FOCUS-54327- Billing | Before & After Care Tax Statement Improvements

Tax Statement Student Identification Update

We have updated the Before and After Care Tax Statements to provide more specific student identification for both district staff and parents.

• All tax statements--whether accessed by staff via SIS > Billing or by parents via the Parent Portal--will now display the Local Student ID.
• This field replaces the generic "Student ID" previously used, ensuring that the identification number matches the specific ID used within your local district records.

Using the Local Student ID ensures consistency across all district documentation and makes it easier for parents and tax professionals to reconcile statements with other school-issued records.

See Billing > Before/After Care Tax Statement and Parent Portal > Tax Statement for more information.

FOCUS-54258- Vendors/Customers | Status Improvement

Vendor/Customer Status Display Update

We have updated the Status column within the Vendor and Customer management screens to ensure better readability and consistency across the system.

• Previously, when a Vendor or Customer was placed on "Hold," the status column would display a single letter "H". This has been updated to display the full word "Hold."
• This change ensures that the "Hold" status matches the formatting of other statuses like "Active" and "Inactive," making it easier for users to identify account states at a glance without confusion.

This is a visual display update only and does not change the underlying functionality of the "Hold" status or how those accounts are processed by the system.

FOCUS-54068- Accounts Receivable | Community Store Invoice Improvement

Community Store Internal Account Defaults

We have improved the financial routing for Community Store transactions to ensure that accounting entries remain accurate even when product-specific accounts are missing.

• When a product is purchased through the Community Store, the system will now correctly reference the default Debit and Credit accounts defined in Internal Account Settings.
• If a purchased product does not have its own specific GL accounts assigned, the system will automatically "respect" and apply your organization's default IA invoice settings.

This update prevents accounting errors and "unassigned" transactions. It ensures that every Community Store sale is automatically and correctly coded.

FOCUS-53966- Billing | Purchase & Pay Improvement

Purchase & Pay Visibility Settings

We have introduced a new Default School Preference that allows for more granular control over who can view and purchase products. This update ensures that "Purchase & Pay" items are only visible to the appropriate audience.

• Districts can now configure the system to hide all Purchase & Pay productswhen a user is in the Applicant context.
• This setting does not affect active students; enrolled students will continue to see and purchase products relevant to their specific school context.

This feature prevents prospective students or applicants from purchasing school-specific items before they are officially enrolled, reducing the need for refunds and ensuring that store inventory is reserved for the active student body.

See System Preferences > Default School Preferences > Billing for more information.

FOCUS-53965- Accounts Payable | Invoice Sales Tax Improvement

Accounts Payable Invoice Tax Redistribution Update

We have updated the tax calculation logic for Accounts Payable Invoices to ensure line-item precision and consistency with Purchase Orders (POs).

• We have removed the automatic tax redistribution logic. Previously, the system would force the sum of line-item tax amounts to match a calculated total for the entire invoice
• Tax is now calculated and saved exactly as entered or calculated per line item, without being "redistributed" across other lines upon saving.

FOCUS-53807- Fixes Assets | Duplicate Asset Addition Improvement

Fixed Asset Duplication Enhancement

We have refined the asset duplication process to ensure that new records start with a clean slate and maintain high data accuracy for auditing and reporting.

• Automatic Date Clearing: When you use the "Duplicate" button on the Current Asset screen, the Last Inventoried Date will now be automatically cleared. This prevents old inventory data from carrying over to a newly created asset.
• Audit Trail Accuracy: Any manual updates made to the new asset (such as the Acquired Date) will now be captured correctly in the system's audit trail.
• Report Reliability: These improvements ensure that the Fixed Asset Report accurately reflects the unique details of the duplicated asset, providing a more reliable paper trail for compliance and tracking.

FOCUS-53778- Fixed Assets | Inventory Method Improvement

Mass Inventory Method & Tracking Update

We have enhanced the way the system records and tracks assets processed through the Mass Inventory screen to improve visibility for both users and system administrators.

• Improved Status Visibility: Assets inventoried using the Mass Inventory tool will now be clearly marked as "Manual" in the Inventory Method column on the Current Asset screen. This provides a consistent way to distinguish these updates from other inventory methods.

