New, Transferring & Incoming IFSP Students
This article is the starting point when an infant or toddler in the Part C / IFSP system is referred to, transfers to, or begins receiving IFSP services from a SIRAS district.
IFSP onboarding differs from IEP-age onboarding because a child may receive Part C services from a school district, a Regional Center, or both at the same time. School districts report special education data to CALPADS; Regional Centers do not directly submit the same SWDS, MEET, PLAN, and SERV records. The correct workflow therefore depends on what services are beginning and what history already exists in SIRAS and CALPADS.
For IEP-age new and returning students, use New or Returning Students. For children approaching age three who are transitioning from Part C to Part B, use Transition IFSP to IEP Meeting Procedure – Part C to Part B.
The receiving district should reconstruct the child's most accurate current IFSP history from the records available in the field before creating a Plan Adoption, archive, or meeting transaction. SIRAS reporting is only as accurate as the underlying MIS data.
Which IFSP Arrival Situation Are You Handling?
| Situation | Primary SIRAS workflow | CALPADS context |
|---|---|---|
| 1. New Part C referral Infant/toddler is referred to a SIRAS district for a Part C Initial Evaluation. |
Create the SIRAS referral / Initial Evaluation workflow and document the outcome of the Part C process. | The evaluation outcome determines the SWDS, MEET, PLAN, and SERV reporting that follows. |
| 2. SIRAS district → SIRAS district Child is already receiving IFSP services and transfers to another SIRAS district. |
Update the transferred record and complete Plan Adoption. | Existing SWDS/MEET history remains in place. The receiving district reports the new PLAN and SERV baseline for its enrollment. |
| 3. Non-SIRAS school district → SIRAS district Child is already receiving IFSP services and CALPADS already contains the prior special education history. |
Reconstruct the incoming IFSP on the MIS Summary, then complete Plan Adoption. | When the existing status remains SWDS 1, report PLAN and SERV. Do not submit a duplicate SWDS 1 merely because the child changed districts. |
|
4. SIRAS district begins dually serving an IFSP student with a Regional Center The Regional Center continues providing Part C services while a SIRAS district also begins providing ongoing IFSP services. |
Update the incoming IFSP plan and related history on the MIS Summary. Then use Archive for Reporting and select Evaluation or Review completed without using IEP Manager. |
The reporting archive is created from the reconstructed MIS Summary. Review the archive preview to confirm that the incoming IFSP history and the district's participation are represented correctly before submission. |
| 5. Existing SIRAS IFSP → Part C-to-B transition A SIRAS IFSP district is serving the child while a SIRAS IEP district prepares the age-three transition. |
Use the Part C-to-B transition workflow. | Continue to Article 107. The IFSP district retains Current responsibility while the future IEP district performs its transition work. |
| 6. Regional Center IFSP → Part C-to-B transition Regional Center continues the IFSP while a SIRAS district conducts the transition referral/evaluation. |
Create the SIRAS record to document the Part C-to-B referral and its outcome. Do not use Plan Adoption. | Continue to Article 107. CALPADS reporting depends on what actually happens in the transition process. |
1. New Part C Referral to a SIRAS District
When an infant or toddler is referred directly to the district for a Part C Initial Evaluation, create the SIRAS record and referral so the IFSP team can document what occurs in the field.
The workflow is conceptually similar to a Part B Initial Evaluation, but Part C has its own timelines and IFSP requirements. SIRAS should be used to document the referral, assessment process, meeting outcome, eligibility, participation, and IFSP when applicable.
The CALPADS records should reflect what actually happens through the Part C evaluation process. Depending on the outcome, the child may become eligible and participating, eligible but not yet participating, or not eligible.
See the CDE Special Education File Submission Scenarios for current Part C reporting examples.
2. IFSP Transfer – SIRAS District to SIRAS District
When the child is already receiving IFSP services at a SIRAS district, the receiving SIRAS district receives the existing SIRAS record with the plan history already populated.
Before archiving Plan Adoption
- Confirm the child's new District Enrollment Date.
- Review the existing MIS Summary for accuracy.
- Update school/attending information and contacts.
- Update the MIS Summary with any newer information learned during transfer.
- After the MIS Summary is accurate, assign the receiving providers who need access.
- Complete Plan Adoption.
The Plan Adoption establishes the receiving district's PLAN and SERV baseline effective for the new district. Existing SWDS status and MEET history remain part of the child's CALPADS history.
SWDS reports a change in the child's special education eligibility/participation status. When the status remains SWDS 1, the district transfer itself does not require a new SWDS record.
3. IFSP Transfer – Non-SIRAS School District to SIRAS District
The child already has a district-provided IFSP and CALPADS history, but the incoming plan was not created in SIRAS.
Use the incoming IFSP paperwork, prior district records, and CALPADS history to update the MIS Summary so it accurately represents the plan that was already in effect before the child arrived.
