CALPADS Update Flash #274

To:           Local Educational Agency (LEA) Representatives

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

Date:       June 4, 2024

Subject:  CALPADS Update FLASH #274

Guidance for Reporting High School Students Who Graduate by August 15

As announced in the March 1, 2024 letter to Superintendents and Charter School Administrators (https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/sumgrad20240301.asp), the California Department of Education (CDE) will continue the existing practice of counting summer graduates in the prior school year. The purpose of this Flash is to provide clarification and guidance to local educational agencies (LEAs) on how to report data to California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) for students graduating in 2023−24 and in future years, including guidance for how to report “summer graduates” defined as high school students in Grade 12 who complete graduation requirements and graduate high school between the last day of school for the academic year and August 15 (inclusive).

Reporting “On Time” High School Graduates in CALPADS

Most high school students in Grade 12 complete all graduation requirements and graduate prior to the end of the academic year, usually sometime in May or June. This includes fully completing all state graduation requirements and, when applicable, all local graduation requirements. LEAs should exit these students from CALPADS as regular high school diploma graduates by submitting a Student Enrollment Record (SENR) that includes:

• Enrollment Exit Date, which is the last date that the student attended the school from which they are graduating. For regular high school diploma graduates, this exit date is generally the last day of the school year for seniors.
• Student Exit Category E230 (CompleterExit), which indicates the student left school after completing the academic high school program at the school.
• School Completion Status 100 (Graduated, standard HS diploma), which indicates the student completed the school they left after meeting all state graduation requirements and local high school graduation requirements, unless the student was exempt from local graduation requirements pursuant to Education Code Section 51225.1.
  

Some students require a little extra time during the summer to complete all graduation requirements and graduate with a regular high school diploma. LEAs should follow the guidance below for exiting these students at the end of the regular school year and then reporting their graduation status during the summer.

Step 1: For students who do not complete all state graduation requirements, and local graduation requirements (unless exempt), before the end of the regular school year, usually sometime in May or June, but who are thought to be completing all remaining graduation requirements and graduating during the summer, LEAs should exit these students from CALPADS by submitting an SENR that includes:

• Enrollment Exit Date, which is the last date that the student attended the school in the 2023−24 school year. This date is generally the last day of the regular school year, usually sometime in May or June.
• Student Exit Category E156 (GD12ContinuedED), which indicates the student exited the school while in Grade 12 and is thought to be re-enrolling in the summer in the same school or another school to complete courses required to meet graduation requirements. The definition of E156 has been updated in CALPADS Code Sets v15.4 to include “summer graduates,” as shown below.
  

Step 2: For students that subsequently complete graduation requirements on or before August 15, 2024, LEAs should re-enroll and exit the student from the school that is granting the diploma with a one-day enrollment/exit record, as follows:

• Enrollment Start Date that is the actual date the student completed all remaining high school graduation requirements and is considered to be a regular high school diploma graduate.
• Enrollment Exit Date that is the same date as the Enrollment Start Date, which is the day the student completed all graduation requirements.
• Student Exit Category E230 (CompleterExit), which indicates the student left school after completing the academic high school program at the school.
• School Completion Status 100 (Graduated, regular HS diploma), which indicates the student completed the school they left after meeting all state graduation requirements and local high school graduation requirements, unless exempt from local graduation requirements pursuant to Education Code Section 51225.

LEAs should not submit an enrollment to CALPADS for the period of time that students enrolled in the summer to complete courses needed for graduation (CALPADS does not collect summer enrollments). LEAs should only submit a one-day enrollment and exit for students that complete graduation requirements on or before August 15, 2024. The one-day enrollment/exit must reflect the actual date the student completed all remaining high school graduation requirements and is considered to be a regular high school diploma graduate. Additionally, LEAs must submit the one-day enrollment/exit from the school that is granting the diploma, which may or may not be the school the student attended during the prior school year.

While the above guidance may not cover all situations that LEAs encounter, the general guidance stands: LEAs must submit an enrollment exit date that reflects the last date that the student attended the school from which they are graduating or, for “summer graduates,” the date that the student completed all state/local graduation requirements and is considered to be a regular high school diploma graduate.

Students that complete graduation requirements in the summer will be counted as high school graduates in the 2023−24 school year, as long as all graduation requirements are completed on or before August 15, 2024 and their data (an Enrollment Exit Date on or before August 15, Student Exit Category of E230, and School Completion Status of 100), have been posted to CALPADS by the close of the August 16, 2024 EOY amendment window. LEAs should review their cohort reports to ensure data are accurate.

Students who were exited with a E156, and who do not re-enroll/exit as a summer graduate, will be counted as a 5th year graduate if they re-enroll in the next school year and graduate during that year, or will be reported as a dropout in the prior school year.

Change to Exit Category Code E156 Definition

Exit Category Code E156 has been revised as follows and is in CALPADS Code Sets v15.4, which is currently posted on the CDE CALPADS System Documentation web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/systemdocs.asp:

The student exited while in Grade 12 (excluding high school completion) during the last 14 days of the current academic year because of summer break or year-end intersession and the student is expected to return to complete their high school education during the summer or in the subsequent school year.This exit code is to be used for students thought to be either (1) completing all remaining graduation requirements and graduating during the summer at the same or a different school, or (2) returning to the same school after the summer break or intersession to continue Grade 12 education in the subsequent school year. If the student is completing the school year but known to be transferring to another school or some other type of exit, use the appropriate exit code (for example T160 Transfer to another California school, T260 Transfer to Adult Education Program, or T280 Transfer to College).

This exit can only be used for students in grade 12. The student's enrollment for the next academic year should remain the same (grade 12).