Statewide Student Identifiers¶

What is a Statewide Student Identifier (SSID)?¶

All public California K–12 local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools, must obtain a Statewide Student Identifier (SSID) from the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) for each student. LEAs should maintain SSIDs in their local student information systems as well as in CALPADS.

How are SSIDs used?¶

SSIDs are required when submitting data about students to CALPADS throughout their association within California's public education system.

SSIDs are an essential component of CALPADS and are used to:

Maintain data on individual students when they are enrolled in California public schools over time and across schools and districts.
Link information about individual students that is submitted to CALPADS in different files.
Register students to take statewide assessments.
Track students in and out of schools and LEAs over time to identify potential dropouts and determine various rates (e.g., dropout, stability, and graduation rates).

Data integrity

Given these uses of SSIDs, it is critical that LEAs maintain the integrity of SSIDs by ensuring each student only has one SSID that is not shared with another student. Refer to Entities Responsible for Obtaining and Maintaining SSIDs below.

What students are required to have SSIDs?¶

The following students are required to have SSIDs:

Students attending a K–12 California public school in grades Transitional Kindergarten/Kindergarten (TK/K)–12.
Students with Disabilities who are preschool age (three to five years old), and are receiving services, whether or not they are attending public or private preschools.
Students with Disabilities who are adult-age (ages 17 to 21 inclusive) enrolled in TK/K–12 schools or programs and are receiving special education services specifically focused on their transition from secondary education to career and college.
Adult-age students attending charter schools with exclusive partnerships.

Entities Responsible for Obtaining SSIDs¶

What entities are required to obtain and maintain SSIDs?¶

Public California K–12 local educational agencies (LEAs), which include charter schools, are required to obtain Statewide Student Identifiers (SSIDs) from CALPADS for students in grades Transitional Kindergarten/Kindergarten (TK/K)–12, and to maintain those SSIDs throughout students' association within the California public education system. Specified schools operated by a state agency are also required to obtain and maintain SSIDs.

Reference

See the Summary of Entities Responsible for Obtaining/Maintaining SSIDs table below for specific entities.

Charter Schools

Whether charter schools themselves are required to obtain and maintain SSIDs for their students depends on how they report their data to CALPADS, either independently or through their authorizing agency (generally the LEA that authorized the charter school).

Independently Reporting Charter Schools (IRCs): IRCs are charter schools that report data directly to CALPADS. IRCs must follow the same rules as non-charter LEAs with regards to SSIDs. Thus, IRCs must obtain and maintain SSIDs for students.
Charter Schools Reporting Through Authorizer: For charter schools that report data through their authorizing agency, the authorizing agency is responsible for obtaining and maintaining SSIDs for the students enrolled in the charter school.

What entities may, but are not required to, obtain and maintain SSIDs?¶

LEAs operating schools or programs for students outside grades TK/K–12, including programs for adult students and programs for preschool students who are not students with disabilities (SWD), are not required to obtain SSIDs, and are strongly discouraged from doing so.

If SSIDs are obtained, they must be maintained

Any schools or programs serving these student populations who choose to obtain SSIDs must maintain those SSIDs.

LEAs Operating Programs for Adult Students: LEAs operating programs for adult students may, but are not required to, obtain and maintain SSIDs for students in grade Adult (AD) who are pursuing high school diplomas or other high school equivalencies. Students with Disabilities may not be reported in grade AD if on an active Individualized Education Plan (IEP). LEAs choosing to obtain SSIDs for their adult students must also maintain those SSIDs.
LEAs Providing Preschool Programs for Students who are not SWD, ages 3–5: Currently, LEAs may, but are not required to, obtain SSIDs for preschool students (students enrolled in a state preschool or LEA preschool) who are not SWD. LEAs who opt to obtain SSIDs for these students are required to maintain those SSIDs.

Should LEAs obtain and maintain SSIDs for students attending summer school?¶

No. LEAs operating sessions outside the regular school year should not obtain SSIDs in CALPADS or submit enrollments for students enrolled in sessions outside of the regular school year, such as in summer or intersession terms.

Summary of entities responsible for obtaining/maintaining SSIDs¶

The table below summarizes the specific educational service institutions that are required, not required but may (optional), or prohibited from obtaining/maintaining SSIDs.

Table: Educational Service Institutions Obtaining and Maintaining SSIDs

Educational Service Institution	Required, Optional, Prohibited to Obtain SSID	Required to Maintain SSID
Elementary School District	Required	Yes
High School District	Required	Yes
Unified School District	Required	Yes
County Office of Education (COE)	Required	Yes
Independently Reporting Charter School	Required	Yes
Authorizing Agency of a Charter School Reporting through its authorizer	Required	Yes
Direct Funded Charter School*	n/a	n/a
Locally Funded Charter School*	n/a	n/a
State Board of Education (SBE) Charter School	Required	Yes
State Benefit Charter (SBC) School	Required	Yes
Adult Education Centers/Schools	Optional	Yes, if SSIDs obtained
State Preschools – SWD students, including students on Individualized Service Plans (ISP) enrolled in private schools	Required	Yes
State Preschools – Non-SWD students	Optional	Yes, if SSIDs obtained
LEA Funded Preschools – SWD students	Required	Yes
LEA Funded Preschools – Non-SWD students	Optional	Yes, if SSIDs obtained
State Special School	Required	Yes
Department of Corrections, Division of Juvenile Justice (formerly California Youth Authority)	Required	Yes
Regional Occupational Centers/Programs (ROC/Ps)**	Prohibited	n/a
Department of Developmental Services	Prohibited	n/a
Department of Health Care Services	Prohibited	n/a
Private Schools Receiving Title 1 Part A Services	Prohibited	n/a

