CALPADS Update FLASH #244

To:           Local Educational Agency (LEA) Representatives

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

Date:      November 30, 2022

Subject:  CALPADS Update FLASH #244

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Special Education Validations to Become Warnings from November 30 through December 20

All fatal Special Education (SPED) and Student Services (SSRV) Certification Data Discrepancies (CDDs) and SPED related Certification Validation Rules* (CVRs) will be changed to warnings from close of business November 30 through noon December 20, 2022, at which time they will return to fatal errors. It is important for LEAs to approve their Fall 1 submission by the December 16 certification deadline in order that the data can be used to provide the Unduplicated Pupil Count data used for the First Principal Apportionment (P-1) calculations. Since special education related data are not used for this purpose, the validations are being made into warnings to facilitate LEA approval of their Fall 1 submission by the December 16 certification deadline. Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) directors should not approve LEA submissions until after December 20, 2022.

*The specific CVRs that will be changed to warnings are: CERT132, CERT140, CERT142, CERT 144, CERT145

Guidance for Addressing Errors with Known Issues

SPRG0550F1 – Invalid ELAS Code for Language Instruction Program

Reclassified Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) students should not be enrolled in Language Instruction Programs (LIPs) that are designed specifically for English Learners (EL). These programs include:

• 300 – LIP – Developmental Bilingual Program
• 303 – LIP – Newcomer Program (Various Models)
• 305 – LIP – Structured English Immersion Program or other predominantly English Language Instructional Models
• 307 – LIP – Parent Opted Out of EL Program

CDD SPRG0550F1 triggers when a student who is RFEP on Census Day and continues to be enrolled in one of these specific EL LIP programs. The error can be resolved by ensuring the student is no longer participating in the program and if they are not, exit the student at least one day prior to the date the student was reclassified to RFEP.

HOWEVER, currently there are defects related to SPRG0550F1 and the CDD is currently inappropriately triggering on LIP programs for current EL students, that are open in another LEA, old LIP records, or the wrong English Language Acquisition Status (ELAS). The CDD is being fixed to only trigger on the most recent Student English Language Acquisition (SELA) that overlaps Census Day where English Language Acquisition Status (ELAS) does not equal EL and there is an overlapping open LIP record (300,303, 305, 307) for students enrolled at the school on Census Day. LEAs may opt to work on these errors once they have been fixed or resolve the CDDs by closing LIP records that are open for the disallowed programs at the school where the RFEP student is enrolled on Census Day. The CDE anticipates the defects will be fixed by December 6, 2022.

SPED0591F1 – Special Education Program Setting Code is invalid

LEAs must populate Field 14.31 – Special Education Program Setting Code for students with an Education Plan Type of 100 – Individualized Education Plan (IEP), 150 – Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) or 200 Individual Service Plan (ISP). These data are important for reporting and monitoring whether students are being educated in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). When this field is not populated with the appropriate program setting code based on the student’s age and grade level various CDDs trigger, such as SPED0591F1. Currently SPED0591F1 is inappropriately triggering on students who do not have an active SPED plan and will be fixed prior its return to a fatal error. LEAs are advised to work with their Special Education Data System (SEDS) vendor to resolve this error once the defect has been fixed.

To resolve this error, LEAs should submit a Special Education (SPED) record with the following:

1. An amendment date on the most recent IEP meeting record that overlaps Census Day, with a date that represents the first day of kindergarten for the student for the academic year.
2. Update Field 14.31 – Special Education Program Setting Code with the appropriate program setting for the student’s age and grade level (see table below).
3. If necessary, update Field 14.23 – General Education Participation Range Code updated (if necessary) with the appropriate participation range. (This will clear SPED0590F1 if it triggered.)

Note: The Amendment Date must be on or prior to the Census Day, October 5, 2022 in order to clear the error. If the student’s first day of kindergarten for the academic year was before the most recent IEP meeting record that overlaps Census Day, then submit the amendment on the most recent record with an amendment date that is after the meeting date, but prior to or on Census Day.

LEAs are reminded of the appropriate special education program settings for children less than 5-years-old in grades Infant (IN), Toddler (TD), or Preschool (PS), and students between the ages of 5 – 23 in grades Kindergarten (KN), 1 – 12, as displayed in the Table below.

*If a student is less than five-years-old or greater than 22 years-old, CDD SPED0405F1 – Student Age must be between 5-22 years for this Special Education Program Setting Code will trigger for these program settings.

**If a student is 5-years-old or older on Census Day, in Grade Level greater than or equal to KN, has an Education Plan 100 (IEP), and Meeting Type Code 10 (Initial) or 20 (Annual), SPED0591F1 will trigger if Field 14.31 – Special Education Program Setting Code is not populated or if is populated with Special Education Program Setting Code 201,203, or 204.

CERT132 – Missing SPED Record for Enrolled Student at Reporting LEA

Currently there is a defect on this validation which will be fixed prior to its return to a fatal error. In the meantime, LEAs can view these errors as warnings and may want to review the resolution steps below so they are ready to work on them after the defect has been fixed.

This error occurs for LEAs when a student in on an Education Plan at a previous LEA and then transfers to their LEA, the new LEA. This error occurs under two main scenarios:

1. When the new LEA does not upload the SPED record when the student was identified as SPED in the prior LEA, or
2. When a child who is turning three-years-old moves from the Part B program to the Part C program.

