Use Reporting → CALPADS Reporting to send reportable SIRAS archived transactions to CALPADS through the API.
Before You Send
Send data from SIRAS to CALPADS regularly throughout the year—at least monthly, and more frequently when approaching reporting deadlines.
Before starting a submission:
- Confirm that reportable events have been finalized or otherwise archived correctly.
- Review the number of archived transactions with Pending report status.
- Resolve known data issues that can be corrected before files are generated.
- Confirm that the user has the appropriate SIRAS and CALPADS access.
- Review current reporting deadlines and any active reporting-period restrictions.
For an explanation of Current data, archived transactions, and report status, see Archived Transactions: Current Data, Archived Data, and Reporting Status.
Understand the CALPADS Reporting Screen
The CALPADS Reporting page summarizes the data waiting to be sent and guides the user through one submission cycle at a time.
The summary area may include:
- student IEP events already reported during the academic year;
- archived transactions currently waiting with Pending report status; and
- Postsecondary Status Survey (PSTS) records ready to report, when applicable.
The available action button changes as the cycle advances. A normal cycle moves through Generate Files, Send Files, CALPADS processing, and Import Errors / Mark Complete before returning to Generate Files.
Complete a SIRAS-to-CALPADS Reporting Cycle
- Open the reporting area. Go to Reporting → CALPADS Reporting.
- Connect to CALPADS. Select the API connection option and complete the CALPADS login in the popup window.
- Generate files. Select Generate Files. SIRAS builds the applicable SWDS, MEET, PLAN, SERV, and optional PSTS files from eligible archived transactions.
- Review the generated files. Confirm that the expected file types and record counts were created.
- Send the files. Select Send Files. SIRAS uploads the generated files to CALPADS.
- Wait for processing to finish. Review the Job Status for each submitted file. Processing must finish before the cycle can be reconciled.
- Import results and complete the cycle. Select Import Errors / Mark Complete. SIRAS records successful results and imports applicable CALPADS errors.
- Confirm the cycle closed. Continue the completion step as needed until Generate Files is available again.
- Resolve imported errors. Correct the governing Current or archived data, clear the posted error in SIRAS after the correction is made, and include the transaction in a later reporting cycle.
| Stage | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Generate Files | Builds CALPADS files from archived transactions eligible for this cycle. |
| Send Files | Uploads the generated files to CALPADS. |
| CALPADS Processing | CALPADS validates each submission and assigns its job status. |
| Import Errors / Mark Complete | Reconciles the submission results in SIRAS, imports applicable errors, and closes the reporting cycle. |
Understand Posted and Rejected Files
Posted
A Posted job was accepted by CALPADS. Complete the SIRAS reporting cycle so the associated archived transactions can be updated appropriately.
Rejected
A Rejected job contains one or more validation problems. Use Import Errors / Mark Complete to bring applicable error information back into SIRAS.
For each imported error:
- Open the student and identify the archived transaction associated with the error.
- Determine whether the problem is in Current data, the archived transaction, CALPADS, enrollment data, or another source system.
- Correct the governing information.
- Clear the posted error in SIRAS only after the cause has been addressed.
- Verify that the archived transaction has the appropriate report status for resubmission.
- Generate and send a new reporting cycle.
A posted error temporarily prevents the affected archived transaction from being included in the normal generated files. Clearing the message without correcting the underlying problem will usually cause the error to return.
See CALPADS Errors Imported into SIRAS for the detailed error-resolution workflow.
Pending Records and Submission Order
Pending report status on an archived transaction means that SIRAS should attempt to send the applicable CALPADS component or components. This is different from a student's Current Active Status = Pending.
When a student has multiple Pending archived transactions, SIRAS generally sends the oldest eligible transaction first. This preserves the event sequence and avoids placing multiple records for the same student into a file when CALPADS does not permit it.
A later transaction may remain waiting when an older transaction:
- has an imported CALPADS error;
- is outside the dates allowed by the Reporting Period Lock;
- has a future effective date;
- has an incorrect report status; or
- represents an unagreed-to or non-reportable event that should be reviewed.
Do not change an older valid transaction merely to force a later one through. Review the event history and correct the transaction that is actually blocking the sequence.
Special Reporting Options
| Option | Use |
|---|---|
| Reset Incomplete Reporting | Restarts an incomplete reporting cycle by removing the most recent generated-file/job state. Use only when the current cycle cannot be completed normally. |
| Reporting Period Lock | Temporarily limits which Pending archived transactions can be included based on the active reporting-period cutoff. Override the lock only when a specific reporting need requires it and the affected event dates have been reviewed carefully. |
| Include Records with Imported Errors | Bypasses the temporary exclusion created by a posted imported error. Use cautiously and only when the record is intentionally ready to be tried again. |
| Only Report Flagged Records | Restricts the cycle to archived transactions that have been marked for limited reporting. |
| Import CVR Errors | Imports applicable certification-validation information when that function is being used. CALPADS certification reports remain the governing source for certification review. |
For reporting-period lock and limited-reporting procedures, see Data Reporting FAQ.
Certification and Verification
Sending files from SIRAS is only one part of the CALPADS reporting process. Each LEA remains responsible for reviewing the applicable CALPADS certification reports, resolving required errors, and completing certification in CALPADS.
- The error count shown in CALPADS may differ from the errors imported into SIRAS.
- SIRAS does not import every duplicate or certification-level message.
- An error still posted in SIRAS indicates that the associated archived transaction has not completed the intended reporting process.
- Certification may be possible while some SIRAS warnings or future/out-of-period transactions remain, but each remaining item should be understood rather than ignored.
- Use CALPADS certification reports to verify what CALPADS actually contains.
After each reporting cycle, review the SIRAS CALPADS file history and the CALPADS job results. For ongoing documentation of submissions and corrections, see Maintaining the SIRAS SEDS & CALPADS Update History.
