CALPADS Flash #147

CALPADS Fall 2 Functionality Rollout and Deadline

Following the Tuesday, December 11, 2018 release, Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) will be able to:

• Upload Fall 2 files which include:
• Staff Demographic (SDEM)
• Staff Assignment (SASS)
• Course Section Enrollment (CRSE)
• Student Course Section Enrollment (SCSE)
• View and correct Fall 2 Input Validation Rule (IVR) errors
• Request/retrieve Fall 2 Operational Data Store (ODS) extracts (SDEM, SASS, CRSE, SCSE)

The CDE anticipates the online maintenance functionality for staff and course data and reports (ODS and Certification) will be available in early January. Fall 2 training will be available the second week in January 2019. Fall 2 snapshot revisions will begin running on January 8, 2019.

The Fall 2 final certification deadline is Friday, March 22. LEAs are reminded that there is only one Fall 2 deadline; there will not be a certification deadline that is followed by an amendment window deadline.

Reminder to Not Decertify Immediately Following Fall 1 Deadline

It is critical for school districts and counties to communicate during the Fall 1 Amendment Window (December 10 – January 18). Upon certification, County Offices of Education (COEs) can view certified LEA reports within CALPADS, which they are required by law to review. COEs, however, lose visibility into the certified LEA CALPADS reports if the LEA decertifies. Therefore, to facilitate COE review, LEAs should not immediately decertify after the December 7, 2018 deadline. LEAs may continue to update their data and review “revised uncertified” reports while they remain certified. CALPADS has the ability to show both Certified snapshot reports and Revised Uncertified snapshot reports. During this time LEAs may receive feedback from their COE stemming from the county’s review of the certified CALPADS reports and First Interim budget reports. Once the LEA is satisfied with the new revision, LEAs may then decertify and recertify the reports.

In early January, LEAs that certified by December 7, 2018, will receive a preview of their Unduplicated Pupil Count (UPC) based on the data certified on Report 1.17 – FRPM, EL, Foster Count. These data will be used to calculate the First Principal Apportionment (P1). LEAs that did not certify by December 7, 2018 will not receive a preview of their UPC and last year’s data will be used to calculate P1. LEAs are reminded that any data certified or recertified by the close of the Amendment Window will be used to calculate the Second Principal Apportionment, and after the close of the Amendment Window, there will be no further opportunity to amend these data except through the Local Control Funding Formula audit process.

Please note: Report C/A 1.1 has a defect in which the LEA enrollment counts are wrong. Please use report C/A 1.17 to see LEA enrollment counts.

California Wildfires and Homeless and Program

It is the responsibility of our schools and school districts to enroll homeless students immediately, even when they do not have the necessary paperwork required for registration, such as school records, medical records, proof of residency, or other documents. The term “enroll” is defined as attending classes and participating fully in school activities. California’s homeless liaisons need to assist such families with enrolling students and promoting academic achievement. Students who have been displaced by fires or any other natural disaster will generally meet the federal definition of homeless, although this depends on their individual situations. For example, a family that is only displaced for a day or two and is able to return to their home after a couple of days is not considered homeless; however, it is up to the homeless liaison to make the final determination.

With the recent fires last month, CALPADS administrators should coordinate with their local homeless liaisons to identify and accurately reflect the current situation for any student who may have become homeless. For any student who has become homeless, local educational agencies (LEAs) should submit a Student Program (SPRG) record reflecting an Education Program Code of 191 – Homeless Program, using the date the student became homeless as the program start date. Once the homeless status has been established, these students are categorically eligible for free meals under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).

It is important for LEAs to update homeless data for students who became homeless due to the recent wildfires that occurred in November. Absent executive or legislative action, while doing so will not impact LEAs’ Unduplicated Pupil Count, it will impact LEAs’ cumulative homeless count at the end of the school year, which is used for federal reporting and funding determinations. The data also provides the state an understanding of how students and families were displaced as a result of the fires.

Homeless Definition

School offers structure, stability, and support to children and youths displaced by disasters. Typically these children, youths, and their families are forced to live in a variety of unstable, temporary arrangements, including facilities set up by relief and community agencies. The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children and youths as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes:

• Children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason.
• Children and youths who may be living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or shelters.
• Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
• Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings.
• Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are children who are living in similar circumstances as listed above.