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 is different from IEP-age onboarding because the child's existing services may have been provided either by a school district or by a Regional Center. School districts report special education data to CALPADS; Regional Centers do not directly submit the same SWDS, MEET, PLAN, and SERV records. The correct SIRAS workflow therefore depends on 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 Guide. | 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 Guide. | 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. Regional Center → SIRAS district for ongoing IFSP services Child already has an IFSP, but there is no district-reported special education history in CALPADS. |
Reconstruct the IFSP on the MIS Summary, then archive using Evaluation or Review completed without using IEP Manager rather than Plan Adoption. | The district must establish the missing CALPADS baseline, including the appropriate SWDS, MEET, PLAN, and SERV information. |
| 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. | Transition IFSP to IEP Meeting Procedure – Part C to Part B. 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. | Transition IFSP to IEP Meeting Procedure – Part C to Part B. 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 district receives the existing SIRAS record already populated with the child’s IFSP information, while the child’s prior SWDS, MEET, PLAN, and SERV reporting history is already present in CALPADS.
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 Guide.
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 Guide.
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. Regional Center IFSP → SIRAS District for Ongoing IFSP Services
This scenario may look like an ordinary incoming IFSP, but the CALPADS reporting requirement is different.
A Regional Center may have been providing the child's IFSP services without directly submitting district special education SWDS, MEET, PLAN, and SERV history to CALPADS. When a SIRAS district assumes ongoing IFSP service responsibility, the district must establish both an accurate SIRAS record and the corresponding CALPADS baseline.
Step 1 – Reconstruct the IFSP on the MIS Summary
Use the Regional Center IFSP and available supporting records to populate the MIS Summary as accurately as possible. The record should reflect the child's Part C eligibility, most recent evaluation/review history, IFSP plan information, and services.
Step 2 – Use the correct archive transaction
Because the underlying district-reported CALPADS baseline does not already exist, archive using Evaluation or Review completed without using IEP Manager.
Step 3 – Establish the CALPADS history
The reporting may need to establish:
- SWDS 1 – the child's eligible/participating Part C status, using the historical Part C eligibility/participation date supported by the source records and current reporting guidance;
- MEET – SIRAS's best representation of the most recent reportable Part C evaluation/review event;
- PLAN – the receiving district's IFSP plan baseline;
- SERV – the services associated with that PLAN.
For immediate district participation, the receiving district's PLAN and SERV effective date is generally the District Enrollment Date.
SIRAS derives the reportable MEET history from MIS Summary fields. Accurate Initial Evaluation, Special Education Initial Entry, and most recent IFSP review information are therefore essential before the archive is created.
The detailed rules for mapping MIS fields to Part C MEET reporting should live in the SIRAS MIS/CALPADS field-reference documentation rather than be duplicated here.
See the CDE Special Education File Submission Scenarios for current statewide reporting examples.
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, Next Year's Data explains why the future IEP district can be entered without transferring the Current IFSP record before the child turns three.
The Part C-to-B workflow has its own reporting logic. The result may be a successful Part B Initial Evaluation and IEP, an ineligible outcome, a determination that no Part B evaluation is needed, or a parent refusal/decline. Reporting should reflect the actual field outcome.
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 handoff, 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 Plan Adoption Guide only when adopting an existing district-reported IFSP history.
- ☐ Use Evaluation or Review completed without using IEP Manager when establishing the CALPADS baseline for an incoming Regional Center IFSP.
- ☐ 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.
