What is CRDC school data?

The short version

CRDC carries fields that ordinary directories rarely include: counselor FTE, nurse FTE, AP/IB participation, discipline events, law-enforcement referrals, and student support counts. Read it as reported source data with a lag, not as a live operating dashboard. CRDC fields are usually older than CCD enrollment fields, so every comparison needs the vintage visible. K12 Atlas keeps those vintages attached because the year is part of the fact. When a value is zero, blank, or skipped, those states should remain separate. Use CRDC to ask better questions about staffing, access, discipline, and reported services. Do not convert it into a school label or housing claim.

How to use it

• Keep the source and vintage visible.
• Separate reported zeros from missing or skipped values.
• Use the field as context, not as a rating or recommendation.
• Link back to the source-backed data page when citing it.

Common mistakes

The most common mistake is stripping the field away from its source year. A school profile can contain CCD directory fields from 2023-24, CRDC fields from 2021-22, finance fields from FY 2022, and state accountability fields from a different state release. Those are all useful, but they should not be merged into one timeless claim.

The second mistake is converting a source field into a label. K12 Atlas does not publish composite scores or editorial ratings. The recommended pattern is to show the value, source, vintage, denominator, and limitation so the reader can decide what matters for their analysis.

How this supports organic research

This page exists to answer a narrow school-data query and then route the reader into the evidence web. A definition links to a data story. A data story links to a CSV slice. A CSV slice links back to source notes, sample fields, and product pages. That structure helps researchers, journalists, and data buyers land close to the proof instead of a generic sales page.

When to use the field

Use it for source-backed filtering, due diligence, reporting, product enrichment, and field discovery. Do not use it for steering language, demographic inference, or housing guidance. If a sentence would still make sense without the source and vintage, it is probably too vague for K12 Atlas copy.

Practical use cases

Newsrooms use CRDC data to cover systemic access to high-level math and science classes. Researchers use it to analyze disciplinary equity. Product developers use CRDC FTE to show staffing profiles.

Refresh and maintenance

Updates are tied directly to the federal release calendar for civil-rights surveys. When new national files are published, the pipeline updates counselor, nurse, and discipline counts.

Related K12 Atlas pages