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CALPADS error brief · SPRG

SPRG0278

Missing Unaccompanied Youth Indicator
Severity Fatal
Error type Input Validation
Record type SPRG

Official CALPADS rule

What CALPADS is rejecting

If Education Program Code = 191 (Homeless) then Unaccompanied Youth Indicator is required

Focus fields

Fields validated

3.13 - Education Program Code 3.24 - Unaccompanied Youth Indicator

Recommended correction path

Suggested resolution

First decision: Is this eligibility or participation?

ELIGIBILITY

The student qualifies

  • Requires authoritative eligibility evidence.
  • Must overlap the applicable SENR enrollment.
  • An end date represents the end of eligibility or permitted reporting period.
  • Do not substitute a service date for an eligibility date.
PARTICIPATION

The student actually receives services

  • Requires evidence that participation or service occurred.
  • The entire membership period must remain within the school enrollment.
  • An end date represents the end of actual participation or service.
  • Eligibility alone does not prove participation.

Do not guess from the program name. Use the current CALPADS definition for the Education Program Code and the authoritative local evidence before selecting or changing the Membership Code.

Student wellbeing and mandated-reporting responsibilities

Homelessness is not evidence of abuse or neglect. Housing instability, hunger, inadequate clothing, exposure to weather, poor hygiene, or unmet health needs may reflect poverty and displacement rather than caregiver maltreatment. They should prompt a compassionate response and connection to appropriate supports—not assumptions about the student or family.

At the same time, information encountered while identifying or supporting a homeless student may create a reasonable suspicion that the child is experiencing abuse or neglect. Data and program staff should know how to move the concern to human review without investigating it themselves or placing sensitive allegations in CALPADS.

Respond to unmet human needs

  • Notify the homeless liaison or designated student-support team through the approved confidential process.
  • Connect the student with food, clothing, shelter, health, transportation, counseling, and enrollment supports as appropriate.
  • Share only the minimum information needed with authorized staff.

When reasonable suspicion exists

  • A mandated reporter makes the report personally and immediately, or as soon as practicably possible, to an authorized child-protection or law-enforcement agency.
  • A written follow-up is required within 36 hours.
  • Reporting to a supervisor, administrator, liaison, or school office does not replace the individual reporting duty.
  • Do not investigate, confront an alleged perpetrator, or delay while seeking proof.

Keep the systems separate: SPRG documents required homeless program information. It is not a case-management or child-abuse reporting system. Do not enter allegations, investigative notes, or unnecessary confidential details into CALPADS.

Official CALPADS rule

Submission: SPRG   Status: Active   Severity: Fatal   Type: Input Validation

If Education Program Code = 191 (Homeless) then Unaccompanied Youth Indicator is required

  • 3.13 - Education Program Code
  • 3.24 - Unaccompanied Youth Indicator

How this record moves through CALPADS

1. Program evidenceEstablish qualification or actual service.
2. SENR and SINFEstablish student, school, enrollment, and demographics.
3. SPRG postsReport program, classification, and membership dates.
4. Reports interpretFall 1, EOY, LCFF, accountability, and benefits use the history.

Upload reminder: A file may upload while individual records reject. Correct the program system, SIS, or extract when the next submission would recreate the error.

Choose the diagnostic pathway

  • Homeless identification and required details
    • Does current authorized evidence identify the student as experiencing homelessness?
    • What dwelling situation applies at identification?
    • Is the student an unaccompanied youth?
    • Were the record and questionnaire reviewed for the current year?
    • Did a school transfer change school attribution?
  • Eligibility or participation and enrollment alignment
    • What does the current Education Program Code require?
    • Does the record document qualification or actual service?
    • For eligibility, does the record overlap the school enrollment?
    • For participation, are the entire membership dates inside the enrollment?
    • Would changing the membership code misstate what occurred?
  • Student, SSID, and school ownership
    • Is this the intended student and current SSID?
    • Which SENR enrollment establishes the school context?
    • Does the Reporting LEA have authority to submit the record?
    • Did a within-district transfer require a new school-level SPRG record?
  • Program selection and current reporting process
    • Is the Education Program Code correct for the evidence?
    • Is the code active for the membership date?
    • Is the program still submitted through SPRG?
    • Could the status now come through MSIN or another statewide match?
  • Membership dates and program lifecycle
    • What event establishes the start date?
    • Does the end date represent the end of eligibility or actual participation?
    • Does the record overlap another record for the same program?
    • Does the program require annual redetermination?
  • FRPM, income eligibility, and statewide matches
    • Was current eligibility actually determined?
    • Is the record based on an application, approved form, CEP or Provision process, or another authorized source?
    • Is direct certification being confused with an LEA-created SPRG record?
    • Are dates valid for LCFF and benefit reporting?
  • Program-specific supplemental fields
    • Does the program require an Academy ID, Education Service Code, academic year, Dwelling Type, or Unaccompanied Youth value?
    • Is the supplemental value valid for this program?
    • Did the extract populate a field that must be blank for other programs?
  • SIS, program system, extract, and CALPADS history
    • What does the authoritative program office or benefits system contain?
    • What does the SIS contain?
    • Did the extract transform, omit, or default a value?
    • What program history is already in CALPADS?
    • Will the next extract reproduce the error?

