Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:

California College Guidance Initiative and Annual Parent Notifications

The purpose of this letter is to share information regarding the California College Guidance Initiative (CCGI) and associated annual notifications that Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) must provide families.

The CCGI is written into California Education Code (EC) Section 60900.5 as an authorized provider of an institutional service to all California School Districts and as part of the state’s efforts to make college-going a more streamlined experience for students (EC Section 60900.5(a)). One service that the CCGI will provide is a set of college and career planning tools, including the CaliforniaColleges.edu tool, designed to help students plan for and apply to California public colleges and universities. The CCGI currently receives enrollment data for all public-school students enrolled in grades six through twelve from the California Department of Education (CDE). LEAs are required to annually notify parents and guardians of this data sharing.

The notification to parents and guardians of data-sharing with the CCGI, including the use of California Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) data as outlined in EC 60900.5, and the use of the CaliforniaColleges.edu tool, should be covered through your district’s standard disclosure of student information notification and/or annual notification of rights required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g).

The data shared will be used to provide pupils and families with direct access to online tools and resources and will enable a pupil to transmit information shared with the CCGI to both of the following:

• Postsecondary educational institutions for purposes of admissions and academic placement.
• The Student Aid Commission for purposes of determining eligibility for, and increasing uptake of, student financial aid.

If you have any questions or concerns about the annual parent or guardian notification, please contact the CALPADS Office at CALPADS@cde.ca.gov.

If you have any questions about the CCGI or CaliforniaColleges.edu, please contact the Community Engagement Team at communityengagement@californiacolleges.edu.

Sincerely,

Liberty Van Natten, Division Director
Educational Data Management Division

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