The Parent Registration tab in System Preferences houses the system preferences that are relevant to parent, user, and student registration.
1. In the Setup menu, click System Preferences.
2. Click the Default School Preferences tab.
3. Click the Parent Registration tab.
4. Set the desired system preferences.
| Preference | Description |
|---|---|
| The introduction text displayed to parents for account registration |
By default, the text for registering an account will state, “I DO NOT have an Account Registered on the Parent Portal but my child is Actively Enrolled.” To adjust this statement, enter your desired text. |
| The introduction text displayed to users for account registration | Enter the text that displays to users for registering an account. |
| The introduction text displayed to students for account registration |
Enter the text that displays to students for registering an account. |
| Changes the text used for the add a child button for account registration. | By default, the text for adding a student to an account will state, “I have an Account Registered on the Parent Portal but would like to ADD A CHILD.” To adjust this statement, enter your desired text. |
| Changes the text used for the password reset button for account registration. | By default, the text for resetting a password will state, “I have Forgotten My Password and would like to generate a new one.” To adjust this statement, enter your desired text. |
| Changes the text used for username reset button for account registration. | By default, the text for resetting a username will state, “I have Forgotten My Username and would like to retrieve it.” To adjust this statement, enter your desired text. |
| Display additional text on User Registration page. | Enter text in the text box that you’d like to display on the user registration screen in an informational box at the top of the page. This text can be used to provide instructions, guidelines, or important notices to users during the registration process. |
| Display additional text on Parent Registration page. |
Enter text in the text box that you’d like to display on the parent registration screen in an informational box at the top of the page. This text can be used to provide instructions, guidelines, or important notices to parents during the registration process. |
| Require Birthdate & SSN for User Registration |
Select the check box to require social security numbers and birth dates to complete registration when users are creating an account. Note: If the user enters a social security number that already exists in Focus, the error “The SSN provided is already in use” will display on the registration screen. |
| Require Birthdate & SSN for Parent Registration |
Select the check box to require social security numbers and birth dates to complete registration when parents are creating an account. Note: If the user enters a social security number that already exists in Focus, the error “The SSN provided is already in use” will display on the registration screen. |
| Logo Url | By default, the environment’s main logo will be used as the logo that appears in the Parent Portal Registration header. If you would like to use a different logo, upload the image to your Uploaded Assets folder on the server, then place the full URL in the Logo URL field. |
| Title of the Parent Portal | By default, the title that will appear in the header will state, “Parent Portal Registration.” Enter a different title, if desired. |
| The County Name or title to use in emails and throughout the registration process | Enter the desired name to appear in various places throughout the registration process, including the confirmation email. |
| Prevent parent accounts with domain: @ | If a value is entered in this system preference, parent accounts will not be generated when an email matching that domain is used. Multiple domains can be entered in this preference, separated by commas, semicolons, or new lines. If a parent attempts to create a Parent Portal account with a restricted domain, they will be presented with the error message: Please enter an email which is not hosted @ (the domain). |
| Enable Parent Registration | When the check box is selected, parent registration via /auth will be turned ON. When not selected, parent registration via /auth will be turned OFF. |
| Enable Parent Email Validation |
Select the check box to require parents to validate their email address before complete account registration. |
| Parent Email Validation Subject |
When “Enable Parent Email Validation” is enabled, enter the subject for the email that will be sent to parents for email validation. |
| Parent Email Validation Template |
When “Enable Parent Email Validation” is enabled, select the letter from the pull-down that will display as the body of the verification email. The pull-down populates with letters from Print Letters & Send Email and Communication. |
| Enable Student Email Validation |
Select the check box to require students to validate their email address before complete account registration. |
| Student Email Validation Subject |
When “Enable Student Email Validation” is enabled, enter the subject for the email that will be sent to students for email validation. |
| Student Email Validation Template |
When “Enable Student Email Validation” is enabled, select the letter from the pull-down that will display as the body of the verification email. The pull-down populates with letters from Print Letters & Send Email and Communication. |