Read the program-record sequence

  1. IdentificationReview current housing evidence.
  2. ClassificationConfirm Program 191 and eligibility.
  3. Required detailsDetermine Dwelling Type and youth status.
  4. SPRG recordAlign school and membership dates.
  5. VerificationReview CALPADS and EOY effects.

Primary participants for this error

  • CALPADS coordinator
  • Homeless liaison
  • Registrar or enrollment staff
  • School-site office staff
  • School-site administrator
  • Counselor or student-support staff
  • School nurse or health-services staff
  • Nutrition services or benefits staff
  • District student-services administrator
  • SIS system owner

Compare four versions of the record

  • Authoritative program evidence.
  • Program office or benefits system.
  • SIS and generated SPRG extract.
  • CALPADS program and enrollment history.

Correct the first point where these versions diverge.

Recommended correction path

  1. Confirm the intended student and enrollment

    Match SSID, Reporting LEA, School of Attendance, and the enrollment that overlaps the homeless identification.

  2. Engage the homeless liaison

    Use the LEA’s authorized identification process and current evidence. CALPADS staff should not independently classify the student’s living situation.

  3. Confirm eligibility before supplemental details

    Verify that Education Program Code 191 accurately represents the student before selecting a Dwelling Type.

  4. Determine the supported Dwelling Type

    Use the current CALPADS code definition that accurately describes the documented living situation; do not select a convenient default.

  5. Review the complete homeless record

    Confirm Membership Start and End Dates, Unaccompanied Youth Indicator, school attribution, and annual maintenance requirements.

  6. Correct the source and verify reporting

    Update the authoritative program record or SIS mapping, resubmit SPRG, and review Fall 1, EOY 1, subgroup, LCFF, and benefit effects.

Official CALPADS guidance

Understanding the Error: If the student is identified as Homeless (Student Program Code = 191), the Unaccompanied Youth Indicator (3.24) cannot be blank.

Suggested Resolution: Populate the Unaccompanied Youth Indicator (3.24) to identify the student as either an unaccompanied youth or not an unaccompanied youth.

Before closing the issue

  • Confirm SPRG0278 no longer appears for the intended program record.
  • Verify the Membership Code and dates accurately describe eligibility or participation.
  • Confirm school attribution and the qualifying enrollment.
  • Document source evidence, responsible program owner, correction location, and extract behavior.
  • Review Fall 1, EOY, LCFF, accountability, subgroup, and benefit effects as applicable.

Official references

What SPRG maintains—and does not establish

What SPRG maintains

  • Reporting LEA
  • School of Attendance
  • Student and SSID
  • Education Program Code
  • Education Program Membership Code
  • Education Program Membership Start Date
  • Education Program Membership End Date
  • Program-specific supplemental information
  • School-level program ownership
  • Historical eligibility and participation records

Questions SPRG should answer

  • Does this program report eligibility or participation?
  • What authoritative evidence supports the record?
  • Which LEA and school own the record?
  • When did eligibility or participation actually begin?
  • Has eligibility or participation ended?
  • Does the membership period align with a qualifying enrollment?
  • Did a school transfer require a new program record?
  • Is annual redetermination required?
  • Are program-specific supplemental fields required?
  • Is the LEA still responsible for submitting this status, or is it now supplied through a statewide match?

SPRG does not replace these records or processes

  • SENRSSID, enrollment, school, and ownership
  • SINFDemographics and address
  • SELAEnglish Language Acquisition Status
  • SSRVStudent services
  • SWDS, PLAN, MEET, and SERVSpecial education records
  • State matchesFoster, direct-certification, and current migrant status where applicable

Review official CALPADS SPRG guidance

SPRG participant directory

Engage only the roles needed for the program, evidence, membership classification, school, dates, or system issue.

  • CALPADS coordinator
  • Registrar or enrollment staff
  • School-site office staff
  • District student-services administrator
  • Program coordinator
  • Homeless liaison
  • Foster youth liaison
  • Migrant education or MSIN contact
  • English learner program staff
  • Nutrition services or benefits staff
  • LCFF or accountability staff
  • Title I coordinator
  • Gifted and Talented program staff
  • California Partnership Academy staff
  • Counselor or student-support staff
  • SIS system owner
  • Extract, integration, or vendor support
  • School-site administrator
  • School nurse or health-services staff

From a data concern to a human response

  1. Observe and document only what is known. Do not diagnose, interrogate, or investigate.
  2. Address immediate wellbeing. Follow local procedures to connect the student with the homeless liaison and appropriate food, shelter, clothing, health, counseling, or safety supports.
  3. Recognize the reporting threshold. Definite proof is not required; the standard is reasonable suspicion based on known facts and the reporter’s training and experience.
  4. Make the required report without delay. A mandated reporter contacts an authorized county child-welfare or law-enforcement agency immediately or as soon as practicably possible and submits the written follow-up within 36 hours. A supervisor cannot make the individual duty disappear.
  5. Protect confidentiality. Keep the mandated report and supporting information in authorized channels. Do not place allegations or investigative detail in CALPADS.

SDLA Child Abuse Identification and Reporting Guidelines

California Department of Education reporting guidance

California county child-abuse reporting contacts