* Charter school responsibilities regarding obtaining/maintaining SSIDs are based on how the charter school reports their data (independently or through their authorizing agency) and not based on how a charter school is funded (direct funded or locally funded).

** The K–12 school district where students are primarily enrolled is responsible for obtaining and maintaining SSIDs of students taking courses through an ROC/P.

What are the responsibilities of the entities required to obtain SSIDs?¶

The entities that are required to obtain SSIDs are responsible for maintaining those SSIDs. These responsibilities include:

Obtaining new SSIDs only for students who do not already have an SSID: Before requesting SSIDs for students, LEAs should always search CALPADS to determine whether students already have SSIDs. LEAs should use the SSID Match Tool, which enables LEAs to search for the SSIDs of many students simultaneously. LEAs may also search for students one at a time using the Online search functionality within CALPADS.

LEAs should conduct searches for all new students, including students enrolling in the LEA for the first time in transitional kindergarten or kindergarten, because sometimes these students have SSIDs that they obtained when enrolled in preschool programs. If SSIDs are found in CALPADS, LEAs should populate those SSIDs in their local student information systems before enrolling the students in CALPADS.

Reference

For specific instructions on searching for SSIDs, refer to CALPADS Functionality > Online Maintenance.
Enrolling and exiting students in CALPADS throughout the year in a timely manner: LEAs should update CALPADS on an ongoing basis throughout the year, preferably on a daily basis, minimally every two weeks. Doing so ensures the most current data are in CALPADS for operational uses, such as registering students for statewide assessments and identifying students who are directly certified to receive free or reduced-price meals. Keeping CALPADS up to date also prevents the creation of SSID anomalies that LEAs must resolve.
Resolving SSID anomalies in a timely fashion: LEAs are required to resolve SSID anomalies in a timely fashion.

Reference

Refer to CALPADS Basics: SSID Anomalies for an overview of anomalies, and to CALPADS Functionality > Online Maintenance > Anomalies Management for instructions on how to resolve anomalies in CALPADS.

Searching for and Obtaining SSIDs¶

The process for obtaining SSIDs begins with searching CALPADS to find existing SSIDs for students, then requesting new SSIDs only if existing SSIDs are not found.

Reference

Refer to CALPADS Functionality > Online Maintenance > Student Maintenance > Requesting SSIDs for how to conduct these activities in CALPADS.

Should LEAs conduct SSID searches for all students new to the LEA?¶

Yes. It is critical that LEAs first conduct SSID searches in CALPADS for all new students who are enrolling in the LEA for the first time to determine whether they already have SSIDs. If students already have SSIDs, it is important to find and use those SSIDs so that students only have one SSID. Searches should be conducted for all students newly enrolling in the LEA because:

Students entering TK: Students enrolling in LEAs who are entering transitional kindergarten (TK) should already have SSIDs if they are students with disabilities (SWD), because LEAs are required to obtain SSIDs for students ages 0–5 who are receiving services. TK students who are not SWD may already have SSIDs because LEAs may obtain SSIDs for preschool students who are not SWD. Therefore, it is best practice to first search for SSIDs for all TK students.
Students entering KN: Students enrolling in LEAs who are entering kindergarten (KN) very likely were assigned SSIDs when they were in TK. Therefore, LEAs should always first search for SSIDs for all KN students enrolling in the LEA for the first time.
Students transferring from other California public schools: Students transferring to the LEA from other California public schools in any grade level will already have SSIDs. Therefore, LEAs should first search for and find those SSIDs.
Students transferring from private schools or from other states or countries: Students transferring from private schools, other states, or countries may have SSIDs from previous enrollments in a California public school. Therefore, LEAs should always first search for SSIDs for these students.

What student information is needed for SSID searches?¶

Before searching for SSIDs, LEAs minimally need students' legal first name and legal last name. However, gathering more information on students increases the chances that students will be found in CALPADS, and helps LEAs select the correct student when there is more than one potential match.

The following data are very helpful in the search and matching process:

Student Legal First Name*
Student Legal Middle Name
Student Legal Last Name*
Date of Birth (DOB)
Birth State
Birth County
Gender
School where the student was last enrolled

* For students with a one-word legal name, populate the first name and last name fields with the one-word legal name.

How do LEAs conduct SSID searches?¶

There are two methods for conducting an SSID search:

SSID Match Tool
Online Maintenance – SSID Search Functionality

Reference

Refer to CALPADS Functionality > Online Maintenance > Student Maintenance > Searching for Students for specific instructions on both methods.