| User Email Validation |
Select the check box to require users to validate their email address before complete account registration. |
| User Email Validation Subject |
When “User Email Validation” is enabled, enter the subject for the email that will be sent to students for email validation. |
| User Email Validation Template |
When “User Email Validation” is enabled, select the letter from the pull-down that will display as the body of the verification email. The pull-down populates with letters from Print Letters & Send Email and Communication. |
| Parents must provide verification before viewing linked students | When this preference is selected, new parent user accounts will be created with enabled unchecked, meaning a school or district staff member will need to verify the parent account through the interface prior to the parent seeing their child’s information on the Parent Portal. When this preference is not selected, new parent user accounts will be created with enabled checked, meaning the parent will be able to see his or her child’s information via the Parent Portal immediately following registration. |
| Custody Alert Field |
If the preference "Parents must provide verification before viewing linked students" is not selected, you can still require verification based on an individual student. This is beneficial if there is a custody concern. Select the desired text, check box, or select field from the drop-down which will be used to determine whether verification is needed before the parent can view the student’s information via the Parent Portal. |
| Only allow custodial contacts to register for parent account based on the contact’s email | When the check box is selected, individuals registering for a Parent Portal account via the /auth procedure must use an email address matching that of a custodial contact associated with the student to link to the student's account (via Student Info > Addresses & Contacts). |
| Send parent verification when opening up for a new account | Select the check box to send parents a Verification Email when they open new account in /auth. |
| Parent Verification Email Subject | Enter the text that will display in the subject line of the parents verification email. |
| Parent Verification Email Body Letter Template | Select the letter from the pull-down that will display as the body of the verification email. The pull-down populates with letters from Print Letters & Send Email and Communication. |
| Parents can get automatically authenticated if they have an SSN (SSN is optional when enabled) | When this preference is selected and the preference “Parents must provide verification before viewing linked students" is selected, parent accounts will be auto-enabled to their child if a valid SSN is entered during the registration process. If this option is not selected, the process will depend solely upon the “Parents must provide verification before viewing linked students" preference setting. If using this option, the preference "Social security field that will need to be entered by parents" must be filled out. |
| Allows authenticating based on the Student's Username/Password | The student’s username and password can be used during the Parent Portal Registration process. When this preference is selected, the parent will be required to enter their child’s username and password. When unselected, the fields will not be present during the Parent Portal Registration process. |
| Require Name When Linking Students | This preference requires the parent to enter the Student’s First Name and Student’s Last Name when linking the parent to the student’s account. |
| Social security field that will need to be entered by parents | The student SSN can be used during the Parent Portal Registration process. To use the SSN option, select the desired student field from the drop-down. If a value of NULL is selected, the parent will not see the SSN entry field when registering for their parent account. |
| Student column that is used for verification | If desired, you can prevent parents from connecting their parent account with their student based on a flag set at the student level. To use this preference, select the desired student field from the drop-down. Only student fields with the type of text or check box can be used. For check box fields, if a student has a value of “Y" in the selected field, the parent will not be able to connect their account with the student. For text fields, if a value is present in the selected field, the parent will not be able to connect their account with the student. No confirmation is provided to the parent to indicate if the student is enrolled in the district. |
| The State ID field that can be entered by parents instead of SSN | The student State ID can be used during the Parent Portal Registration process as a replacement of the SSN. To use the State ID option, select the desired student field from the drop-down. If a value of NULL is selected, the parent will not see the State ID entry field when registering for their parent account. |
| PIN | The student PIN can be used during the Parent Portal Registration process. To use the PIN option, select the desired student field from the drop-down. If a value of NULL is selected, the parent will not see the PIN entry field when registering for their parent account. |
| The birthday field that will need to be entered by parents | The student’s birthdate can be used during the Parent Portal Registration process. To use the birthdate option, select the desired student field from the drop-down. If a value of NULL is selected, the parent will not see the Birthdate entry field when registering for their parent account. |
