Directory Data Sources

Provides information on the data sources used to obtain each data element available through the California School Directory (Directory).

Application for a County District School (CDS) Code and the Online Public Update for Schools (OPUS) Application

The data elements below are maintained and sourced through both of the applications noted above. For new schools, information is originally obtained from the Application for a CDS Code. For existing schools, data are maintained through the OPUS application. Updates to these data may be made on a daily basis.

County-District School (CDS) codes (administratively assigned)
Entity names
Entity contact information, including phone number, fax number, email address
Entity addresses (mailing and physical)
Web addresses
Entity administrator (superintendent/principal) contact information
Chief Business Official (CBO) contact information (for districts and charter schools)
Status (active, closed, pending, merged) (administratively assigned based on open and close dates)
School open and closure dates
School/District Type (elementary, high, alternative school of choice, etc.)
Low and high grades offered
Virtual instruction school type
Magnet school indicator
CDS Coordinator contact information

Private School Affidavit (PSA)

The data elements below are sourced from, or administratively assigned based on, the annual filing of the private school affidavit (PSA).

CDS code (administratively assigned)
School names
School contact information, including phone number, fax number, email address
School addresses (mailing and physical)
Web addresses
School administrator contact information
Status (active, closed) (administratively assigned based on PSA filing dates)
School open and closure dates
School Type (elementary, high, etc.)
Low and high grades offered
School records contact information

California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS)

The data element listed below is maintained and sourced through CBEDS. Updates are made annually after the statewide certification of CBEDS data, which usually occurs in January or February.

Year-round school status

California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS)

The data element listed below is maintained and sourced through CALPADS. Updates are made annually after the statewide certification of CALPADS data, which usually occurs in the Spring.

Multilingual Instruction indicator

Charter School Database

The data element listed below is maintained and sourced through the Charter School Database. Updates are made upon initial startup of a charter school, or when a school converts to/from a charter school.

Charter school indicator
Charter school number
Charter Funding Type

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

The data element listed below is maintained and sourced from NCES. Updates are made three to four times per year.

Federal District Identification
Federal School Identification
Federal Charter Identification

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Resources

County-District-School Administration
Information regarding county-district-school (CDS) administration. Includes tools to request CDS updates and information on district reorganizations.
Student Records & Transcripts
General information regarding student records.
High School Equivalency (HSE) Tests
Information to obtain General Education Diploma (GED) results.
CDE Press
Publications and other educational resources from CDE Press, the Department's publications office.
Search for public schools nationwide on the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) web site.
Search for private schools nationwide on the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) web site.
Post-secondary information may be obtained from the California Community College , California State University , or University of California .