This update provides clearer reporting for inventory managers and allows the technical team to more efficiently audit the lifecycle of an asset record.

FOCUS-53759- Fixed Assets | Receive Transfers Improvement

Fixed Asset Transfer Assignment Update

We have introduced a more flexible way to assign assets to students during the transfer process. This update is specifically designed to support districts that do not use the Focus SIS, ensuring everyone can track asset assignments accurately.

• A text field titled "Student Name/ID" has been added to the Receive Transfer pop-up window. This allows users to manually input student information when receiving a laptop or other fixed asset.
• Districts can now control which identification fields are visible during this process.
  • Navigate to Fixed Assets > Maintenance > Fields.
  • Simply check the "Hide" box for any fields that your district does not wish to utilize, keeping the interface clean and relevant to your specific workflow.

This improvement removes the dependency on an integrated Student Information System (SIS) for asset tracking. It provides a universal solution for maintaining accountability of district property.

See Receive Transfer for more information.

FOCUS-53593- Fixed Assets | Take Inventory Improvement

Persistent "Needs Barcode" Status

What's New?

We have improved the reliability of status tracking during the inventory process. Previously, navigating away from the inventory page could cause the "Needs Barcode" flag to clear.

• When an asset is marked as Needs Barcode, that status will now remain saved even if you navigate to other pages within the site or move between different modules.
• You can now flag items for barcoding and return to them later without losing your progress or having to re-mark the assets.

This update prevents data loss during manual inventory sessions and ensures that assets requiring physical tags aren't missed due to simple page navigation or session timeouts.

FOCUS-53586- Rollover | Internal Budget Rollover Enhancement

Zero-Balance Internal Budget Rollover

We have updated the Fiscal Year rollover logic to ensure that Internal Budgets with a zero balance are no longer skipped during the year-end process.

• Previously, zero-dollar budgets were only processed if "accrued balances" were included. This often resulted in no journals being created and no visible record of the budget in the new fiscal year.
• The system now ensures that zero-dollar Internal Budgets roll over correctly by default. This creates the necessary records in the new fiscal year while keeping accrued balances excluded as intended.

This update ensures your budget structure remains intact from year to year. Districts will no longer need to manually recreate zero-balance budget lines in the new fiscal year, providing a more complete and automated transition during your rollover period.

See Setup > Budgets > Roll the Remaining Internal Budgets for more information.

FOCUS-54236- Payroll > W2 | FLSA OT Support for W2 Reporting

Payroll > W2 Reporting > Reporting

The new "Box 14 FLSA OT" column was added to the report for reference.

See W2 Reporting > W2 Adjustments for more information.

FOCUS-54229- HR > Online Applications | Toggle columns are not saving

This system improvement to ERP > Human Resources > Online Applications ensures that toggled columns remain unselected when users navigate to other parts of the site and then return to the online applications page.

FOCUS-54217- Applicant Tracking | Permission Improvement

Enhanced Job Posting Permissions

We have refined the permission logic within the Postings module to provide more flexibility for users who manage job board visibility without needing full editing rights to approved job details.

• Users can now submit a job posting draft with the "Post Online" and "Pin Posting" options editable, provided they have the following profile permissions:
  • Edit Pin Posting
  • Edit Post Online
• This improvement ensures these specific visibility toggles remain accessible even if the user does not have the "Edit Approved Job Posting" permission.

This update allows for a better division of duties. Staff members responsible for managing the job board or "pinning" featured positions can now perform their tasks without requiring broad administrative access to the core details of an approved job posting.

See Applicant Tracking > District/HR Profiles Set Up and Profiles > Human Resources tab for additional information.

FOCUS-54204- Supplement Report - Incorrect Staff Job Description

Resolved a bug in the Supplement Report where the Include Descriptions feature was pulling incorrect job data. The report now correctly displays the job information associated with each supplement record, ensuring reporting accuracy.

FOCUS-54203- SPDE > Show Employee Being Subbed For

New "Teacher" Column for Substitute Payroll Assignments

We have improved the visibility of substitute records within the School/Department Payroll Entry (SDPE) module to clarify coverage assignments.

