The Referrals screen is used to view referrals submitted by teachers or administrators. From this screen, administrators can process referrals, add victim entries, add action entries, merge referrals, duplicate referrals, view student documentation, print discipline letters, print referrals, and delete referrals.
1. In the Discipline menu, click Referrals.
2. On the Search Screen, enter search criteria to locate an individual student or group of students and click Search.
See Searching for Students for detailed instructions on the various ways to search for students.
A list of referrals matching the search criteria is displayed. Scroll to the right to view the referral form fields.
The number of referrals returned in the search is controlled by the system preference "Limit the results displayed when searching for Referrals" in Setup > System Preferences > Default System Preferences > General tab.
To customize the columns that display in the referrals list, click Toggle Columns. In the pop-up window, deselect a column to remove it from the referrals list, and then close the pop-up window.
3. To edit a field, click the field and make the desired change.
The field turns yellow to indicate a change has been made.
4. Click Save.
Users must have profile permissions to edit referrals in order to make changes to referral form fields from this screen.
5. Select Show Referrals From All schools to display referrals from all schools that meet your search criteria.
6. Select Include Inactive to include inactive students in the list of referrals.
7. Select All Years to display referrals from all school years that meet your search criteria.
The profile permissions "View Referrals From Other Schools," "View Referrals From All Years," and "View Referrals For Inactive Students" must be enabled for the Referrals screen in Users > Profiles for the "Show Referrals From All Schools," "All Years," and "Include Inactive" options to be available for selection.
When "Show Referrals From All Schools" is selected, the School column is added to the screen and displays the school that assigned the referral. The profile permission "Edit Referrals From Other Schools" is required in order to edit a referral from another school.
When "All Years" is selected, the Year column is added to the screen and displays the school year of the referral.
8. Select Minor Infractions to view referrals that were marked with "Minor Infraction - No administrative action needed."
The system preference "Enable Minor Infractions" must be enabled in Setup > System Preferences > General tab in order to use the minor infractions functionality.
9. The Closed Referrals check box is selected by default, and when selected includes referrals that were closed by an administrator without processing. Deselect the check box to exclude closed referrals.
The "Closed Referrals" check box will only display if the system preference “Alert Teachers when a Referral is Closed” is enabled in Setup > System Preferences > General tab.
These options may be selected by default depending on your settings in Users > My Preferences > Discipline Lists.
10. Click the student link to open the referral.
11. Once the referral is opened, make any additions or edits to the referral fields as needed. Click Save when finished.
If a referral is linked to a discipline incident, "Linked Incident" is displayed the top of the referral form along with the incident ID number.
When viewing a list of referrals, the Incident column will be blank if there is no incident attached to the referral and will display the incident ID if there is an incident attached.
If you have view access to Discipline > Discipline Incidents, the incident ID will be a link that will take you to the discipline incident. If you do not have view access to Discipline > Discipline Incidents, the incident ID will display but will not be a link. Only teachers and administrators will see the incident ID number.
If two or more referrals have been merged, "Parent of X Referral(s)" displays at the top of the parent referral. See Merging Referrals for more information.
Fields with a question mark icon have a description. Hover the mouse over the icon to view the description. Fields with a link icon have a link to a website. Click the icon to open the website in a new tab or window. Field descriptions and links are set up in Discipline > Referral Fields.
After reviewing a referral, select the Reviewed by Admin check box to process the referral. This removes the Portal alert for the referral and makes the referral available on the Parent and Student Portal once it is saved. It will also add a Portal alert for the teacher indicating the referral was processed (if teachers have permissions to enter discipline referrals). When you select Reviewed by Admin, the referral cannot be saved unless all errors are resolved, even if you do not have access to the field that is in error.
1. On the Portal screen in the Alerts box, click the new referrals alert.
The number in the alert indicates the number of unprocessed referrals, including referrals entered by teachers (if teachers have permissions to enter discipline referrals).
