NOTE:  For the 2020–21 school year only, districts and county offices must receive a letter from their independent auditor, indicating that the attendance accounting system has been reviewed by the auditor and that the system’s level of integrity is acceptable to the auditor. This letter would not need to be submitted to CDE.
More information is available on the CDE website, 20-21 Funding and Instructional Time FAQs page in the Attendance Accounting and Reporting section, question #17.

Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, the California Department of Education approved the use of electronic attendance submission eliminating the need for physical teacher signatures on paper.

The California Department of Education’s approval of attendance accounting systems containing digital teacher signatures must minimally contain all the following characteristics:

1.  A current system with manual signatures has been approved by the CDE;

2.  The electronic system has a procedure to track and verify that initial attendance is entered on the calendar day of the school day for which the attendance is a record thereof. Under certain circumstances, such as wide-spread power outages or system interruptions teachers may be allowed to electronically submit and certify attendance on a subsequent day, retaining paper documentation on which attendance was recorded contemporaneously;

3.  The electronic system includes a report that lists the dates of data entry and modifications, and the employee identification of the person or persons logging the attendance information into the system;

4.  The report described in #3 above is readily accessible to teachers and administrators for their review;

5.  If the electronic system relies on passwords, there must be adequate safeguards to ensure that such passwords are accessible only to the employee for whom the password is created; and

6.  Submission of the electronic attendance system for CDE approval includes a letter from the LEA’s independent auditor, indicating that the attendance accounting system has been reviewed by the auditor and that the system’s level of integrity is acceptable to the auditor.

Aeries Software has evaluated these standards and has made adjustments to all facets of the Aeries SIS system to meet the requirements.

Below is a link to CDE:

NOTICE OF ELECTRONIC ATTENDANCE ACCOUNTING AND TEACHER SIGNATURE ALTERNATIVES