The School District Review Progrram

2025 School District Review Program (SDRP) Quick Start Guide

Getting Started

• Review this Quick Start Guide and the SDRP Annotation Phase Respondent Guide.

• Gather information on any changes to a state’s school districts effective on or before January 1, 2025.

• Coordinate with school districts, state education officials, county planners, or State Data Centers to ensure school district boundaries and attributes are up to date.

Conducting a School District Boundary Review

• Review the school districts using the annotation materials.

• Compare the Census Bureau’s representation of the school district’s boundary with the local representation of the school district’s boundary to determine which, if any, school district boundaries need update.

• Inform the Census Bureau at <geo.school@census.gov> if no updates are necessary. Otherwise, review the table on the second page to determine which updates are reported using the Submission Log or the Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS).

Preparing Updates for the Census Bureau

The Submission Log is a Microsoft Excel file used to report nonspatial and simple school district updates. The file is available for download from Annotation Phase Program Materials.

• Enter the changes on the Submission Log and confirm that attribution for all mandatory fields is accurate and complete.

• Zip the Submission Log file and name it “Submission_Log.zip.”

• Review Part 3 in the respondent guide for more information on using the Submission Log.

The Geographic Update Partnerships Software (GUPS) is a customized geographic information systems (GIS) software application provided to participants by the Census Bureau. GUPS is used to report school district updates that involve spatial changes. It is available for download from Annotation Phase Program Materials.

• Use GUPS to view and update school district boundaries.

• Validate the work before exporting the file for submission to the Census Bureau. GUPS automatically names the .zip file during the export process.

• Review Part 4 in the respondent guide for more information on using GUPS.

Providing the Updates to the Census Bureau

The Secure Web Incoming Module (SWIM) is the official web portal for providing all SDRP updates to the Census Bureau. Review Part 5 in the respondent guide for details on using SWIM.

SDRP Schedule

• September 2024–Notify the mapping coordinators by email that the Annotation Phase materials are available to download and review.

• October 2024–Provide a free training webinar on responding to the SDRP to mapping coordinators.

• December 31, 2024–Deadline for the submission of updated school districts.

• April 2025–Review of Verification Phase materials by mapping coordinators.

• December 2025–Release of preliminary poverty estimates based on the updated school districts.

SDRP Contact Information

• Email: <geo.school@census.gov>

• Phone: 301-763-1099

• SDRP website: <www.census.gov/programs-surveys/sdrp.html>

Types of School District Boundary Updates

The table below lists the eleven types of school district updates accepted through the SDRP; a description of the type of update; the recommended submission method; and where to find more information on each in the respondent guide.

Table 1: Types of Updates

Type of Update	Update Description	Submission Method	Respondent Guide Section
Boundary Change	Occurs when a school district adds or removes area from the same school district level or across school district levels.	GUPS	5.3.1–5.3.7
Complex Consolidation	Occurs when two or more school districts merge to create a new school district with a new name and new School District Local Education Agency (SDLEA) code, along with additional boundary changes. Note: The Census Bureau expects accompanying boundary changes for the new school district.	GUPS	5.3.8
Complex Dissolution	Occurs when a single school district dissolves its area between two or more existing school districts, with or without additional boundary changes. Complex dissolutions do not create new school districts, and the names and SDLEA code of the receiving school districts remain unchanged.	GUPS	5.3.9
SDLEA Code Change	Occurs when correcting an SDLEA code.	Submission Log	3.3
Grade Range Change	Occurs when a school district changes the grades it covers; for example, changing from covering 9–12 to 7–12.	Submission Log	3.2
Level Change	Occurs when a school district changes classification; for example, changing from elementary to unified.	Submission Log	3.4
Name Change	Occurs when a school district changes its name; for example, changing from Oak Union Unified School District to Oak Union School District.	Submission Log	3.1
New District	Occurs when transferring area from one or more existing school districts to form a completely new school district.	GUPS	5.3.10
Pseudo School District	Occurs when one school district pays for the educational services for a set of grades in a different geographic area than its own.	Contact Census Bureau	Appendix A1
Simple Consolidation	Occurs when two or more school districts merge to create a new school district with a new name and new SDLEA code, with no additional boundary changes.	Submission Log	3.5
Simple Dissolution	Occurs when one or more existing school districts are entirely absorbed by one other existing school district. Note: Simple dissolutions retain the name and SDLEA code of the receiving school district, and do not create a new school district.	Submission Log	3.6

U.S. Census Bureau 2025 SDRP Quick Start Guide 1