CCGI Flash #3

California College Guidance Initiative (CCGI)

To:           Local Educational Agency (LEA) Representatives

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

Date:       November 18, 2024

Subject:  CCGI Flash #3

Note: The target audience for this California College Guidance Initiative (CCGI) Flash is local educational agencies (LEAs) serving students in grades 6-12 who are currently not in partnership with CCGI. As described in CCGI Flash #1, 6th-12th grade students who are enrolled in LEAs that are not currently in partnership with CCGI are now able to access Basic Accounts on CaliforniaColleges.edu based on CALPADS data which is passed on to CCGI by the California Department of Education (CDE). This Flash describes how LEAs can help students access their Basic Accounts which have been created based on CALPADS data and provides important information for LEAs on how the Basic Accounts can support them in meeting the requirements of Education Code Section 51225.8.

CDE Basic Accounts on CaliforniaColleges.edu

In 2023, the CDE executed a data-sharing agreement with CCGI. As part of the agreement, the CDE provides basic student enrollment data from CALPADS to CCGI, enabling CCGI to create Basic Accounts for California public school students enrolled in 6th-12th grade.

As described in CCGI Flash #1, Basic Accounts have been created for 6th-12th grade public school students not otherwise served through Partner Accounts. These Basic Accounts contain college and career planning tools and resources on CaliforniaColleges.edu, available at no cost to the students or their school districts.

Students with Basic Accounts have access to:

• Career assessments to help them discover their interests, personality, learning style, and more.

• College, Major, and Career Search Tools that help them explore their options.

• Curated college, career, and financial aid planning content, including 11th grade financial aid lessons meeting the requirements of Education Code Section 51225.8.

• Tracking of their academic, career, and financial aid plans in a digital portfolio that includes a way to chronicle experiences and maintain related documents.

• Launching their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADAA).

Basic Accounts do not enable access to tools that require 9th-12th grade transcript data. As discussed in CCGI Flash #2, LEAs offering grades 9-12 are required to partner with CCGI by January 1, 2026 and provide transcript-informed Partner Accounts by June 30, 2026 (Education Code (EC) Section 60900(f)(3)).

The EC Section 60900 is available here:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=60900.&lawCode=EDC

Accessing Basic Accounts

To access their Basic Accounts, direct students to visit CaliforniaColleges.edu, at https://www.californiacolleges.edu/, which is administered by CCGI, and select “Register My Account.”  Students will need the following information to complete registration:

1. District Name
   • Provide students with the official school district name. LEAs may refer to the CDE California School Directory to obtain the official district name: https://www.cde.ca.gov/schooldirectory/
   • If the student attends a Charter School, they will select the name of the District or County Office of Education that authorizes the charter school they attend.
2. School Name
   • Provide students with the official school name. LEAs may refer to the CDE California School Directory to obtain the official school name: https://www.cde.ca.gov/schooldirectory/
3. Student ID
   • This may be either their local student ID or their Statewide Student Identifier (SSID).
4. Date of Birth
5. Student’s individual email address provided by the school. If the student is not provided an individual school email address, then the student may register their account using a personal email address. The student, however, should change their personal email address to their school provided email address if it is later provided.
   

A step-by-step tutorial for students on how to register their student account is available via CaliforniaColleges.edu on the How to Register Your Student Account web page at  
https://www.iorad.com/player/2321490/How-to-Register-Your-Student-Account?iframeHash=trysteps-1#trysteps-1

Step-by-step tutorials for all of the tools that are available to students using Basic Accounts can be found in the CaliforniaColleges.edu CCGI Resource Hub on the Resources for Students with Basic Accounts web page at https://www.californiacolleges.edu/resourcehub/basic-student-account-resources/

Complying with EC Section 51225.8 Requirement Regarding Financial Aid Information

Since the signing of Assembly Bill (AB) 2015 in 2018, California EC Section 51225.8 has required LEAs to ensure that each student receives information about how to complete and submit the FAFSA or California Dream Act Application (CADAA), prior to entering grade 12. The 11th Grade Financial Aid Lessons on CaliforniaColleges.edu are a free resource provided by the State of California to support LEAs in meeting the requirements of EC Section 51225.8.

The EC Section 51225.8 is available here: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=51225.8&lawCode=EDC

This year’s 2024 omnibus budget trailer bill for education, Senate Bill (SB)153 (Chapter 38, Statutes of 2024), further updated EC Section 51225.8(b) to state:

“The governing board of a school district and the governing body of a charter school, as appropriate, shall ensure that each pupil in grade 11 is advised to complete the grade 11 financial aid lessons on the CaliforniaColleges.edu platform operated by the California College Guidance Initiative pursuant to Section 10861.”

Students with Basic or Partner Accounts may access 11th grade financial aid lessons, making compliance with EC Section 51225.8 possible for LEAs regardless of their partnership status with CCGI.

CCGI’s Resource Hub contains tutorials to support students logging into their 11th grade financial aid lessons, which can be found in the CaliforniaColleges.edu CCGI Resource Hub on the Resources for Students with Basic Accounts web page at https://www.californiacolleges.edu/resourcehub/basic-student-account-resources/.

Navigate to the Financial Aid Tools section of the CCGI Resource Hub and select the How to Use the Financial Aid Lessons for 11th Grade Students tutorial, available here: https://www.iorad.com/player/2414388/How-to-Use-the-Financial-Aid-Lessons-for-11th-Grade-Students?#trysteps-1.

Resources and Support

• For questions or issues with a student account on CaliforniaColleges.edu, educators should contact the California College Guidance Initiative team at: https://www.cacollegeguidance.org/contact/

To Learn More and Contact CCGI

• To learn more about the California College Guidance Initiative, visit: https://cacollegeguidance.org/learnmore/
  
• To begin moving your LEA toward partnership, please contact: communityengagement@californiacolleges.edu

Other Basic Resources

• California Colleges
  https://www.californiacolleges.edu
  
  
• Senate Bill 153: Education omnibus budget trailer bill
  https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB153
  
  
• Key Sections of SB153 Explained
  https://www.cacollegeguidance.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/CCGI-SB-153-A-Guide-for-LEAs.pdf

• CALPADS CCGI Flashes
  https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/communications.asp#ccgi