| Use the Student ID instead of Local ID | Select the check box to require parents to enter the Student ID instead of the Local ID when adding a child in Parent Registration. If left unchecked, the system will default to using the Local ID. |
| The email address field that will be used for parents | The parent will be asked for his/her email address during the registration process. This email address will be transferred to the parent user account generated. Select the desired user field this email address should be stored in. |
| Choose Parent Profile | If a parent successfully completes the Parent Portal Registration process, a new user will be created in your database. Select the desired profile type to be assigned to parent users generated from the Parent Portal Registration process. |
| Choose User Profile | If a user successfully completes the user portal registration process, a new user will be created in your database. Select the desired profile type to be assigned to users generated from the registration process. Note: This setting displays when Applicant Tracking has been enabled for the district. |
| Choose Reference Form | Select the application form from the pull-down that should be completed by potential employees when submitting references via Applicant Tracking. The forms populated pull from Setup > Application Editor. |
| Default Additional Employee Fields | Select the employee fields that will be selected by default in the Additional Fields pull-down in Human Resources > Online Applications on the Unprocessed, Unsubmitted, and Processed tabs. These fields will be selected by default only if the user does not already have fields selected in the Additional Fields pull-down. If a user changes the fields selected in the Additional Fields pull-down, those selections will be maintained for that user. |
| Optional Custom HTML for Employee Applications | Enter the text that should display as messages at the top of the appropriate Employee Applications page. |
| Replace the introduction page for parents with custom HTML | Enter the desired text in English to appear on the first page of the Parent Portal Registration process. |
| Replace the introduction page for users with custom HTML |
Enter the desired text in English to appear on the first page of the user registration process. |
| Replace the introduction page for students with custom HTML |
Enter the desired text in English to appear on the first page of the student registration process. |
| Optional Custom HTML for Parent Applications |
Enter the text that should display as messages at the top of the appropriate Parent Applications page. |
| (Spanish) Replace the introduction page with custom HTML | Enter the desired Spanish text to appear on the first page of the Parent Portal Registration process. |
| Optional Custom HTML for Student Locator Screen in Parent Auth | Enter the desired text to appear on the Student Locator screen upon entering student information and adding students. The text displays at the top of the screen beneath the header. |
| Optinal Custom HTML for Last Screen in Parent Auth | Enter the desired text to appear on the last screen of the registration process. The text displays at the bottom of the screen above the footer. |
5. Click Save.
User forms can be created for parent and applicant users to add or update their information in Focus.
1. In the Setup menu, click Application Editor.
The Form Setup tab is opened by default.
2. To add a new form, click the green plus button.
3. In the Create Form pop-up window, enter the Form Title. In the Form Type pull-down, select User. Click Create Form.
4. Click Yes in the next pop-up window to switch to the new form.
The new form is loaded. The form setup options are displayed at the top of the screen. The Application Layout on the bottom-right of the screen is where the form layout will be built. The bottom-left side of the screen contains the items that are used to build the form, including labels, groups, page breaks, and user fields.
5. The Form Title can be edited as needed.
6. The Enabled check box makes the form available in the User Form Publishing tab for publishing.
If a form is published in the User Form Publishing tab, and is then disabled in Form Setup (the Enabled check box is cleared), the form can still be accessed by users. It is recommended to use the End Date field in User Form Publishing to remove access to the form instead of disabling it.
7. To customize the text that displays on the final page of the form before submission, click Customize Last Page.
8. In the pop-up window, enter the desired text using the editor. Click Save when finished.
9. The Edit Rules button is used to set edit rules for when certain fields on the form should be hidden. This replaces the "Show when..." and "Hide when..." functionality on groups in legacy forms. See Edit Rules for more information.
10. If desired, select a User Info category in the View Button Override pull-down to take the user to that specific category when clicking the View button in Online Applications.
11. After making changes to settings, click Save Form Settings and/or Save Layout.
When working on the Application Layout, it may be useful to hide the form settings at the top of the screen to provide more space in which to work. Click Hide and Show to hide or show the form settings.
