CALPADS Update Flash #228

To:           Local Educational Agency (LEA) Representatives

From:      California Department of Education (CDE) –
                California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) Team

Date:       July 18, 2022

Subject:  CALPADS Update FLASH #228

Transitional Kindergarten

Background

As a condition of receipt of apportionment for pupils in transitional kindergarten (TK), a school district or charter school shall ensure that by the 2025−26 school year, TK is available to all children who will have their fourth birthday by September 1 of the school year. To facilitate the addition of TK students to California’s public school system, as specified in Education Code (EC) Section (c)(1), over the next four years, LEAs are to ensure that TK is available to students based on when they turn 5 years old, as follows:

• In 2022–23, students are eligible for TK if they turn 5 years old between September 2 and February 2;
• In 2023–24, students are eligible for TK if they turn 5 between September 2 and April 2;
• In 2024–25, students are eligible for TK if they turn 5 between September 2 and June 2; and
• In 2025–26, LEAs are required to make TK available to all children who will have their fourth birthday by September 1 of the school year.

Per EC Section 48000(d): “Transitional Kindergarten” (TK) means the first year of a two-year Kindergarten program that uses a modified Kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate.

While the CDE strongly encourages local educational agencies (LEAs) to offer TK at all elementary school sites, with particular focus on neighborhoods where children are most in need of access to preschool education, not every school site in a school district must offer TK.

Note: Per EC Section 48000(c)(G)(2), in any school year a school district or charter school may, at any time during a school year, admit a child to a TK program who will have their fifth birthday after the date specified for the applicable year, but during that same school year, with the approval of the parent or guardian, if (1) the local governing body of the district or charter school determines that the admittance is in the best interests of the child, and (2) the parent or guardian is given information regarding the effect of this early admittance. These student enrollments should be submitted to CALPADS; however, they shall not generate average daily attendance (ADA) used for Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) apportionment funding, or be included in the Unduplicated Pupil Count (UPC) for determining funding for the LCFF supplemental and concentration grants. ADA can be claimed for these students once they attain the age of five.

Credentialing Requirements for Teachers teaching Kindergarten Students in a TK Program

Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is the first year of a two-year Kindergarten program. Therefore, the credential requirements for TK teachers are the same as those currently required of Kindergarten teachers – a Multiple Subject Credential. Additionally, per EC Code Section 48000(g)(4), as a condition of apportionment, TK teachers first assigned to a TK classroom after July 1, 2015 must have one of the following by August 1, 2023:

• At least 24 units in early childhood education or child development, or both; or
• Professional experience in a classroom setting with preschool-aged children that the LEA deems comparable to 24 units; or
• A Child Development Teacher Permit issued from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC).

Resources on TK can be found on the CDE’s Universal Prekindergarten Frequently Asked Questions web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/em/kinderfaq.asp.

2022−23 Transitional Kindergarten Reporting in CALPADS

Submitting TK Student Data to CALPADS

LEAs are required to submit to CALPADS, all students enrolled in the grade level of Kindergarten (KN). For Kindergarten students participating in TK, LEAs must also submit a Student Program (SPRG) record with Education Program Code 185 - Transitional Kindergarten, along with an Education Program Membership Start Date.

When a student completes the TK program (that is, completes the first year of the two-year Kindergarten program), LEAs should submit an Education Program Membership End Date, which indicates that the student has exited TK. Students enrolled in their second year of Kindergarten should be participating in a regular Kindergarten program, and LEAs would not submit a TK program record for the student.

Note: Pending legislation may change how TK data are reported to CALPADS in the future. No changes, however, are planned for 2022−23.

Reviewing TK Student Data in CALPADS

LEAs certify TK data as part of the Fall 1 and End-of-Year (EOY) 2 submissions. Specifically, LEAs certify the following reports which include TK data:

• Fall 1: Report 1.17 – FRPM/English Learner/Foster Youth – Count: LEAs certify on Report 1.17, students that will be included in the UPC which is used in the Unduplicated Pupil Percentage calculation to determine funding for the supplemental and concentration grants under LCFF. Beginning in 2022−23, Report 1.17 will only include students who meet the UPC criteria, and who will turn 5 years old by February 2, 2023. This report will be annually adjusted in each of the following three years to reflect the phased implementation approach of TK for purposes of apportionment.
  
