Main Authorizer of the LEA to act on behalf of the Main Authorizer in all required capacity for the SARC program on the myCDEconnect system.

The Alternate Authorizer will have all the same system responsibilities and capabilities as the Main Authorizer, including but not limited to, the approval/decline of registration requests. Designating an Alternate Authorizer is an available option for the convenience of the Main Authorizer, with a limit of 1 Alternate Authorizer.

How to register as an Alternate Authorizer:

• Step 1: Go to the myCDEconnect . In the top right menu select “Registration”.
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  Step 2: Select the button “I am registering to be an Alternate Authorizer”.
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  Step 3: Type the name of the NPS school; select the NPS school.
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  Scroll to the bottom of the web page, select “Continue”.
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  Step 4: Populate the requested information. All mandatory fields identified with an asterisk (*) must be completed in order to submit this form.
• 
  Scroll to the bottom of the web page and select “Submit”.
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  Step 5: You have completed the registration process. You are advised to print this confirmation web page for your records.
• 
  Your registration request has been emailed to your Main Authorizer. The registration request email remains active/valid until processed by the Main Authorizer (i.e., approved or denied).
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  If approved, you will receive an email from noreply@mycdeconnect.org with username and password information. If denied, you will receive an email from noreply@mycdeconnect.org with denial notification.

Note: It is the responsibility of the Main Authorizers and the registrants to check their junk mail or have the SPAM email filter reviewed to check for any messages from noreply@mycdeconnect.org. They may need to communicate with their technology person to ensure that their system will allow receipt of emails from noreply@mycdeconnect.org.

Become Familiar With the SARC Web Pages

Read and become thoroughly familiar with the content found on the CDE SARC web page. In particular, the following links will provide valuable background information and will answer most of the questions you may have as you are completing the SARC:

• Blank 2021–22 SARC Template (DOCX)
• 2021–22 Data Element Definitions (DOCX)
• SARC Frequently Asked Questions
• SARC Legislation
• Williams Settlement and the SARC

Prepare the SARC

The CDE does not accept SARCs via email as attachments or links. The online SARC Web Application system serves as the mechanism for each school/LEA to provide the CDE with its completed SARC. A username and password are required to access the SARC Web Application system. There are two methods available for schools/LEAs to submit their SARCs to the CDE: (1) use the online partially pre-populated electronic SARC template available on the SARC Web Application located in the myCDEconnect system to complete and post the SARC or (2) upload an accurate uniform resource locator (URL) to the website address where the SARC has been posted on the school/LEA website.

The electronic 2021–22 SARC template is available on the online SARC Web Application and is partially pre-populated with some district and all state data. The electronic SARC template allows schools/LEAs to modify the pre-populated district data and input all remaining data (state data cannot be modified); and provides the schools/LEAs the flexibility to upload a photo of the school's principal and a custom principal's message. Additionally, this application provides graphical displays of some of the data shown on the SARC, and provides an electronic, real-time translation of the information provided on the SARC in over 70 languages for those viewing the SARC using Google translate.

For any table that does not apply to your school based on grade-level, you may select the checkbox "Do not display this table to the public" located at the top of each electronic table, then select the "Save" button. For example, an elementary school with grades kindergarten through grade six does not need to complete the Dropout Rate and Graduation Rate (Four-Year Cohort Rate) table as it pertains to high school grades nine through twelve. Therefore, the Dropout Rate and Graduation Rate (Four-Year Cohort Rate) table may be restricted from the public view, appropriately.

For schools/LEAs that are not interested in using the electronic 2021–22 SARC template, the CDE has also provided a blank 2021–22 SARC template in Word available on the CDE SARC web page.

The blank SARC template in Word contains the letters DPC (data provided by the CDE) or DPL (data provided by the LEA) in the data cells. Please delete these letters from your blank SARC template and populate all required data elements. These letters do not apply to NPS schools. The CDE pre-populates a portion of the public school electronic SARC templates using the data that the public schools/LEAs are mandated by law to provide to the CDE during the school year. The NPS schools do not provide the CDE with data, therefore, the CDE does not have data to populate a portion of the NPS school SARCs, other than some district data and the state data.

While the CDE provides data where data are available, the schools/LEAs are ultimately responsible for the completion of their entire SARCs and for the accuracy of all data in their SARCs.

Determine the SARC Data Elements That Must be Reported by NPS Schools

In determining how to prepare an NPS school report card, review the template with two considerations in mind.

• First, if a particular reporting element is not applicable (such as graduation rate data for a school whose mission does not involve "graduation" in the conventional sense), this reporting element does not need to be included in the completed report card.
  
  
• Second, if there are no data or other information available for a particular reporting element (such as state assessment results in a case where the students are not required to be tested), this reporting element does not need to be included in the completed report card.

For NPS schools, the report card should include at minimum the school's contact information, a school description and mission statement, a narrative about opportunities for parental involvement, a description of the school's facility conditions and safety plans, information about staff qualifications, and a description of the educational materials that are used at the school. Additional information about the school that might be of interest to parents and the community may be added.

Post the SARC

The intention of the CDE Find a SARC web page is to make SARCs easily available for parents, guardians, and community members. After SARCs are locally prepared and approved by the school's local governing board, LEAs must submit their SARCs to the CDE via the SARC Web Application. The NPS schools with access to the Internet must make their current SARCs available through the Internet. The CDE recommends that NPS schools also post their SARCs on their school's website.

Notify the Parents

Notify parents about the purpose and availability of the school's SARC. Provide instructions about how the SARC can be obtained both through the Internet, and on paper (upon request). The CDE recommends that schools have copies of their SARC available in the school's office and at public forums, such as parent information events.