2. In the list of referrals, click on the student's name to open the referral.
3. Review the referral information. There may be required fields that need to be completed by an administrator, such as the Discipline Code.
The district determines which fields on the referral form are required. The required fields are marked with an asterisk on the form, and are listed as errors in the Errors list on the right side of the screen if not completed. As required fields are completed, they are removed from the Errors list. Fields that do not pass the validation rules set on them are also included in the Errors list. Hovering over the field in the Errors list or the field on the form displays a tool-tip with information about why the field is in error. Clicking the field in the Errors list will bring you directly to that field on the form.
When using the discipline code suggestion feature, up to 3 discipline code suggestions will display above the Discipline Code field on the referral based on the text entered in the "AI accessible" description field. Click a suggestion to select it.
4. Select Reviewed by Admin.
5. Click Save at the top-right corner of the screen.
If a letter was attached to a discipline code or action in Referral Codes & Actions, and that code or action was assigned to the student in this referral, the Print Letter pop-up window will display after the administrator processes and saves the referral. The letter can be printed, emailed, and sent to the student log.
If a victim was entered on a referral (see Adding a Victim Entry to a Referral), and a Victim Letter was selected in Setup > System Preferences > General tab, the Print Letter pop-up window will display after the administrator processes and saves the referral. The victim letter can be printed, emailed, and sent to the student log. If both a victim letter and a letter triggered by a specific code or action is generated, a pull-down displays where you can select between the referral recipient's letter or the victim's letter.
The Victims table is used to document the victims of the aggressor student. When the "Prevent Co-Enrollment" check box is selected on the entry, the aggressor cannot be enrolled in the victim's school for the defined time period. A warning message will display on the Add a Student screen or on the Enrollment record indicating the student cannot be enrolled because he or she is an aggressor of the victim student.
The Victims logging field must be enabled for use by selecting "New Referral" on the field in Discipline > Referral Fields.
Victims can be documented on the Victims tab in the aggressor student's record if the issue is not related to an on-campus reportable referral.
This functionality is currently not available to customers in Pennsylvania.
1. In the Victims table on the referral, enter the victim's Student ID.
2. Select a Start Date and End Date.
If the Prevent Co-Enrollment check box is selected, the aggressor cannot be enrolled in the victim's school during the specified date frame. If no end date is entered, then the aggressor cannot be enrolled in the victim's school indefinitely.
3. (Optional) Enter any Comments, if needed.
4. Select Prevent Co-Enrollment to prevent the aggressor from being enrolled in the victims school in the time frame defined in the Start Date and End Date fields.
5. Press Enter to add the entry.
1. In the Action Record(s) table on the referral, select the Action.
The actions available for selection may be limited based on the discipline code selected for the referral, the number of occurrences of the discipline code, or based on your profile. See Referral Codes & Actions for more information.
2. Select the Date Decided.
This is the date the action was decided. This may or may not be the same as the start date of the action.
3. Select the Date Begins and Date Ends for the selected action.
The system will automatically calculate and populate the Length of Action, accounting for non-school days. Alternatively, enter the Date Begins and the Length of Action and the system will calculate and populate the Date Ends.
A message will display if the Length of Action exceeds the number of allowable days set in Referral Codes & Actions (if in use.) The field will automatically populate with the maximum days allowed.
4. Enter the Attendance Code, if applicable.
This is typically used for in-school or out-of-school suspensions but can also include other district-defined disciplinary absences.
The student's attendance record will automatically update with the applicable attendance code from the start date to the end date of the action if the Date Begins is not today or in the past. The attendance code will also display for all of the teachers on the student's schedule. Teachers will be unable to edit this code when taking attendance. If the action timeframe has already begun and the student's attendance needs to be adjusted, the action record as well as the student's attendance will need to be updated. Updating only the action record will not adjust the student's attendance. When an action with a withdrawal code attached is added to a discipline referral, the student is automatically withdrawn as of the Date Decided or today’s date if there is no Date Decided set.
5. (Optional) Enter who the action was Administered by.