• The Issue: Previously, when viewing the Assign Run tab with the type set to Substitute, only the name of the substitute was displayed. This made it difficult to verify which employee the substitute was covering.
• The Solution: A new "Teacher" column has been added to the Assign Run tab when the Substitute view is active.

FOCUS-54070- Payroll > Run Payroll| Modify error #27 and add error #98

Revised Validation Rules for Run Dates and Project Encumbrances

We have updated two key system error codes to improve the accuracy of payroll encumbrance reporting and fund management.

• Error #27 Update (Run Date Logic): This error has been modified to trigger based on the Run End Date rather than the Check Date. This shift ensures that validations are tied to the actual period the work was performed, providing a more accurate reflection of fiscal responsibility.
• New Error #98 (Stop Encumbrance Date): We have introduced Error #98 to identify staff job allocations assigned to projects beyond their authorized funding window.
  • The Functionality: The system will now report an error if an encumbrance is detected on a project past its designated Stop Encumbrance Date.

See Payroll Errors & Warnings for more details.

FOCUS-53209- List Output: Resolve Excel Export Issue

This update improves how CSV files are exported from List Output tables, such as Advanced Reports, to ensure characters display correctly when opened in Excel. Exported CSVs now include a UTF-8 byte order mark, allowing Excel to properly recognize the file encoding.

FOCUS-44991 - Communication Platform: New Threat Moderation in Messaging

This update introduces a powerful add-on new feature to the Communication Platform that uses ModerationAPI to enhance the monitoring of student messages. With the add-on, all student messages are sent through ModerationAPIs Content Moderation, which evaluates messages for content ratings across several models, including Toxicity, Self-Harm, and Violence. Messages flagged as containing threatening content will be automatically flagged in Focus, removed from the recipient, and added to a new Threat Messages tab within Communication Reports.

A new Threat Messages tab has been added under Communication Reports, with permission controls housed under the Threat Alerts sub-permission in Profile Settings. This tab lists any flagged messages identified as threats and provides an acknowledgment option. When a message is acknowledged, it will be removed from the portal alert.

Users with access to this tab will receive real-time notifications, including portal alerts, push notifications, and emails when a flagged message is sent. A subsequent push notification and email will be sent once the message has been acknowledged.

This feature adds an essential layer of monitoring to the Communication Platform, ensuring schools can respond promptly to potentially harmful or threatening content.

See Communication Reports > Threat Messages Report and Profiles > Students tab.

FOCUS-54397- Student Requests: Respect Time-Based Access

This update resolves an issue with next school year course requests when the system preference to allow student requests is set for the current day. The system now correctly evaluates the current date and time, ensuring students can submit requests as soon as the allowed window opens without encountering permission errors.

FOCUS-54394- Clickable Gradebook Links Respect Portal Settings

This update resolves an issue where gradebook grade links were clickable in the Student and Parent Portal even when no grade levels were enabled in the "Show Gradebook Assignments & Grades on Parent/Student Portal" system preference. With this fix, gradebook grade links are only clickable when the portal preference is enabled for the applicable grade levels, ensuring portal behavior aligns with district configuration.

FOCUS-54389- Student Fields: Resolve Unable to Save Column Settings

This update resolves an issue that prevented saving custom field log column settings due to missing Visible on Summary variable. This fix adds this column to the allowed update list, restoring the ability to save column configurations successfully.

FOCUS-54342- Students With Inclusion Displays All Sections Resolution

This update resolves an issue on the Students With Inclusion page where some student schedule records were not displaying. All applicable sections now appear correctly, allowing users to view and remove inclusion records from student schedules as expected.

FOCUS-54337- New Student Schedule: Resolves Rotation Days Not Updating

This update resolves an issue in the new Student Schedule where rotation days were not refreshing correctly when a student was moved to a different period of the same course. Rotation day values now update accurately to reflect the newly selected section, ensuring schedule details remain consistent when periods are changed.

FOCUS-54334- Schedule Field View Permissions Migration

This update follows up on prior schedule field permission enhancements by adding a migration that enables view access to key schedule fields for eligible users. Teachers and administrators who already have view permission on the Student Schedule page will now correctly be able to view Meeting Days, Term, Enrolled Date, and Dropped Date when the system preference Use Schedule Field Permissions is enabled.