12. To add an item to the layout, click and drag from the left side of the screen over to the Application Layout.
13. To rearrange items in the layout, click the up or down arrows on a block.
14. To remove an item from the layout, click the delete icon on the block.
15. As you are working on the layout, click Save Layout to save your changes.
Labels can be used anywhere in the form to include information or descriptions, such as headings or directions. There is no character limit. The label can be created using plain text or rich text. Rich text allows the district to add logos, bold and highlight text, add tables, and more.
When a label is added to a form, it creates a new Placeholder user field for that label with the title "Auto Label XXXX," with the Xs being an autogenerated number. If the label is removed from the form, the user field is deleted.
a. To create a label using plain text, enter the text in the Label Text box.
b. To create a label using the rich text editor, select the Use HTML check box.
c. Enter the text in the Label Text box, using text formatting, images, tables, etc.
When a page break is used, items that are below the page break in the layout will appear on the next page of the form. When users fill out the form online, they will use the Next Page and Previous Page buttons to navigate throughout the form.
If a page break is added to the form next to a group of fields, the surrounding groups will become pages. If the groups have no title, they will be given the title "Page X." If the groups have a title, the title will be used as the title of the page on the form.
If a page break is added next to fields on the form, the groups for the pages will be automatically created.
On the left side of the screen, user fields are organized by category (the dark blue blocks). Click a category to view the fields that can be added to the form. The field names, field IDs, and field types are displayed on the block. If local fields will be used on the form, they have to be set up first in Users > User Fields.
Any field added to a form, regardless of the permission given to the applicant user, can be edited by the applicant user. If a field needs to be displayed on the form but be only viewable and not editable by the applicant user, a computed field will need to be used.
a. Click the gray right arrow on the field in the fields list to add the field to the layout, or click and drag the field into the layout.
Once the field is added, it is grayed out in the fields list and cannot be added again to the layout.
b. Click the gray left arrow on the field in the fields list to remove the field from the layout.
c. Once a field is added to the layout, enter Alternate Text, if desired. The alternate text will display on the form instead of the field name.
This can be used to provide clearer instructions to the applicant about the information to be collected, or to provide a translation.
d. Select the Required check box to make the field required on the form.
Users will not be able to continue onto the next page of the form or submit the form without filling out required fields.
e. Select Hidden on the field to hide the field from view on the form.
This can be used if the district does not want to collect information on this field any more, but wants to keep it on the form for historical records.
Groups are used to organize fields on the form. Groups can contain labels, fields, and other groups.
a. Enter the Group Name, if desired.
b. To display the group name on the form, select Display Group name.
c. Select Collapsible to allow the user to collapse the group of fields on the form.
d. To add labels, fields, and groups to the group, click and drag the items into the group.
While legacy forms use groups and "Show when..." and "Hide when..." conditions to show and hide groups of fields on the form, new forms use Edit Rules & Workflow to hide fields when certain conditions are met. For example, you can set up an edit rule so that when the user selects that they are a military veteran, additional fields display on the form to collect the user's military service information.
Note: Edit rules affect all forms, as well as User Info, not just the form you are working on. Edit rules for User Info also affect forms.
While in legacy forms, you could include a label containing additional instructions within a group that was shown or hidden based on certain conditions, in new forms, labels are placeholder fields. The label can be set up to display the additional information or instructions to the user, and an edit rule can be created to hide the placeholder field on the form based on the desired conditions.
When a form is saved, labels and groups will display titles like "Auto Label 123" or "Auto Group 456." These titles will be available as options in Edit Rules > Linked Fields (for groups, these items will have titles like "Subcategory: Auto Group 456."
a. Click Edit Rules on the form.
The Edit Rules pop-up window is displayed. In the pull-downs at the top of the window, User Fields and the current form are automatically selected.
b. Click the Linked Fields tab.
c. Enter a Name for the rule.
d. Press Enter to add the rule.
e. Click Criteria.
f. Set the applicable criteria and press Enter to add the row.