Review available CALPADS history for:
- SWDS – current eligibility/participation status
- MEET – most recently reported evaluation/review history
- PLAN – most recent IFSP plan information
- SERV – most recent services associated with the plan
The MIS Summary must contain the best current information available because SIRAS uses it to create new reporting transactions and gives the receiving IFSP team its starting point.
Once the MIS Summary is accurate, assign providers as appropriate and complete Plan Adoption.
When CALPADS already shows SWDS 1 and that status has not changed, the receiving district normally reports the new PLAN and SERV records without submitting another SWDS 1.
4. SIRAS District Dually Serving an IFSP Student with a Regional Center
Use this situation when the Regional Center continues providing Part C / IFSP services and a SIRAS district also begins providing ongoing IFSP services. The child is now being dually served.
Do not use the ordinary district-to-district Plan Adoption workflow for this Regional Center/SIRAS dual-service arrival.
Step 1 – Update the incoming IFSP on the MIS Summary
Use the Regional Center IFSP and the best available supporting records to reconstruct the child's current IFSP information on the MIS Summary. Review and update, as applicable:
- Part C eligibility and participation history;
- the Initial Evaluation and most recent evaluation or review information;
- the current IFSP plan and effective dates;
- the District Enrollment Date for the SIRAS district's participation;
- the Regional Center and district services; and
- other reportable IFSP information shown on the MIS Summary.
Step 2 – Create the reporting archive
- From the MIS Summary, select Archive for Reporting.
- Choose Evaluation or Review completed without using IEP Manager.
- Review the archive preview before completing the archive.
Step 3 – Verify the archived transaction
Confirm that the archive accurately represents the incoming IFSP history and the district's current dual-service responsibility. Correct the MIS Summary before completing the archive if the preview does not reflect the source records.
Complete the incoming IFSP reconstruction before using Archive for Reporting. Do not create the archive first and attempt to correct the underlying history afterward.
The source Regional Center IFSP may also be uploaded to the student's document record or an appropriate meeting placeholder for reference, according to local procedure. The reporting transaction itself comes from the MIS Summary archive described above.
5. Is This Really a Part C-to-Part B Transition?
When the child is approaching age three and the district's role is to determine what happens after Part C eligibility ends, this is no longer simply an incoming IFSP onboarding problem.
Use Article 107 – Transition IFSP to IEP Meeting Procedure – Part C to Part B when:
- a SIRAS IFSP district is continuing Part C services while another SIRAS district conducts the Part C-to-B Initial Evaluation; or
- a Regional Center continues the IFSP while a SIRAS district creates the record and conducts/documents the Part C-to-B referral process.
For an existing SIRAS IFSP record, Article 49 – Next Year's Data explains why the future IEP district can be entered without transferring the Current IFSP record before the child turns three.
A child in Situation 4 may already have a reporting archive created from the reconstructed IFSP information on the MIS Summary. That archive documents the district's IFSP baseline. The later Part C-to-B Initial Evaluation develops the proposed IEP and does not use Plan Adoption merely for access.
6. Why IFSP Reporting Looks Different in CALPADS
CALPADS special education reporting does not currently mirror every IFSP event one-for-one. The statewide MEET model includes a specific Part C Initial Evaluation type, but it does not provide a dedicated meeting type for every ongoing IFSP event, such as the required six-month review.
As a result, SIRAS must represent certain IFSP history using the CALPADS transaction types and fields that are currently available. This is why accurate MIS Summary dates are especially important for infant records.
Staff should enter the best available and most accurate IFSP information into SIRAS. SIRAS then uses those fields to construct the SWDS, MEET, PLAN, and SERV reporting supported by CALPADS.
Because CDE may continue evolving Part C reporting, use the CDE Special Education File Submission Scenarios as the external reporting authority when a scenario is unclear.
7. IFSP Arrival Checklist
- ☐ Determine whether this is a new Part C referral, an IFSP transfer, a Regional Center/SIRAS dual-service arrangement, or a Part C-to-B transition.
- ☐ Determine what SIRAS and CALPADS history already exists.
- ☐ Obtain and review the best available IFSP records.
- ☐ Fully update the MIS Summary before creating an archive or meeting transaction.
- ☐ Assign providers only after the record reflects the best current information available.
- ☐ Use a standard Plan Adoption when adopting an existing district-reported IFSP.
- ☐ For Regional Center/SIRAS dual service, update the incoming IFSP on the MIS Summary, then follow Archive for Reporting and choose Evaluation or Review completed without using IEP Manager.
- ☐ Do not submit a duplicate SWDS status merely because the child changed districts when the status itself did not change.
- ☐ Route age-three transition cases to Transition IFSP to IEP Meeting Procedure – Part C to Part B.
