CALPADS Fall 1 Open

In plain language: October 7 is both the official opening of the Fall 1 submission window and the statewide Census Day. The Fall 1 data certified later in the cycle describe students and selected program characteristics tied to this snapshot date, along with specified prior-year data.

Why this milestone matters

This is the point at which the LEA moves from preparation into official Fall 1 validation and certification work. Opening day is not a certification deadline, but it establishes the reporting snapshot and starts the period for reconciling local source systems with CALPADS.

Owner and partners

Primary owner: CALPADS Administrator or designated data coordinator. Partners: SIS/data staff, relevant program owners, and special education staff and the SELPA.

What Fall 1 covers

2026–27 enrollment counts and enrollment status as of Census Day
English language acquisition status
Unduplicated Pupil Count inputs, including free/reduced-price meal eligibility
Special education data
2025–26 dropout data

From Census Day records to a Fall 1 submission with owners assigned: the SDLA ITO workflow

October 7 opens the window and sets Census Day, so records must be confirmed and anomalies owned early. This SDLA ITO (Input, Transformation, Output) graphic shows how Census Day enrollment records, SELPA data ownership, and Fall 1 reports become the reviewed Fall 1 reports, the reconciliation, and the anomaly log with owners.

SDLA ITO: eleven steps from Census Day enrollment records, SELPA data ownership, and Fall 1 reports, through posting files, reviewing errors, reconciling aggregate counts, and assigning anomalies, to the reviewed Fall 1 reports, the reconciliation, and the anomaly log with owners. — **Read down each column, then move to the next:** Input identifies what to collect; Transformation covers posting files, reviewing errors, reconciling aggregate counts, and assigning anomalies; Output covers the reviewed Fall 1 reports, the reconciliation, and the anomaly log with owners. The window opens October 7, 2026; plan toward the November 20 zero-error milestone.

Open the full-size workflow graphic

Recommended LEA workflow

Confirm Census Day enrollment and status records in the student information system.
Coordinate CALPADS and special education data ownership with the SELPA.
Post or refresh required files and review fatal errors, warnings, and certification reports.
Reconcile aggregate counts to local enrollment, English Learner, meal-eligibility, and special education records.
Document anomalies and assign owners well before the November 20 zero-error milestone.

Before calling it complete

Census Day records are frozen or otherwise reproducible locally.
Submission owners and backup staff are confirmed.
Known data-quality exceptions have named owners and target dates.
The team is working from current CALPADS reports, not an earlier local extract.

Official guidance and help

CDE CALPADS CalendarControlling source for the 2026–27 submission dates, data domains, certification deadlines, and SELPA approval rules.
CALPADS System DocumentationCurrent file specifications, data guides, report documentation, and operational references.
CALPADS TrainingOfficial training and learning resources for CALPADS staff.
CALPADS Contacts and SupportOfficial routes for program questions and CALPADS-CSIS Service Desk assistance.

CALPADS Office:
CALPADS-CSIS Service Desk: · 916-325-9210

Source review completed August 21, 2026. Verify the live CDE calendar and current CALPADS communications before acting.