In this example, the Field is "Military Veteran," Not is selected, and the Value is Y.
g. Scroll down and click Done.
h. Click Linked Fields next to the rule.
i. Select the Field that will be hidden. In the Action pull-down, select Hide Field.
j. Press Enter to add the row. Continue adding additional fields as needed.
In this example, "Years of Military Service" will be hidden if the user does not select that they are a Military Veteran.
k. Click Done when finished.
l. Continue adding linked field edit rules as needed. When finished, click Close.
See Edit Rules & Workflow > Linked Fields for more information on using this functionality.
Instead of creating a new form from scratch, you can copy the layout from an existing form into the new form. First, you must create the new form. Then, you can copy the layout from an existing form.
1. Click the + icon at the top of the screen.
2. In the Create Form pop-up window, enter the Form Title. In the Form Type pull-down, select User. Click Create Form.
3. Click Yes in the next pop-up window to switch to the new form.
The new form is loaded on the screen with a blank layout.
4. Select the form you want to copy the layout from in the Form pull-down.
5. Click Copy Layout.
6. Select the Form that will receive the copied layout (i.e. the new form created in step 1).
7. Click Copy Layout.
8. In the confirmation message, click Yes.
9. In the next pop-up window, click Yes to switch to the copied layout.
The new form is populated with the copied layout.
10. Make any updates as needed and click Save Form Settings and/or Save Layout.
1. Select the Form.
2. Make updates as needed to the layout or settings and click Save Layout or Save Form Settings.
Forms can be deleted as needed.
1. Select the Form.
2. Click Delete Form.
3. In the confirmation pop-up window, click Yes, delete the enrollment form and all associated layouts.
The User Form Publishing tab in the Application Editor is used to set the publishing options on user forms.
1. Click the User Form Publishing tab.
2. In the blank row, select the Form.
3. Select the Publish Date and Publish Time (when the form will be available on the Portal).
4. If desired, select the End Date and End Time (when the form will no longer be available on the Portal).
5. Select Expires on End Date to remove in-progress forms after the End Date.
6. Select Annual if this form should be available annually. The form will be published between the Publish Date and End Date each year.
7. Select an Applicable Year option. Options are All Years, Publish Year, and Next Year.
The form will be optional/required for users with an enrollment record in the selected year based on the Publish Date. When the Publish Date is between years, the Publish Year is the previous school year, and the Next Year is the upcoming school year.
8. Select the School(s), if applicable. When this is set, this form will be optional/required for users with an enrollment record in the selected school(s). If this form is for parents, it will be optional/required for parents with students enrolled in the selected school(s).
9. Select a Previous Enrollment option, if applicable. The options are New Users/Parents, Previously Enrolled at School, and Previously Enrolled at District.
The form will be optional/required for users with/without a matching enrollment record in any previous year. If nothing is selected, no restriction is applied.
10. Select the Applicable Profile(s). This is required. The form can only be completed FOR users with the selected profile(s).
11. Select Authorized Profile(s). This is required. The form can only be completed BY users with the selected profile(s).
12. Select Required Form if the form will be required.
When the form is required, users will be forced to complete the form before having access to the rest of the Portal. If this option is not selected, the form is optional and will be available on the Applications screen.
13. Select a Commit Changes When option to determine when change requests created by this form are applied to the user. Options are Saved, Approved, Submitted, or Saved by New User, Approved for Existing.
Saved - Every time the user clicks the Save button on the form, the data will save to the user's record without any district approval.
Approved - The data will not save to the user's record until the district approves the form on the Online Applications screen.
Submitted - The data will save to the user's record once the user clicks Submit on the form.
Saved by New User, Approved for Existing (This is the only option that should be selected for legacy forms, but also can be used on new layout forms) - For new users to the district, the data will save to the user's record without any district approval every time the user clicks Save. For existing users, the data will not save to the user's record until the district approves the form on the Online Applications screen.
14. Select Do Not Require Approval if user information should be updated immediately when the form is completed instead of requiring administrator approval.
15. Select Lock After Processing to prevent any user, including administrators, from changing the status of the form or editing the form. Parents, users, and administrators may only view the form.
