CALPADS/CBEDS Charter School Data Reporting Policy

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CALPADS and CBEDS Data Reporting Policy

The California Department of Education (CDE) provides charter schools the opportunity to specify the method by which they will report CALPADS and CBEDS data. The reporting method will be the same for both CALPADS and CBEDS data collections and cannot be changed outside of the annual reporting status change window.

The data reporting method does not impact, nor have any association with, the charter school funding model. In determining their data reporting method, charter schools and their authorizing agencies are strongly encouraged to have open dialogue about local practices, procedures, and data system logistics to ensure that CALPADS and CBEDS reporting requirements can be met by published deadlines.

Data Reporting Options

There are two data reporting options available to charter schools. Options are as follows:

1. The charter school reports CALPADS and CBEDS data directly to the CDE, independent of its authorizing agency. Charter schools electing this option are referred to as independently reporting charters (IRCs).
   
   Note: Charter schools that are their own local educational agency (LEA) for special education purposes must report their data independently.
   
   
2. The charter school's authorizing agency reports CALPADS and CBEDS data to the CDE on behalf of the charter school.
   
   Note: Charter schools that are authorized by the State Board of Education have their own district codes and are considered their own LEA; therefore, they must report their data as the authorizing agency and may not apply to report independently. In other words, they will report data on their behalf directly to the CDE.

Annual Period for Changing/Designating Reporting Status

For existing charter schools, charter school administrators may change their reporting status for the coming school year during the annual reporting status change window, July 1 – August 31. Charter schools electing to change their reporting status for the 2025–26 school year must submit the Charter Reporting Status Change Form to the CALPADS Office at calpads@cde.ca.gov by August 31, 2025. Change requests from existing charter schools submitted after August 31 will not be accepted and these charter schools must continue to report data as they had in the previous year. Charter schools may re-submit the change request form during the next annual window to request a reporting status change. Charter schools that are not making any changes to their reporting status do not need to submit the form.

For new charter schools, charter school administrators are asked to designate their reporting status by submitting the Charter Reporting Status Change Form to the CALPADS Office once they obtain a county-district-school (CDS) code and prior to the school’s start date. New charter schools must also designate their reporting status by August 31, when possible. If a new charter school is not assigned a CDS code until after August 31, they must submit the reporting status form as soon as possible after receiving a CDS code. There is no default reporting status; therefore, the status for a new charter school must be designated prior to the start of the CALPADS and CBEDS data collections, which is Census Day, the first Wednesday in October.

Charter Reporting Status Change Form and Reporting Method

Charter Reporting Status Change Form (PDF; Dated 28-April-2025)
Form used by charter schools to change or designate their data reporting method. Completed forms should be sent to calpads@cde.ca.gov.

Charter Reporting Status Form Instructions
Instructions for completing the Charter Reporting Status Change Form and designating the method for reporting CALPADS and CBEDS data.

Definitions

Independently-Reporting Charter School – An independently-reporting charter school elects to obtain and maintain Statewide Student Identifiers (SSIDs) for all enrolling and exiting students. The independently-reporting charter school is responsible for:

• Meeting CALPADS reporting and certification requirements
• Maintaining and reporting student, teacher, and course data directly to CALPADS
• Reporting aggregate data through CBEDS

Charter School Electing to Report through its Authorizing Agency – This is a charter school that designates its authorizing agency as the party responsible for meeting CALPADS reporting and certification requirements. Depending on local implementation, the authorizing agency may either provide the charter school with the ability to submit data directly to CALPADS, or the district may retain the ability to do this work for the charter school. The district is ultimately responsible for certifying charter school data. The charter school also elects to have its authorizing agency report aggregate data through CBEDS on its behalf.

Authorizing Agency – An authorizing agency is the agency that has authorized the charter school.

CALPADS – CALPADS is a CDE Internet-based statewide data system, requiring authorizing agencies or independently-reporting charter schools to report individual student, teacher, and course data in specified formats, and within specified time frames.

CBEDS – CBEDS is an annual data collection that is administered to meet various state and federal reporting mandates and collects data about schools and districts, as well as some aggregate data on students and staff.

Responsibilities for Authorizing Agencies when Reporting Charter School Data

Charter schools may elect to have their authorizing agencies report CALPADS and CBEDS data on their behalf. Authorizing agencies will be responsible for:

• Obtaining and maintaining Statewide Student Identifiers (SSIDs) in CALPADS for all enrolling and exiting students
• Maintaining and submitting Fall CALPADS data (individual student data and staff assignment data)
• Maintaining and submitting End-of-Year (EOY) CALPADS data (individual student, teacher, and course data)
• Submitting Fall school, district, and aggregate student and staff data through the CBEDS Online Reporting Application (CBEDS-ORA)

Charter schools electing this option are strongly encouraged to have open dialogue with their authorizing agencies about local practices, procedures, and data system logistics to ensure that the authorizing agencies can report the charter school data as well as meet the CALPADS and CBEDS reporting requirements, including the certification of data by published deadlines.

Responsibilities for Charter Schools Independently Reporting Data

Charter schools may elect to report CALPADS and CBEDS data independently from their authorizing agencies. Charter schools choosing this reporting method will be responsible for:

• Obtaining and maintaining Statewide Student Identifiers (SSIDs) in CALPADS for all enrolling and exiting students
• Maintaining and submitting Fall CALPADS data (individual student data and staff assignment data)
• Maintaining and submitting Year-end CALPADS data (individual student, teacher, and course data)
• Submitting Fall school, district, and aggregate student and staff data through CBEDS-ORA

Charter School Reporting Status and Administration of Statewide Assessments

Any charter school, regardless of its CALPADS and CBEDS reporting status, may conduct assessments through its authorizing agency or independently from its authorizing agency. However, as a best practice, a charter school should align its reporting status with the method for conducting statewide assessments. For example, a charter school reporting data independently to CALPADS and CBEDS should also conduct statewide assessments independently from its authorizing agency.

Resources

LEAs are encouraged to review the CALPADS and CBEDS data collection information when making decisions about how to report charter school data. It is critical that charter schools and authorizing agencies thoroughly discuss the two reporting options, come to an agreement on what option to use, and actively support the chosen option. Charter schools and their authorizing agencies should annually review and evaluate their CALPADS/CBEDS reporting method and jointly reconfirm that it is working for both agencies, and if it is not working, identify changes to processes or, if necessary, change the chosen option for the next reporting year.

The California School Information Services (CSIS) is available to assist authorizing agencies and charter schools with local data submission decisions. CSIS is available to work with all authorizing agencies and charter schools to help local administrators make decisions and meet reporting requirements and deadlines.

CSIS may be reached through the CALPADS Service Desk by phone at 916-325-9210 or by email at calpads-support@cde.ca.gov.

CALPADS Resources

CALPADS
Obtain information about the CALPADS data collection, including reporting requirements, system documentation, listserv subscriptions, and training opportunities.

CBEDS Resources

CBEDS
Obtain information about the CBEDS data collection, including forms, instructions, file specifications, and training.