  Note: TK average daily attendance used for LCFF apportionment funding is reported in the Principal Apportionment Data Collection Web Application and is not reported in CALPADS.
• Fall 1: Report 1.1 – Primary Status by Subgroup: LEAs certify on Report 1.1, the count of all Kindergarten students participating in TK on Census Day, regardless of whether the student generated ADA for funding purposes. This count is used for state and federal reporting.
  • LEAs are reminded that it is important to submit the TK program record for Kindergarten students participating in the TK program, because CERT119 – Student age not valid for Kindergarten, will trigger if the student will not be 5 years old in the Kindergarten year and does not have an open TK program record. LEAs must resolve this error in order to certify.
• EOY 2: Report 5.1 – Program Participation – Count: Report 5.1 displays the total count of students who participated in a TK program at any point during the school year. The report counts all TK participants regardless of whether the student generates ADA for funding purposes. This count is used for state reporting.
  • LEAs are reminded that in order to certify EOY 2:
    
    CERT103 – Invalid Open or Closed Transitional Kindergarten Record, triggers if the Education Program Membership Start and End Date range for the Transitional Program (185) record is outside of the normal range of participation for this program. The system is checking to make sure that 1) open TK program records are of a valid duration based on the current date; and 2) closed TK program records are of a duration of no longer than two years from the Education Program Membership Start Date. This is a reasonability check that triggers as a warning for LEAs to check their data: LEAs should close TK program records after students’ first year of their Kindergarten enrollment, and should not submit TK program records for the second year of students’ Kindergarten enrollment unless students are repeating the TK program.
    
    SPRG0264 – Invalid Grade Level for Transitional Kindergarten Program Participant, triggers if a participant in the TK program is not in grade level Kindergarten (KN). Note: In the legacy system, SPRG0264 was a fatal Input Validation Rule (IVR) that triggered on input. In the current system, this validation is a data discrepancy that must be resolved in order to certify EOY 2. This error will display in the Certification User Interface.

Data Related to Teachers Teaching TK

For the Fall 2 submission, LEAs submit and certify in CALPADS, all course sections being offered on Census Day, the students enrolled in those course sections, and the teachers teaching the course sections. For each course section, LEAs submit a “course code” that describes the content of the course at a high level, along with other information about the course. For each student enrolled in a course section, CALPADS already maintains their grade level, and other demographic and program participation data, including whether the student is participating in TK. The elementary classes (course sections) are generally coded as 1000 – Self-Contained, and the grade level for the class is derived from the grade level of the students enrolled in that class.

The Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) awards and maintains teacher credentials and authorizations, and is responsible for leading the state in monitoring whether teachers are appropriately authorized to teach the courses they teach. As part of the assignment monitoring process, the CDE provides certified Fall 2 data to the CTC. This includes each course section (which includes the course code and other information about the course), the teacher teaching that course section, and the students enrolled in that course section. Using the California State Assignment Accountability System (CalSAAS), the data that the CTC maintains on credentials and authorizations for each teacher are compared with the CDE’s Fall 2 data, enabling the CTC to monitor whether teachers have the appropriate credentials to teach the courses and students to which they are assigned.

With regard to teachers teaching Kindergarten students participating in a TK program, the CTC only monitors whether teachers have the appropriate credential to teach Kindergarten. The additional requirements for teaching TK students specified in EC Section 48000(g)(4) are not under the CTC’s monitoring authority, and will be monitored as part of the annual local audit process. Since these requirements are a condition of apportionment, any audit finding could result in a fiscal penalty. In anticipation of additions to the Audit Guide in 2023−24, LEAs should be maintaining in the appropriate local system, data on:

• Whether a teacher was first assigned to teach TK students after July 1, 2015.
• Whether these teachers have one of the following:
  • At least 24 units in early childhood education or child development, or both; or
  • Professional experience in a classroom setting with preschool-aged children that the LEA deems comparable to 24 units;
    or
  • A Child Development Teacher Permit issued from the CTC.

From a programmatic standpoint, statewide information about how many TK teachers currently do not meet the additional requirements specified in EC 48000(g)(4) would be helpful in assisting the CDE to support LEAs. Currently, however, no new data will be collected in CALPADS for the 2022−23 school year. If any such data are collected in 2022−23, it would be done through an alternative vehicle.