DataQuest Update, Issue #19

February 1, 2024

DataQuest is the California Department of Education’s (CDE) public data reporting web site that provides meaningful data and statistics about California’s K-12 public education system that supports a wide variety of informational, research, and policy needs. The purpose of the DataQuest Update is to provide: (1) announcements regarding public data releases and availability; (2) general information and analysis on various data reporting topics; and (3) practical tips on how to effectively use DataQuest to obtain information. For questions regarding DataQuest, please submit an email to dataquest@cde.ca.gov.

New Special Education Enrollment by Program Setting Report on DataQuest

The CDE is pleased to announce the release of a new 2022–23 Special Education by Program Setting (SEPS) report on DataQuest along with a supporting downloadable data file. The SEPS report was developed pursuant to California Education Code Section Sections 56049 and 56049.1 , which, beginning with academic year 2022–23, requires the CDE to publish data related to federal measures of least restrictive environment (LRE) for students with disabilities, which shall also be included as a resource on the California School Dashboard. Per federal and state law, each local educational agency (LEA) must ensure that a free appropriate public education (FAPE) is provided in the LRE to every child with a disability. LRE is a requirement that students with disabilities receive their education, to the maximum extent appropriate, with other nondisabled students. [20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(5)(A); 34 C.F.R. § 300.114; California Education Code § 56342(b).]

The SEPS report provides functionality that goes beyond the statutory requirements established in Education Code Section 56049.1. In addition to disaggregating the special education enrollment data by LRE, race/ethnicity, and LEA, these data reports and files provide the following information:

• Enrollment information for all students with disabilities aged 3 to 22 who have individualized education plans (IEPs) and who are enrolled on Census Day (the first Wednesday in October).
  
  
• Special Education Enrollment and Program Setting Data disaggregated by the following reporting categories: (1) Race/Ethnicity, (2) Disability Category, (3) Age Range, (4) Grade Span, (5) Gender, (6) English Learner status, and (7) Academic Year.
  
  
• Data disaggregated at the state, county-level, Reporting District, District of Special Education Accountability (DSEA), and school of attendance levels.

The SEPS report utilizes annual Census Day enrollment and related special education data submitted to the CDE by LEAs or independently reporting charter (IRC) schools through the annual Fall 1 data submission in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). Moving forward, each year when the annual CALPADS Fall 1 submission closes, the CDE will extract the necessary special education enrollment data and compile this information for the SEPS report for the related academic year.

Special Education Program Setting Definitions

The Special Education Program Setting data provides information about the educational settings in which students with disabilities received the majority of special education and related services according to their IEP. Additionally, if the educational setting is a regular classroom in which more than 50 percent of the students are nondisabled, the report also provides the General Education Participation Percentage Range, which is a numerical value representing the percentage of time a student with disabilities participates in general education. This report includes information for the following program setting types for students with disabilities who have IEPs and who are enrolled on Census Day:

• Regular Class 80 Percent or More of the Day: A program setting where a student with disabilities participates in regular general education classroom setting, which includes at least 50 percent nondisabled students, at least 80 percent of the school day. On the report, data in these columns represent the number/percentage of the Special Education Enrollment for students whose Special Education Program Setting is Regular Classroom/Public Day School or Regular Independent Study or Virtual Charter and whose General Education Classroom Setting is Regular Class 80 Percent or More of the Day.
  
  
• Regular Class 40 to 79 Percent of the Day: A program setting where a student with disabilities participates in regular general education classroom setting, which includes at least 50 percent nondisabled students, at least 40 but no more than 79 percent (less than 80 percent) of the school day. On the report, data in these columns represent the number/percentage of the Special Education Enrollment for students whose Special Education Program Setting is Regular Classroom/Public Day School or Regular Independent Study or Virtual Charter and whose General Education Classroom Setting is Regular Class 40 to 79 Percent of the Day.
  
  
• Regular Class 39 Percent or Less of the Day: A program setting where a student with disabilities participates in regular general education classroom setting, which includes at least 50 percent nondisabled students, less than 40 percent of the school day. On the report, data in these columns represent the number/percentage of the Special Education Enrollment for students whose Special Education Program Setting is Regular Classroom/Public Day School or Regular Independent Study or Virtual Charter and whose General Education Classroom Setting is Regular Class 39 Percent or Less of the Day.
  
