Application for a CDS Code Instructions

School Information

Item 1. State Board of Education Charter or Regional Occupation Center/Program

Specify whether or not the application is for a new charter school established through an appeal to the State Board of Education, as described on the State Board of Education Appeals web page, or whether or not the application is for a new Regional Occupational Center/Program?

Item 2. County

Select the name of the authorizing county.

Item 3. District

Select the name of the authorizing district.
Note: This field will be disabled if the school is a State Board of Education Charter or Regional Occupational Center/Program.

Item 4. School

Enter the school name. Please ensure to use the following CDE naming guidelines when specifying the school name:

• Omit “School” from school names except when it falls in the middle of a name (e.g., “Corona School of the Arts”).
• Omit “The” from school names except when it falls in the middle of a name (e.g., “Corona School of the Arts”).
• If initials are used for schools named after a person, include a space between initials.

Item 5. School Type

Select the school type from the following list:

• Adult Education Centers
• Alternative Schools of Choice
• Continuation High Schools
• County Community
• District Community Day Schools
• Elementary Schools (Public)
• High Schools (Public)
• Intermediate/Middle Schools (Public)
• Junior High Schools (Public)
• Juvenile Court Schools
• K–12 Schools (Public)
• Opportunity Schools
• Preschool
• ROC/ROP
• Special Education Schools (Public)
• State Special Schools
• Youth Authority Facilities

Schools, including charter schools, that provide K–12 educational services to adult aged students should not use the “Adult Education Center” school type designation. Adult Education Centers do not generate Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) allocations.

Item 6. Educational Program

Select the type of educational program administered by the school. Your selection will be limited based on the School Type specified above, and will generally align with the School Type. Available educational programs options include:

• Alternative School of Choice
• County Community School
• Community Day School
• Continuation School
• Juvenile Court School
• Opportunity School
• Youth Authority School
• State Special School
• Special Education School
• Traditional
• Regional Occupational Program
• Home and Hospital

Item 7. Open Date

Enter the date when the school plans to open for student instruction. Applications may only be submitted one year in advance, therefore, the open date cannot be more than a year out from the current date. For example, if today’s date is 5/1/2019, the open date cannot be 5/2/2020 or later).

Item 8. Estimated Enrollment

Provide the estimated number of students that the school plans to serve once at full capacity.

Item 9. Low Grade

Select the lowest grade that the school is authorized to offer serves.

If the school will be phasing in grades over time, enter the lowest grade that the school will offer serves once it is at full capacity.

For transitional kindergarten, select kindergarten.

Item 10. High Grade

Select the highest grade the school is authorized to offer serves.

If the school will be phasing in grades over time, enter the highest grade that the school will offer serves once it is at full capacity.

Schools that enroll adult aged students who receive K–12 instruction and generate Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) funding should not designate the adult grade level; instead they should select an appropriate K–12 grade level based on the instructional services provided. The adult grade level is strictly reserved for adult aged pupils enrolled in an adult education center/program who do not receive K–12 instruction.

Item 11. Virtual Status

Select the type of virtual instruction that the school provides.

Virtual instruction is instruction in which students and teachers are separated by time and/or location, and interaction occurs via computers and/or telecommunications technologies. Options include:

• Exclusively Virtual – The school has no physical building where students meet with each other or with teachers, all instruction is virtual.
• Primarily Virtual – The school focuses on a systematic program of virtual instruction but includes some physical meetings among students or with teachers.
• Primarily Classroom – The school offers virtual courses but virtual instruction is not the primary means of instruction.
• Not Virtual – The school does not offer any virtual instruction.

Item 12. Year-Round

Indicate whether or not the school operates on a year-round calendar. Please visit the Year-Round Education Program Guide for more information on year-round calendars.

Item 13. Magnet

Indicate whether or not the school is a magnet school, or offers a magnet program.

Magnet is a special school or program designed to:

• Attract students of different racial/ethnic backgrounds for the purpose of reducing, preventing or eliminating racial isolation (50 percent or more minority enrollment); and/or
• Provide an academic or social focus on a particular theme (e.g., science/mathematics, performing arts, gifted/talented, or foreign language.)

Please visit the Magnets web page for more information on magnet schools.

Note: This field does not apply to adult education centers, preschools, and ROP/ROCs.

Item 14. Email

Enter the general email address for the school.

Item 15. Website

Enter the complete web address (URL) for the school's website. Use "http://" only when a web address does not begin with "www."

Item 16. Phone Number

Enter the area code and phone number of the school.

Item 17. Phone Extension

Enter the phone extension of the school.

Item 18. Fax

Enter the fax number of the school, including the area code.

Item 19. Education Code Authority

Select the appropriate Education Code (EC) section under which the school was established. Legal authority for the establishment of schools is provided in various sections of EC. Please consult the full text of these statutes, as well as your own legal counsel, to determine the appropriate authority for the establishment of a particular school.

