CALPADS compliance guide
Who Owns a Special Education Correction?
Reporting LEA, School of Attendance, DSEA, SELPA, and service provider describe different organizational relationships. A valid code can still be wrong for the relationship or reporting period.
Five organizational roles
| Role | Operational meaning | Correction responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting LEA | The LEA submitting or maintaining the record in CALPADS | Confirm authorization, enrollment relationship, year, and organizational code |
| School of Attendance | The student’s reported attendance location when applicable | Confirm CDS status, reporting relationship, and dates |
| DSEA | District of Special Education Accountability for the plan context | Verify accountability—not merely service location or charter authorizer |
| SELPA | The four-digit special education planning/accountability organization | Confirm valid code and relationship to the Reporting LEA for the applicable period |
| Service provider | The organization or provider responsible for the reported service | Confirm provider code, NPA/NPS relationships, and operative plan evidence |
Ownership is a relationship, not a lookup alone
A code can be syntactically valid and still fail because the LEA-to-school, LEA-to-SELPA, DSEA, or provider relationship is not active for the event or effective date. Always test both questions:
- Is the entity code valid?
- Was this relationship valid for this student and reporting period?
Recommended ownership review
- 1
Map the student’s enrollment
Identify the LEA and school that owned the qualifying SENR period.
- 2
Place the special education event
Use the MEET, SWDS, PLAN, or SERV effective/event date—not the upload date.
- 3
Confirm DSEA separately
Determine which district carries special education accountability for the operative plan.
- 4
Confirm SELPA relationship
Verify the four-digit SELPA and its relationship with the Reporting LEA for that period.
- 5
Confirm provider without shifting accountability
A service provider or NPS/NPA does not automatically become Reporting LEA, DSEA, or SELPA.
- 6
Coordinate the correction
Bring CALPADS, special education, SELPA, enrollment, and provider staff together before changing organizational identifiers.