How does the SSID Match Tool work?¶

Using the SSID Match Tool is the preferred method for searching for existing SSIDs, especially when there are many students new to the LEA. LEAs submit a batch file of students to the SSID Match Tool with specified data elements for each student.

The SSID Match Tool searches CALPADS and scores potential matches based on the following data elements, ranked from highest to lowest impact on the match score:

Birth Year
First Name
Last Name
Middle Name
Birth Month
Birth Day

The higher the rank of the data element, the more impact that data has on the match score, and less deviation is allowed for fields with a higher rank. Perfect matches maximize the match score, and variations reduce it — for example, the further away a potential match's birth date is from the submitted student's birth date, the lower the score.

Middle name handling

If the Middle Name is populated on the submitted student request record but absent on the potential match (or vice versa), the Middle Name is not included in the scoring.
If the Middle Name is included in the First Name field on the request record but populated in the Middle Name field on the potential match, the likelihood of a match is greatly reduced.
As a best practice, name fields should be populated as they are represented on the legal documents used to verify a student's identity.

The SSID Match Tool provides potential SSID matches with scores of 80 or higher, with the highest-scoring match displayed first. LEAs review the potential matches and select an SSID from one of the potential matches, using other available data on the incoming student to help with selection.

If a match is selected, LEAs load the selected SSID into their student information system and then enroll the student in CALPADS by uploading a Student Enrollment (SENR) record with the SSID field populated.
If no match is found, LEAs acquire a new SSID by leaving the SSID field blank; CALPADS assigns a new SSID.

Reference

Refer to CALPADS Functionality > Online Maintenance > Student Maintenance > SSID Match Tool for detailed information on how to use the SSID Match Tool.

How does the Online Maintenance SSID search functionality in CALPADS work?¶

LEAs may search for SSIDs one student at a time by using the Online Maintenance search functionality in CALPADS. Though time-consuming, LEAs may choose to use this method when there are only a few students that require SSID searching.

Reference

Refer to CALPADS Functionality > Online Maintenance > Student Maintenance > Searching for Students for detailed information on how to use the online maintenance search functionality in CALPADS.

How are SSIDs obtained for students for whom SSIDs are not found?¶

LEAs acquire SSIDs for students by sending up Student Enrollment (SENR) records with the SSID field blank. CALPADS automatically assigns SSIDs for students when the SSID field is blank. LEAs should only upload SENR records with a blank SSID field after they have conducted an SSID search and found no matches.

What happens when LEAs do not first search for SSIDs and submit SENR records with no SSIDs?

If LEAs do not first search to determine whether students already have SSIDs and instead upload SENR records with a blank SSID field, any students who already have SSIDs in CALPADS will receive new SSIDs, creating Multiple Identifier (MID) anomalies. LEAs should resolve these MID anomalies as soon as possible.

Since CALPADS enrollments are sent to the Test Operations Management System (TOMS) on a nightly basis, if these MIDs are not resolved immediately it may result in students testing under two different SSIDs. This results in a student having assessment scores attached to two different SSIDs, which then must be merged under one SSID through a manual process. The continued existence of MIDs also creates other data issues that eventually must be resolved by LEAs.

Maintaining SSIDs¶

LEAs are required to maintain all the SSIDs of students enrolled in schools in the district, including any pre-kindergarten and adult students with SSIDs, by conducting the maintenance activities described in the table below.

Note

Pre-kindergarten or adult students should not be enrolled and exited from CALPADS solely for the purpose of obtaining SSIDs for students.

Table: SSID Maintenance Activities

Activity	Description
Resolve Anomalies	Resolving any SSID anomalies that occur in a timely fashion, including: • Multiple Identifier (MID) Anomalies (one student having more than one SSID, or more than one student sharing the same SSID) • Concurrent Enrollment (CCE) Anomalies (student primarily enrolled in two schools in different districts at the same time)
Maintain Enrollment Records	Maintaining enrollment records, including: • Enrolling students in CALPADS on an ongoing basis throughout the year, minimally within 14 calendar days of a student enrolling in the LEA. • Exiting students from CALPADS on an ongoing basis throughout the year, minimally within 14 calendar days of the student exiting the LEA. • Exiting all students at the end of each school year with appropriate exit codes and enrolling all students at the beginning of the next school year.
Maintain Student Demographic Data	Maintaining student demographic information collected on the Student Information (SINF) File as information changes: • Local Student ID • Student Legal First Name, Legal Last Name • Student Birth Date • Student Gender Code • Student Birth Country Code • Race/Ethnicity • Parent Guardian Highest Education Level Code • Student Addresses
Maintain Student Program Data	Maintaining student program information collected on the Student Program (SPRG) File, minimally including: • Free Meal Program (181) • Reduced-Price Meal Program (182) • Homeless Program (191) • Armed Forces Family Member (192)

Table: Entity responsibilities regarding the initial assignment of SSIDs to prekindergarten students.