FOCUS-54318- Add a Student: Prevent Alert Icons Duplication in Search Results

This update resolves an issue where alert icons were duplicated in the Add a Student search results when a student had multiple active enrollments. Alert icons are now displayed only once per student, ensuring a clean and accurate search experience.

FOCUS-54313- Gradebook: Standard Assignment Overall Grade Sorting Improvement

This update resolves an issue where a student's Standard Assignment "Overall" grade could change based on the Assignment Due Date sort direction. The calculation logic has been corrected so the Overall grade remains consistent regardless of how assignments are sorted.

FOCUS-54307- Improve Deletion Validation Logic for Setting "Do Not Allow Enrollment Deletion when a Schedule Exists"

This update corrects how the system evaluates schedule records when enforcing the "Do Not Allow Enrollment Deletion when a Schedule Exists" preference. Enrollment deletion and date edits are now restricted only when a student has an associated schedule for the same school and school year, while students without schedules, dual-enrolled students without schedules at a given school, and future-year enrollments without schedules can be managed as expected.

FOCUS-54285- Student Schedule: View Only Permissions Not Loading Inclusion Rows

This update resolves an issue where inclusion rows were not displaying on the Student Schedule for users with view-only permissions.

FOCUS-54263- Graduation Req. Report: Print Improvement (Detailed & Overview)

This update adds a dedicated Print button to the Graduation Requirements Report for both the overview and detailed view, allowing users to easily generate a printable version directly from the report screen.

See Graduation Requirements Report for more information.

FOCUS-54256- Verification Sheets: Correct Display of ADA Override (Texas)

This update resolves an issue in Texas Verification Sheets where the ADA override was not displaying for students designated with an ADA Period. Verification Sheets now correctly reflect ADA overrides for applicable students, ensuring attendance documentation aligns with district ADA settings.

FOCUS-54249- School Choice: Maintain Sort Order for Current Grade Dropdown in Application

This update improves how grade levels are displayed on School Choice applications when parents are allowed to select a current grade level for the applicant school. Pre-K (PK) now appears before Kindergarten (KG) in the grade level list, ensuring the options follow an expected and logical ordering for early childhood applicants.

FOCUS-54225- Student Final Grades: Resolves Include Inactive Not Displaying Previous Dropped/Completed Courses

This update ensures that courses with posted grades continue to display on Student Final Grades even if the schedule record was dropped or completed. The report now consistently includes all graded courses without requiring the Include Inactive option, providing a complete and accurate view of student grade history.

FOCUS-54210- Communication Report: Resolve School Filtering Issue

This update corrects an issue where messages sent by users whose profiles are not tied to specific schools could appear on the Communication Report regardless of the selected school filter. Messages are now only included when the report is run for the correct school or for all schools, ensuring school-based filtering behaves consistently and accurately.

FOCUS-54201- Automatic Course Requests (ACRs): Clear Persisted Search Filters

This update improves Automatic Course Requests by correcting an issue where previously selected search filters could persist unexpectedly when adding new records. Filters now reset and apply only to the criteria explicitly selected by the user, preventing unintended default conditions from appearing in the search results.

FOCUS-54196- Report Cards: New "Group by Full Course Number" Setting

This update adds a new optional setting for report cards that allows courses to be grouped by the full course number instead of the truncated value defined by the "Grade Averaging Course Num Length" system preference. When the new "Group by Full Course Num" option is selected during report card generation, courses are grouped using their complete course number, providing more accurate grouping for districts that use longer course codes while preserving existing behavior when the option is not enabled.

See Report Cards for more information.

FOCUS-54188- ADA Report: Percent at 90 Calculation Accuracy Improvement (Missouri)

This update improves the accuracy of the "Percent at 90%" calculation on the Average Daily Attendance report for Missouri. The report now uses a dedicated student count that includes only students eligible for the 90% threshold, ensuring the percentage is calculated against the correct population and aligns more closely with Missouri ADA reporting and audit expectations.

FOCUS-54097- Alternate Request Priority Scheduling

This update improves scheduling behavior by honoring the priority order of alternate course requests. When a primary request cannot be scheduled, the system now applies alternates in strict order (Alternate 1, then Alternate 2, then Alternate 3, including elective alternates), ensuring the highest-priority available option is selected. Seat counts and alternate eligibility are respected across Auto Scheduler and Run Scheduler scenarios.

