Want your principal to look at you and think, “Thank goodness you’re in my office!”?
Here’s a tip from an old-timer.
Every other year, schools across the country participate in the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), a federal reporting process that collects information on student enrollment, discipline, courses, school climate, staffing, athletics, and much more. While the principal is ultimately responsible for certifying the data, school secretaries can make the process dramatically easier by getting a head start before the reporting window even opens.
Start with the Worksheets
The CRDC provides worksheets that mirror the online reporting portal. Download and print the School Form Worksheets and review each section with your principal. They will know who in your district is responsible for entering the final data, but having much of the information already organized saves an enormous amount of time.
For the Fall 2026 CRDC collection, many enrollment-related questions will use data based on October 1, 2025. That means you don’t need current enrollment—you need a snapshot of who was enrolled on that date.
If your district uses PowerSchool, a search such as:
*as_of=10/1/2025
will return students enrolled on October 1, 2025. Other Student Information Systems have similar historical enrollment searches.
Build Your Enrollment Spreadsheet
One of the first things I always did was export the enrollment as of the reporting date and create a working spreadsheet. Include as many of the following fields as possible:
- Student name or ID
- Grade level as of October 1, 2025
- Gender
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Special Education (IDEA)
- Section 504 status
- English Learner (EL/ELL/ESL) status
If your district has an outstanding Data Manager, they may already have a state reporting file from October 1 that contains most—or even all—of this demographic information. If so, you’ve already completed half the work.
What School-Level Data Is Collected?
The school-level CRDC form gathers campus-specific information in several major areas:
SCHR – School Characteristics
- Grade levels served
- School type (charter, alternative, special education, etc.)
- School schedules and characteristics
ENRL – Enrollment
- Student counts
- Race and ethnicity
- Gender
- English Learner status
- IDEA and Section 504 populations
COUR – Courses & Classes
- Algebra I and advanced mathematics
- Science courses
- Computer Science
- Advanced Placement (AP) enrollment
PATH – Pathways to College
- SAT and ACT participation
- Dual enrollment
- Graduation pathways
ATHL – Interscholastic Athletics
- Athletic opportunities
- Teams offered
- Participation by gender
SECR – School Safety & Security
- School resource officers
- Security personnel
- School counselors
DISC – Student Discipline
- In-school suspensions
- Out-of-school suspensions
- Expulsions
- Corporal punishment (where applicable)
ARRS – Offenses & Arrests
- School-related arrests
- Referrals to law enforcement
- Physical threats
REST – Restraint & Seclusion
- Physical restraint
- Mechanical restraint
- Seclusion incidents
Keep Good Discipline Records
One lesson I learned early is that good discipline records save hours of work later.
When it’s time to complete the discipline portions of the CRDC, you’ll need to match each disciplinary incident back to the student’s demographic information. Having your enrollment spreadsheet already prepared makes this process much easier.
Don’t Forget Course Rosters
Middle and high schools will also need course rosters from the 2025–2026 school year, especially for courses such as:
- Algebra I
- Advanced mathematics
- AP Chemistry
- AP Biology
- Computer Science
- Other courses specifically requested by CRDC
*the students for these reports will also be reported with their demographic information, IEP/504 status
Having those rosters available before the reporting window opens prevents a last-minute scramble.
What’s New for the 2025–2026 Collection?
Although many of the data elements remain the same, several reporting requirements have changed.
New Reporting Requirements
- Threat Assessment Teams, including their presence, structure, and use.
- Informal Student Removals that occur without formal suspension.
- Private School Disciplinary Placements for district-placed students.
- Updated discipline reporting that better aligns with revised gender reporting requirements.
Items Removed or Revised
Several pandemic-era reporting questions have been eliminated, including:
- Remote instruction reporting
- Hybrid learning tracking
- Duplicate virtual instruction fields
The finalized reporting templates will be published on the CRDC Community website before the reporting system opens.
One Final Tip
When you hand your principal your completed worksheets, don’t just give them the answers.
Include the spreadsheet, reports, course rosters, discipline logs, or any other documentation you used to compile the information.
Not only does it make it easier to verify the numbers, but it also creates a paper trail if questions arise later from the district office or during an audit.
Preparing this information before the school year gets hectic is one of those behind-the-scenes tasks that may never earn you a trophy—but your principal will absolutely notice. And when CRDC reporting season arrives, you’ll be the calm one in the office while everyone else is wondering where to begin.
That’s the kind of office superhero every school needs.
