Skip to main content

SDLA Compliance Resource

CALPADS Fall 1 Submission Window Opens / Census Day

A submission-opening control for establishing the Fall 1 source rosters, ownership, validation, and certification calendar.

  • CALPADS
  • Fall 1
  • Data Certification
Date(s)October 7, 2026
Applies toLEAs reporting Census Day enrollment, ELAS, unduplicated pupil count and meal eligibility, special education, and prior-year dropouts

In Plain Language: The official window is open. Freeze reproducible source rosters, post current records, establish partner signoffs, and begin report-level reconciliation for Census Day enrollment, ELAS, unduplicated pupil count and meal eligibility, special education, and prior-year dropouts.

Why this matters

Report 1.17 approval drives the unduplicated pupil count used for LCFF supplemental and concentration funding.

Primary ownership

Primary owner: CALPADS administrator with enrollment, LCFF/FRPM, EL, special education/SELPA, and dropout owners. Certification owner: authorized LEA certifier with SELPA review/approval at the required stage.

From the Fall 1 window opening to a certified submission: the SDLA ITO workflow

Frozen, reproducible rosters let each program owner check the reports against the same source. This SDLA ITO (Input, Transformation, Output) graphic shows how source systems, roles and access, and frozen rosters for Census Day become the dated rosters, the variance log, and the owner sign-offs and certification evidence.

SDLA ITO: eleven steps from source systems, roles and access, and frozen rosters for Census Day, through posting files, validating early, reconciling with owners, and scheduling certification, to the dated rosters, the variance log, and the owner sign-offs and certification evidence.
Read down each column, then move to the next: Input identifies what to collect; Transformation covers posting files, validating early, reconciling with owners, and scheduling certification; Output covers the dated rosters, the variance log, and the owner sign-offs and certification evidence. The window opens October 7, 2026.

Open the full-size workflow graphic

Operational workflow

  1. Confirm calendar, roles, access, extracts, local freeze/reproducibility, and partner deadlines.
  2. Post current files and resolve fatal input errors at the authoritative source.
  3. Run certification reports early and distribute pupil-level detail to program owners.
  4. Maintain a variance log with owner, source correction, resubmission, and verification.
  5. Schedule certification, amendment, and backup coverage before local staff availability declines.

Implementation pathway

Source systems
Post
Validate
Reconcile
Certify/amend

Evidence to retain

  • Dated source/control rosters
  • Error and variance-resolution log
  • Pupil-level and certification reports
  • Program-owner signoffs
  • System certification/approval evidence

Official guidance and help

Source review completed August 30, 2026. Verify the live CDE calendar, current CALPADS/PADC instructions, local source records, required partner approvals, and final posted or certified state before acting.