FOCUS-54092- Graduation Req. Report: Algebra 2 Prioritized for Scholar Designation

This update improves the Graduation Requirements Report for Florida by ensuring Algebra 2 coursework is prioritized when evaluating the Algebra 2 Scholar requirement. When students complete Algebra 2 alongside other math courses, the system now correctly applies Algebra 2 first before using equally rigorous or statistics courses, providing more accurate Scholar Designation results.

FOCUS-54067- Gradebook Reports: Styling Adjustment to Add Scroll Bars to Reports

This update improves the Gradebook Reports screen by adding a scroll bar when the list of reports exceeds the height of the page. Teachers can now easily view and access all shared assignments and reports without items being hidden off-screen, ensuring a more usable and consistent experience when working with larger report lists.

FOCUS-54054- Teacher Gradebook: Co-Teacher Gradebook Access Improved

This update corrects an issue where co-teachers assigned with read-only access were unable to open and view the Gradebook for their sections. Co-teachers with view or read-only permissions can now access the Gradebook as expected, while edit restrictions continue to be enforced appropriately.

FOCUS-54037- Translations: Translate Last Page of the Online Applications

This update adds translation support to the customizable final page of Online Applications and Re-enrollment Forms. Text entered in the "Customize Last Page" section is now included in the translation system and displays in the user's selected language for legacy applications, new online applications, and re-enrollment forms. This ensures a consistent, fully translated experience through the final submission step for parents and students.

FOCUS-53862- Hall Passes: Teachers View Full Past History

This update improves the Hall Pass module by giving districts more control over how teachers view inactive and expired passes. A new teacher profile permission, "View Expired Passes," allows teachers to see the full hall pass history for a selected student within their rostered sections, including passes created by other staff. Without selecting a specific student, teachers continue to see only their own inactive passes for students in their sections, preserving existing behavior while adding clearer visibility when reviewing individual student pass history.

See Profiles > Permissions Explained and Hall Passes (Teacher) for more information.

FOCUS-53818- Gradebook: Prevent Styling Popups in Comments

This update improves the handling of Gradebook comments by removing unsupported HTML styling that could create fixed-position elements or pop-up behavior when comments are edited or pasted. Existing comments are also cleaned to remove this styling, ensuring comments display consistently and safely across the Gradebook.

FOCUS-53615- Communication: Update Sign Up/Poll Table View When Responses are Manually Edited

This update improves the Communication module by ensuring sign up response counts in the table view update immediately when responses are added manually. Counts no longer require a full page refresh to reflect the latest activity, keeping the list view accurate and up to date.

FOCUS-51934- Mass Add Log Records, By Student: New Include Inactive Students Feature

This update adds an Include Inactive option to the Mass Add Log Records workflow when using the By Student view, allowing users to create log entries for students who became inactive earlier in the current school year. This improves flexibility for end-of-term and post-withdrawal documentation while continuing to exclude students from prior or future school years unless using the existing By Group options.

See Students > Mass Add Log Records for more details.

FOCUS-48930- Grade Simulator Added to Final Grades, GPA & Class Rank

This update introduces a new Grade Simulator on the Final Grades, GPA & Class Rank screen, allowing users to model how changes to grades would impact calculated averages, GPA, credits, and quality points before posting. Administrators, teachers, parents, and students (based on profile permissions) can update existing grades or enter hypothetical grades, with results calculated in real time using the section's assigned grade posting scheme and current grading preferences. The simulator respects school configuration for exams, marking periods, GPA rules, and display formats, providing a safe way to evaluate outcomes without altering official grade records.

Click HERE for a video overview of the new Grade Simulator.

See the following updates below for details about the Grade Simulator.

