How LEA Data Monitoring Works
Aug 16, 2026
LEA Data Monitoring Overview
Learn the monitoring cycle. Ready to work? Open LEA Data Monitoring Tasks.
Learn the monitoring cycle. Ready to work? Open LEA Data Monitoring Tasks.
On This Page
The LEA Data Monitoring Loop
Prevent → Monitor → Investigate → Correct → Submit → Verify → Reconcile → Repeat
| PreventFind approaching workload before it becomes overdue. | MonitorReview recurring SIRAS and CALPADS populations. | InvestigateDetermine why a record appears and what really occurred. | CorrectChange the source that is actually wrong. |
| SubmitSend a corrected or newly reportable transaction when required. | VerifyConfirm the expected CALPADS job posted or rejected. | ReconcileConfirm the resulting history represents the intended student record. | RepeatRerun the list/report and continue recurring monitoring. |
Why Monitor?
LEA data monitoring is more than clearing validation errors or preparing for a certification deadline. The purpose is to find work early enough to act, identify data that does not agree across systems, and confirm that completed corrections actually reached the intended destination.
Some concerns are visible because SIRAS or CALPADS produces an error. Others are found only by reviewing populations: upcoming meetings, students without assignments, referrals still awaiting required data, unusual plan/program combinations, records waiting to report, or students appearing in one system but not another.
Monitoring should not begin with correction.
If a record looks wrong but the reason is not clear, first determine what occurred in the field and which source contains the inaccurate information. Use Data Monitoring Help when the answer is not obvious.
If a record looks wrong but the reason is not clear, first determine what occurred in the field and which source contains the inaccurate information. Use Data Monitoring Help when the answer is not obvious.
Three Types of Monitoring
| Type | Question | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Preventive | What is approaching, and what can we resolve before it becomes overdue or reportable as a problem? | Upcoming Annuals/Triennials, future as-of projections, missing responsible staff, incoming/referral work. |
| Current | What is incomplete, unusual, overdue, or waiting right now? | Currently overdue meetings, missing Case Manager, Plan Adoption needed, open meetings, Pending transactions, validation errors. |
| Historical / reconciliation | Did the completed work and resulting history end up correct? | Previously overdue meetings, delay reasons, CALPADS report reconciliation, point-in-time populations, historical transaction review. |
A preventive list is a planning tool, not proof that something is wrong. A current concern may need immediate action, but it still needs verification. A historical discrepancy should be corrected only after the actual event and reporting history are understood.
Need the month-by-month plan?
Use SEDS Coordinator Annual Planning Guide for the detailed July–June planning map, quarterly snapshot suggestions, and links to the seasonal procedures.
Use SEDS Coordinator Annual Planning Guide for the detailed July–June planning map, quarterly snapshot suggestions, and links to the seasonal procedures.
| Season | Primary planning focus |
|---|---|
| July–September Reset and Rebuild |
Close the prior year, complete rollover, rebuild access and caseloads, onboard students, and prepare for Fall 1. |
| October–December Capture and Certify |
Preserve Census Day evidence, reconcile Fall 1, resolve reporting problems, and complete approval. |
| January–March Transition and Monitor |
Prepare next-year transitions, testing, DRDP and PSTS work, and begin EOY planning. |
| April–June Close and Report |
Clean cumulative data, certify EOY, preserve end-of-year evidence, and prepare for rollover. |
The monitoring cycle continues all year, but the dominant body of SEDS Coordinator work changes by season.
Annual Rhythm
How Often Should Monitoring Be Done?
Different tasks need different rhythms. The working checklist in LEA Data Monitoring Tasks groups recurring work by frequency.
| Cadence | Typical purpose |
|---|---|
| Daily / notification-driven | Transfers, urgent messages, new/returning students, leaving students, validation errors, integration issues, time-sensitive meeting alerts. |
| Weekly | Upcoming/overdue meetings, open meetings, referrals, missing assignments, emerging data-quality issues. |
| Monthly | Submission, verification, CALPADS monitoring reports, previously overdue review, broader SIRAS data-quality checks. |
| Quarterly | Population reconciliation, long-running exceptions, selected CALPADS 16.xx monitoring reports, local audit lists. |
| Seasonal / annual | Fall 1, EOY, rollover, DRDP, TOMS, PSTS, annual setup and point-in-time preservation. |
Local practice may require more frequent review. Near reporting deadlines, certification periods, school breaks, or year-end, recurring monitoring usually becomes more frequent rather than stopping.
What Happens When Monitoring Finds Something?
- If the next action is obvious, do the task. For example, assign an owner, finalize an already-completed meeting, or correct a verified data-entry error.
- If the reason is unclear, investigate. Use Data Monitoring Help to build the SIRAS/CALPADS/field timeline.
- Correct the verified source. See Process for Error Resolution.
- If reporting is required, submit the eligible transaction. See Reporting data to CALPADS.
- Verify the result. Use CALPADS Submission Log Help and the applicable CALPADS report when needed.
- Rerun the monitoring method. Confirm the record is no longer present, or document why it appropriately remains.
Do not change legitimate dates, statuses, or historical records merely to remove a student from a list.
A monitoring result is a prompt to verify the record, not permission to force the data to match an expected outcome.
Tools You Will Use
| Need | Help |
|---|---|
| Use a predefined query/list/report | Predefined Queries, Lists & Reports |
| Build or refine a search | Search Help |
| Review a found set as a Student List | Student List Help |
| Group/count a found set in a Table | Statistical Reports Help |
| Inspect a large SIRAS population for data-quality patterns | Data Quality Monitoring with Student Lists and Tables |
| Preserve a point-in-time census population | Census Day Search and Store |
When Is a Monitoring Item Complete?
- Upcoming work: an owner and next step are identified.
- Projected workload: the results were reviewed early enough to plan staffing, scheduling, or support.
- Data discrepancy: the actual event was established and the incorrect source identified.
- Corrected reportable transaction: the correction was submitted and accepted when reporting was required.
- CALPADS discrepancy: the resulting CALPADS history represents the intended student record.
- Monitoring-list item: the applicable query/report was rerun and the item is resolved or has a documented reason to remain.
Ready to work?
Open LEA Data Monitoring Tasks and use it beside SIRAS as your recurring monitoring workspace.
Open LEA Data Monitoring Tasks and use it beside SIRAS as your recurring monitoring workspace.