1. General Authority (permissive school code) EC §§35160, 35160.1, 35160.2
   - OR -
2. Special Authorities
   1. County Schools
      • County community schools, EC § 1980 et seq.
      • Education of inmates in county jails, honor farms, etc., EC § 1900 et seq.
      • Emergency schools, EC § 1920 et seq.
      • Junior high schools, EC § 37060
      • Juvenile court schools, EC § 48645 et seq.
      • Secondary schools specializing in high technology, performing arts, or other special curricular areas, EC § 58800 et seq.
      • 24-hour elementary schools, EC § 48600 et seq.
   2. District Schools
      • Adult school, EC § 52502 (see generally, § 52500 et seq.)
      • Alternative schools, EC § 58500
      • Community day schools, EC § 48660
      • Continuation schools, EC § 48430 et seq.
      • Junior high schools, EC § 37060
      • Opportunity schools, EC § 48630 et seq.
      • Secondary schools specializing in high technology, performing arts, or other special curricular areas, EC § 58800 et seq.
      • 24-hour elementary schools, EC § 48600 et seq.
   3. Charter Schools
      • EC Section 47605 includes:
        • School district establishment (approval) of a charter school
        • County Board of Education approval of a charter school on appeal (after denial by a school district)
        • State Board of Education (SBE) approval of a charter school on appeal (after denial by a county board of education)
      • EC Section 47605.5 includes:
        • County Board of Education approval of a charter school. (For charter schools that will serve pupils for whom the county office of education would otherwise be responsible for providing direct education and related services.)
      • EC Section 47605.6 includes:
        • County Board of Education approval of a countywide charter school. (A charter school that operates at one or more sites within the geographic boundaries of the county and that provides instructional services that are not generally provided by a COE.)
      • EC Section 47605.8 includes:
        • SBE approval of a statewide benefit charter school. (A charter school that may operate at multiple sites throughout the state but that share the same SBE-approved charter school number.)
      • EC Section 47606 includes:
        • SBE and State Superintendent of Public Instruction joint approval of an all-charter district. (A school district that converts all of its schools to charter schools.)

More information about Education Code can be found via the California Legislative Information Education Code web page.

School Addresses

Physical Address

The school's physical address is the actual physical location where instruction will be provided. This cannot be a residence or P.O. Box. For virtual schools, enter the physical location of the office or administrative building from which the school will be run. Physical address fields are required and may not be left blank or reported as to be determined.

Item 20. Street

Enter the physical street address where instruction will be provided.

Item 21. City

Enter the city.

Item 22. State

Select the state.

Item 23. Zip

Provide the first 5 digits of the zip code.

Item 24. Zip4

Provide the last 4 digits of the zip code.

Mailing Address

The school’s mailing address should reflect where the school will receive mail. If the mailing address is the same as the physical address, select the “Copy Physical Address” link to have the physical address copied into the mailing address fields, otherwise, enter the mailing address.

Item 25. Street

Enter the street address where the school will receive mail.

Item 26. City

Enter the city.

Item 27. State

Select the state.

Item 28. Zip

Provide the first 5 digits of the zip code.

Item 29. Zip4

Provide the last 4 digits of the zip code.

Principal Information

Item 30. First Name

Enter the principal's first name.

Item 31. Last Name

Enter the principal’s last name.

Item 32. Job Title

Enter the principal’s job title.

Item 33. Email

Enter the principal’s email address.

Item 34. Phone Number

Enter the principal's phone number.

Item 35. Phone Extension

Enter the principal's phone number extension.

Charter School Information

Charter School Detail

Item 36. Charter School

Indicate whether or not the school is a charter school.

Item 37. Charter Number

If the school is a charter school, enter the charter number that was issued by the State Board of Education, if known. If the school does not yet have a charter number, please leave this field blank.

Chief Business Official (CBO) (Charter schools only)

This section shall only be completed by charter schools.

Item 38. First Name

Enter the CBO’s first name.

Item 39. Last Name

Enter the CBO’s last name.

Item 40. Job Title

Enter the CBO's job title.

Item 41. Email

Enter the CBO's email address.

Item 42. Phone Number

Enter the CBO's phone number.

Item 43. Phone Extension

Enter the CBO's phone number extension.

Applicant’s Information

Applicant’s Name

Enter your first and last name. CDS staff may contact you with questions related to this application.

Applicant’s Email

Enter your email address. CDS staff may contact you with questions related to this application.

Confirmation of Application

After submitting your application, you will receive an email containing a confirmation number, links to the application summary and upload pages, and further instructions on how to complete the application process.

Submission of Supporting Documentation

In order to complete the CDS code application process, you will need to submit the following supporting documentation:

1. Local governing board meeting minutes describing the approval to form and establish the school. This may include items pertaining to budget approval, acquisition/designation of a facility, staffing, contract awarded for construction of a facility, school type, and/or date of opening. Note that if the board meeting minutes are lengthy, you may extract the pertinent information and submit only the portion of the board minutes that pertain to the approval to form the school and the account of the formal voting process of board members.
2. A copy of the Application for a CDS Code: Summary signature page that has been signed by the district superintendent. For charter schools, the signature page must be signed by the authorizing agency’s superintendent. To obtain a copy of the signature page, please visit the Application for a CDS Code: Summary web page, which will be provided via a confirmation email.

Additional documentation may also be requested by CDE staff depending on information provided in your application and/or supporting documentation.

Supporting documentation may be submitted to the CDE by:

• Using the Application for a CDS Code: File Upload feature. A link to this feature will be provided via a confirmation email.
• Emailing cdsadmin@cde.ca.gov
• Faxing to 916-327-0195
• Mailing to:

CDS Administration
CBEDS/CDS Support Office
1430 N Street, Suite 6308
Sacramento, CA 95814

Correcting Applications

Should you need to correct information contained in your application once it has submitted, please provide your corrections to CDS Administration staff via the email address provided below. CDS Administration staff will update your application for you and the corrections will be visible on your Application for a CDS Code: Summary. If the corrections are substantial, you may be asked to provide an updated signed copy of the Application for a CDS Code: Summary signature page.