16. To have a continuation email sent when the user clicks "Save & Continue Later" on legacy forms or "Return to Portal" without submitting on new forms, enter a Continuation Email Subject.
17. Select the Continuation Email Template, if desired. If a template is not selected, a generic template will be used.
The template contains the body of the email that will be sent. Email templates are set up in Students > Communication. Templates that are attached to "Online App" will be available for selection in the Application Editor.
18. To send a reminder email to the user after X number of days if the form was started but not submitted, enter the number of days in the Reminder Email Days field.
19. When the Reminder Email Days field is set, enter the Reminder Email Subject to use.
20. Select the Reminder Email Template, if desired. If a template is not selected, a generic template will be used.
The template contains the body of the email that will be sent. Email templates are set up in Students > Communication. Templates that are attached to "Online App" will be available for selection in the Application Editor. If a template is not selected, a generic template will be used.
21. To send an email to the user upon form submission, enter the Completion Email Subject.
22. Select the Completion Email Template, if desired. If a template is not selected, a generic template will be used.
The template contains the body of the email that will be sent. Email templates are set up in Students > Communication. Templates that are attached to "Online App" will be available for selection in the Application Editor.
The completion email sent to the user will include an attached PDF of the completed application.
23. To send a custom email to a particular email address upon form submission, enter the Custom Email Address.
24. When a Custom Email Address is set, enter the Custom Email Subject.
25. Select the Custom Email Template, if desired. If a template is not selected, a generic template will be used.
The template contains the body of the email that will be sent. Email templates are set up in Students > Communication. Templates that are attached to "Online App" will be available for selection in the Application Editor.
26. Click Save.
If the parent has a required form, the Applications screen will automatically display upon logging in. The form will display in the Required Applications section of the screen. The parent will not be able to access other screens in the Portal until the form is submitted.
To access optional forms, the parent will log into the Portal and click Applications in the menu.
Optional forms will display in the Available Applications section of the screen. The parent's name will display next to user forms available to the parent.
The parent can start a required or optional form by clicking Start.
After logging into the Portal, the user may need to navigate to the profile that has user forms available. For example, a teacher may also have an Applicant profile with applications available, and may need to switch the profile at the top-right of the screen.
If the user has a required form, the Applications screen will automatically display upon logging in to that profile. The form will display in the Required Applications section of the screen. The user will not be able to access other screens in the Portal until the form is submitted.
To access optional forms, the user will click Applications in the menu.
Optional forms will display in the Available Applications section of the screen. The user's name will display next to user forms available to the user.
The user can start a required or optional form by clicking Start.
The district process for employment applications and registering new users may vary. See Applicant Tracking for more information on setting up and using the Applicant Tracking functionality.
The Next Page/Previous Page are used to navigate through the pages of the form.
If the current page of the form contains required fields that have not been completed, or contains validation errors, the parent/user cannot navigate to the next page of the form. The required field(s) or fields with errors will be highlighted in red and a warning message will display on the right side of the screen.
The Save button is used to save the data on the page of the form. Depending on the "Commit Changes When" setting in User Form Publishing, data may be saved immediately to the user, or change requests may be generated which will require approval. If a form has been submitted, or processed with "Lock After Processing" enabled, making and saving any changes in the form will move the status back to "Started."
The Print button is used to print the form. After clicking the button, the user will follow their printer's prompts to print the form.
The Return to Portal button will return the parent/user to the Portal screen without submitting the form. Any data not saved will be lost. The parent/user can navigate to the Applications screen and click Continue to continue the form.
The Submit button submits the form. The "Commit Changes When" setting selected for the form in the User Form Publishing tab on the Application Editor screen determines when the data is saved for the user. When a form is submitted, a PDF of the form is automatically generated, and is available in the Snapshot field in the Current Applicant tab in ERP > Human Resources > Online Applications.
In the pop-up window, the parent/user can click Confirm or Review/Make Changes to go back to the form for review.
The form is moved to the Completed Applications section of the Applications screen in the Portal.
See Online Applications for more information on using this screen.