  
• Separate School & Other Settings: A program setting or placement where children receive special education programs and/or related services in a separate school, residential facility, homebound/hospital, correctional facility, or are parentally placed in a private school. On the report, data in these columns represent the number/percentage of the Special Education Enrollment for students whose Special Education Program Setting is Separate School, Residential Facility, Homebound/Hospital, Correctional Facility, or Parentally Placed in Private School.
  
  
• Preschool Setting: A program setting or placement where children receive special education programs and/or services in a home, regular early childhood program, separate class, or at a service provider location. On the report, data in these columns represent the number/percentage of the Special Education Enrollment for students whose Special Education Program Setting is Home, Regular Early Childhood Program, Separate Class, or Service Provider Location (various).
  
  
• Missing/Unknown: No program setting, or general education classroom setting was available for the student with disabilities at the time the data were compiled. On the report, data in these columns represent the number/percentage of the Special Education Enrollment for students whose Special Education Program Setting or General Education Classroom Setting was not reported or is unknown.

Detailed information about the SEPS reports is available on the Information about the Special Education Enrollment Report web page, including data sources, DataQuest reports, downloadable files, definitions, and other information helpful to understanding the data.

Release of New and Updated Data Reports on DataQuest

The CDE has recently released the following DataQuest reports:

2022–23 Special Education Enrollment by Program Setting (NEW)

• Special Education Enrollmentby Program Setting
• Special Education Enrollmentby Program Setting (with County/District/School Data)

Other Reports

• 2022–23 California Healthy Kids Survey
• 2022–23 California School Staff Survey

How to Access Data

Users may access these reports by performing the following steps:

• Navigate to the DataQuest Homepage
• Select the desired Level (State, County, District, or School)
  • Select desired report from drop down menu
• Select "Submit"
• Select the desired Year
  • 2022–23
• Select "Submit"
• Select the desired report from the menu

Alternatively, the DataQuest reports included in this release are also accessible through the Data Reports by Topic web page.

Many of the reports listed above include Report Description, Report Glossary, and, where applicable, Report Filters and Options sections. To change the way the data are displayed in the report, open the expandable (+) Report Options and Filters section. Within this area, users can apply a variety of data filters. Additionally, users can apply one or more filters simultaneously to view data in a variety of configurations. Applied filters are viewable in the "Filters Enabled" section above each report where the filters can also be reset.

Supporting Downloadable Data Files

As part of this public data release of the 2022–23 Special Education Enrollment by Program Setting reports, the CDE is providing the following supporting Downloadable Data file:

2022–23 Special Education Downloadable Data File

• SPED Enrollment (Program Setting) Data

Additional Downloadable Data Files

The CDE has also publicly released the following additional stand-alone downloadable data files:

2022–23 One-Year Graduate Counts Data File

• One-Year Graduate Counts Data

The Supporting and Additional Downloadable Data Files above can be found on the Downloadable Data Files by Topic web page under the corresponding topic area. Please refer to the respective File Structure web pages for important details about the associated data files, including the data layout, which data are contained in the file, data element definitions, and the levels at which data are provided (e.g., state, county, district, and school levels).

Upcoming Data Releases

The CDE anticipates the upcoming public release of the following DataQuest reports:

• 2022–23 Transitional Kindergarten Participation Data
  • Note: With the inclusion of Transitional Kindergarten as a grade beginning in 2023–24, this will be the last year the CDE updates this report.
• 2023–24 Annual Enrollment, English Learner, and Free and Reduced-Price Meals Data
  • Note: Annual Enrollment data reports will include Transitional Kindergarten disaggregated as a grade for the first time.
• 2023–24 Special Education Enrollment by Program Setting Data
• 2023–24 CALPADS Unduplicated Pupil Count (UPC) (downloadable file only)
• 2023–24 Long-Term English Learner (LTEL) and “Ever-EL” Reports
• New Staff Demographic, Experience, and Education Data (multiple years)
• New Students with Disabilities Enrollment by Disability Category (2023–24 with subsequent years)
• New Annual Reclassified Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) Counts and Rates (multiple years)
  

DataQuest Listserv Information

To subscribe to the DataQuest listserv, submit a blank email to: subscribe-dataquest@mlist.cde.ca.gov.
To unsubscribe to the DataQuest listserv, submit a blank email to: unsubscribe-dataquest@mlist.cde.ca.gov