Permission:

Users > Profiles > Admin > Grades tab > Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank section > Simulate Grades

Users > Profiles > Admin > Grades tab > Course History section > Simulate Grades

Users > Profiles > Teachers > Students tab > Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank section > Simulate Grades

Users > Profiles > Teachers > Students tab > Course History section > Simulate Grades

Users > Profiles > Parents > School Info tab > Portal section > Simulate Grades

Users > Profiles > Students > School Info tab > Portal section > Simulate Grades

Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank:

Admin > Students > Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank > Previewing Grade Outcomes with the Grade Simulator

Teachers > Students > Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank > Previewing Grade Outcomes with the Grade Simulator

Parents/Students > Grades / Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank > Previewing Grade Outcomes with the Grade Simulator

Course History:

Admin > Course History > Previewing Grade Outcomes with the Grade Simulator

Teachers > Course History > Previewing Grade Outcomes with the Grade Simulator

FOCUS-43824- New Ohio Graduation Requirements Report

This update introduces a new Ohio Graduation Requirements Report that provides a comprehensive view of student progress toward Ohio's competency and readiness graduation requirements. The report displays detailed End-of-Course attempt history for alternative competency, including failed attempt dates and scores, and clearly indicates how competency is ultimately met. It also expands readiness tracking by including all required diploma seals, combining test history, course history, and graduation data into a single, Ohio-specific graduation reporting view.

See Graduation Requirements Report for more information.

FOCUS-43451- Linked Sections Sorting Enhanced in Master Schedule Report

This update improves the Master Schedule Report by adding full sort, filter, and detail support for linked sections. Users can now correctly sort linked elementary sections by period and apply standard DataTable interactions, making it easier to review and manage schedules when linked courses are in use.

FOCUS-54383- [CR] Delete a Student Trash Can Change to Purple

See Delete a Student > Deleting a Student from Student Info and Merging Students from Student Info for more details.

FOCUS-54362- SSS: IEP Progress Reports Across School Years

This update improves clarity for IEP Progress Reports that span multiple school years. Previously, when an IEP crossed school years, only duplicate marking periods displayed the school year, which could cause next-year marking periods to appear without context. Now, any marking period that belongs to a future school year will always display the school year alongside it, reducing confusion when reviewing progress reports across years.

FOCUS-54284- SSS Custom Screens Placeholder Bullets and Numbering Rich Text Feature Improvement

This update improves SSS custom screen placeholders by correctly displaying rich text formatting, including bullets and numbered lists, directly on the screen. Rich text placeholders now render consistently between on-screen views and printed output, ensuring users see the same formatting when entering, viewing, or printing SSS events.

FOCUS-54182- SSS: Add Multi-Select and Temporary Group Service Functionality in Caseload & Services

This update adds a new configuration option, Caseload & Services - Instant Groups, that enhances how services are added from the Caseload & Services screen. When enabled, the student selector supports multiple students at once, automatically disabling individual service entry and enabling a new Add Group Services option, allowing staff to quickly apply the same service details to multiple selected students in a single workflow.

See General, Caseload & Services (Admin), and Caseload & Services (Teacher) for more information.

FOCUS-53762- SSS: Recent Services Reference in Caseload & Services

This update enhances SSS Caseload & Services by optionally displaying a reference table of the last five services previously provided to a student when adding an individual or group service. When enabled, the Add Service and Add Group Service pop-ups show recent service date, duration, and service name for services delivered by the current provider, helping staff quickly verify history, reduce errors, and streamline service entry without leaving the screen.

See General, Caseload & Services (Admin), and Caseload & Services (Teacher) for more information.

FOCUS-52024- SSS Mass Image for Events

This update enhances SSS Mass Print by adding support for mass imaging, allowing users to select multiple students and generate images for SSS events in bulk. This expands existing mass print functionality to streamline event documentation while preserving current behavior for printing.

See Mass Print/Image Events and View Mass Print/Image Batches for more information.

FOCUS-51421- SSS Events: Preserve Locked Test History Data

This update ensures that once an IEP event is locked, computed tables within the event will no longer update if changes are later made to a student's Test History. This prevents locked events from being altered retroactively, keeping historical records consistent and accurate.

FOCUS-50950- SSS: Instructional Accommodations Extended Time & Small Group Display Improvement

This update improves the Accommodations/Modifications step of IEP events by ensuring the Extended Time and Small Group free-text columns display consistently across all tabs. When an accommodation option includes "Extended Time" or "Small Group" in its description, the corresponding free-text column now appears as expected, allowing users to properly enter and review supporting details.