Background and guidance for resolving the errors in these two scenarios are as follows:

Scenario #1: When new LEA does not upload SPED record for student identified as SPED in prior LEA

Resolution:  When a student is identified as a student with disabilities (SWD) at an LEA and then transfers to a new LEA, the new LEA must either:

1. Submit a SPED record for a meeting held by the new LEA on or before the student enrolled at the new LEA; or
2. Adopt the special education plan that was in effect when the student enrolled in the new LEA and upload that plan to CALPADS.

Scenario #2: When a child who is turning three-years-old moves from the Part C to Part B Program

Children in the Part C program are generally enrolled at a County Office of Education (COE) and are on an Education Plan Type 150 – Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP). When a child on an IFSP will be turning three-years-old, the District of Geographic Residence (DOR) is responsible for conducting the Part B Initial Evaluation to determine eligibility for the Part B program.

Resolution: From a CALPADS data perspective the following should occur:

1. When the child turns three-years-old, the COE should exit the child from the IFSP by submitting:
   1. An Exit Date in Field 14.46 – Special Education Program Exit Date, AND
   2. One of the following Exit Reasons in Field 14.49 – Special Education Program Exit Reason Code:
      1. Exit Reason Code 70 – No longer eligible
      2. Exit Reason Code 78 – Withdrawal  
      3. Exit Reason Code 84 – No parental Consent Received – Part C to B
2. If the COE does not exit the student from the IFSP by submitting Special Education Program Exit Date and Special Education Program Exit Reason Code, the LEA receiving the error may exit the student from the IFSP by:
   1. First adopting the IFSP record and then submitting a subsequent SPED record with the Special Education Program Exit Date populated. Please note that the Special Education Program Exit Date must fall within the Enrollment period or prior to the current date.
3. If the DOR or LEA that enrolls the child has held a meeting on or before Census Day to assess the child’s eligibility for Part B, the LEA should submit:
   1. Meeting Type Code 10 – Part B Initial Evaluation Meeting in Field 14.20 – Special Education Meeting Type Code
   2. The date the meeting was held in Field 14.21 – Special Education Meeting Date
   3. The outcome of the meeting by submitting one of the following Education Plan Type Codes in Field 14.24 – Education Plan Type Code:
      1. Education Plan 100 – Individualized Education Program (IEP)
      2. Education Plan 200 – Individual Service Plan (ISP)
      3. Education Plan 700 – Eligible – No Education Plan (Parent Declined FAPE – Private Placement)
      4. Education Plan 800 – Eligible – No Education Plan (Other Reasons)
      5. Education Plan 900 – Not Eligible
4. If the DOR or LEA that enrolls the child has NOT held a meeting on or before Census Day to assess the child’s eligibility for Part B, the LEA should submit:
   1. Meeting Type Code 30 – Pending Initial Evaluation in Field 14.21 – Special education Meeting Date
   2. Education Plan Type 30 – Pending in Field 14.24 – Education Plan Type Code

Guidance for Resolving Common Fall 1 Errors

SPED Validations Related to Postsecondary Indicators

There are eight Special Education Certification Data Discrepancies (CDDs) that trigger if a postsecondary indicator is not populated for students who are 16 years old or greater as of Census Day. The following CDDs trigger when the corresponding fields are not populated with a “Y” or “N”:

• SPED0390F1: 14.36 IEP Includes Postsecondary Goals Indicator triggers
• SPED0391F1: 14.37 Postsecondary Goals Updated Annually Indicator
• SPED0392F1: 14.38 Postsecondary Goals Age-Appropriate Transition Assessment Indicator
• SPED0393F1: 14.39 Transition Services in IEP Indicator
• SPED0394F1: 14.40 Supportive Services Indicator
• SPED0395F1: 14.41 Transition Services Goals in IEP Indicator
• SPED0396F1: 14.42 Student IEP Participation Indicator
• SPED0397F1: 14.43 Agency Representative IEP Participation Code

Assuming the LEA has updated CALPADS with the most recent data, this error may occur when a student turns 16 and these items had not been updated in the prior meeting, or when an LEA has adopted a student’s IEP and these data were missing. To resolve these errors, LEAs should populate the field(s) with “N”, and then update the student’s IEP for these indicators at the next IEP meeting.

SENR0286F1 – E150 exit requires new enrollment at same school within 1 day

Student Exit Category Code E150 – MidYearEnrollmentUpdate is used when a student is not exiting the school, but when the student’s grade level, school transfer code, district of geographic residence, or enrollment status is being updated. When a student is exited with an E150, the student must be re-enrolled with an Enrollment Start Date (at the same school) that is the following day, even if the following day is a weekend day, a holiday, or beginning of a school break. It appears that when this data is being updated through Online Maintenance, the Enrollment Start Date is sometimes populated with the next school day, and not the next calendar day. For example, if the E150 occurs on a Friday, the Enrollment Start Date is populated with the following Monday date, and not the Saturday date, which causes SENR0286F1 to trigger. To resolve the error, the Enrollment Start Date following the E150 exit that triggered the error must be deleted and a new Enrollment Start Date that is the day following the E150 Exit Date must be submitted.