The annual filing of California Private School Affidavit is October 1 through October 15th.   CAPSES members are encouraged to complete the filing process within the annual filing window.  To assist our members in this process, below is a helpful overview.  The summary is by Dr. Ron Reynolds, Executive Director, California Association of Private School Organizations (CAPSO) from the September 30, 2015 edition of the CAPSO Mid-week Mailer.

The legal "window" for the annual filing of the California private school affidavit opened October 1 and extends through October 15.   Section 33190 of the California Education Code requires every private school in the state to file this important document.  Below, you will find step-by-step instructions for online filing.  To enter the required information administrators will need to know the unique eight-digit password assigned to their school.  On September 23, the California Department of Education emailed a message containing the password and filing instructions to all private schools in the Department's current database - meaning all schools that filed an affidavit last year.  If, after checking, you believe your school did not receive this communication, or if you should require assistance, please send an email to Anie Wilson at the CDE: awilson@cde.ca.gov

Here, courtesy of the CDE, is a list of step-by-step instructions to be followed when filing this year's private school affidavit online:

1.   Access the private school affidavit web page at the link appearing below:

http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/rq/affidavit.asp


2.   Scroll down to the link for "Existing school with six or more students."

3.   Using the A-Z index, click on the first letter of your school's name.

4.   Scroll down the list until you locate your school by name and address.

5.   Verify that you have the correct school by checking the address of the school.

6.   Click on "Fill out Affidavit for this school."

7.   Enter your school's unique eight-digit password.  (If your school filed the affidavit last year, the password appears in the letter sent to you school via email by the CDE, on September 23, 2015.)

8.   Complete the affidavit.  If you wish to receive an email confirmation of your school's filing, please include an email address in field 9 - "School E-mail Address."

9.   Click the "Submit Form" button to send the form electronically.

10.  The screen should display "Form Submitted," the date, and a 'Confirmation' number.  If this information does not display, please call the CDE for assistance (at the number appearing below).

11.  Print a copy of the completed affidavit showing the confirmation number, and retain it for your records.     

Please note that it is a common error for schools to complete all the online information without clicking the 'Submit' button that generates a confirmation page.  If a confirmation page has not been created, the PSA has not been officially filed.  A confirmation page should always be printed and maintained as evidence of filing.

It is crucial for every California private school to file the affidavit in a timely manner.  Beyond upholding the law, failure to file exposes schools and students to potentially serious consequences. Filing the affidavit is necessary if private school students are to fulfill the state's compulsory school attendance laws.  Without a current affidavit on record a private school does not exist in the eyes of the state.  This means that a School Attendance Review Board can declare students attending a non-filing school truant. 

Additionally, failure to file the affidavit renders a school's students, faculty and parents ineligible for receipt of various benefits provided by federally funded programs provided under terms of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  For example, Title II, Part A funds enable teachers and administrators to participate in a broad range of professional development programs and activities.  These benefits are unavailable to educators whose schools fail to file the affidavit.

Affidavit data provide the single most important source of information about private school enrollment, both statewide and locally.  Comparing data on a year-to-year basis enables the identification of tendencies and trends, and facilitates forecasting, needs-assessment and planning.  The data also serve an important political purpose by letting elected officials know how many private schools exist, both statewide and within individual districts, how many children they educate, and the number of teachers and administrators they employ.  Failure to file the affidavit produces an artificial reduction in 'official' private school enrollment.  This, in turn, weakens the private school community's standing in Sacramento.

As you complete your affidavit, please devote special attention to the questions asking whether your school is established on a for-profit, or nonprofit basis.  If your school enjoyed a particularly strong fundraising campaign and happened to finish its most recent fiscal year "in the black," it does not necessarily make your school a for-profit entity!  A school that has been granted 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service is a nonprofit entity, regardless of the size of its endowment, or the 'bottom line' on its end-of-year balance sheet.

The CDE has done its best to facilitate the affidavit filing process.  CAPSO urges all private schools to complete the submission process in a timely manner."