6. (Optional) Enter any Action Record Notes.
7. (Optional) Select the Detention Period for when the detention will be served.
8. Press Enter to add the row.
The Merge functionality allows multiple referrals for a student to be merged into one "parent" referral. Only unprocessed referrals in the same school and school year and with no disciplinary action records assigned can be merged. After merging the referrals, the parent referral can then be assigned the disciplinary action record and be processed by an administrator. Only users with the profile permission "Allow Merge of Referrals" can merge referrals.
1. Open one of the student's referrals that will be merged.
2. At the top of the screen, click the green gear icon.
3. Click Merge.
4. In the pop-up window, select one or multiple referrals to merge. Only unprocessed referrals in the same school and school year with no disciplinary action records are available for selection.
5. Click Merge Selected into Current to merge the selected referral(s) into the referral you have currently open. The current referral will become the "parent" referral.
Click Merge Current into Selected to merge the referral you have currently open into the selected referral. The selected referral will become the "parent" referral. This button is unavailable if more than one referral is selected.
6. In the pop-up window, click the referral ID number of the parent referral to open that referral, or click Close to view the referral you have currently open.
At the top of the parent referral, "Parent of X Referral(s)" is displayed.
7. To view the child referral(s) merged into the parent referral, click the green gear icon at the top of the screen.
8. Click Merge.
The child referrals are listed in the pop-up window.
9. Click the Referral link to view the child referral.
At the top of the child referral, "Merged Into" is displayed with the parent referral's ID number. The ID number is a link that will open the parent referral.
The child referral(s) will no longer display in the Referrals list or in any associated reports. Only the parent referral’s action and incident ID are reported to the state. In the parent referral, assign an action and process the referral as usual.
1. In the parent referral, click the green gear icon at the top of the screen.
2. Click Merge.
3. In the pop-up window, select each child referral that will be unmerged.
4. Click Unmerge.
5. In the pop-up window, click Close.
The referrals are unmerged. The referrals will display in the Referrals list and in the associated reports.
The duplicate functionality allows a referral to be copied and assigned to another student. This is useful if multiple students were involved in the same occurrence and the referral for each student will be mostly the same.
1. On the referral you want to duplicate, click the green gear icon at the top of the screen.
2. Click Duplicate.
3. In the pop-up window, enter search criteria to locate the appropriate student and click Search.
4. In the search results, select the appropriate student(s) and click Duplicate.
5. In the pop-up window, click the referral ID number to open the created referral, or click Close to return to the original referral.
The action records are not duplicated from the original referral, so the action records need to be entered for each duplicated referral. Other referral fields can also be updated on the referrals as needed.
A referral can be linked to a new or previously existing discipline incident.
1. At the top of the screen, click the green gear icon.
2. Click Link Incident.
3. In the pop-up window, click the Add New tab.
The district determines which fields on the incident form are required. The required fields are marked with an asterisk on the form, and are listed as errors in the Errors list on the right side of the screen if not completed. As required fields are completed, they are removed from the Errors list.
Fields that do not pass the validation rules set on them are also included in the Errors list. Hovering over the field in the Errors list or the field on the form displays a tool-tip with information about why the field is in error. Clicking the field in the Errors list will bring you directly to that field on the form.
4. Complete the form and click Save when finished.
1. At the top of the screen, click the green gear icon.
2. Click Link Incident.
The Link tab is displayed by default.
If the system preference "Enable All Schools checkbox when linking a SESIR" is enabled, the "All Schools" check box is displayed in the Link tab. Select the check box to display SESIR incidents from all schools.
3. Select the discipline incident to link the referral to.
4. Click Link.
The link between a referral and discipline incident can be removed, if needed.
1. At the top of the screen, click the green gear icon.
2. Click Link Incident.
3. In the pop-up window, click Unlink.
Administrators with the "Send Back Referrals" profile permission can send a referral back to the originator when corrections are needed. The administrator can add a comment on why it is being sent back. A Portal alert will display to the originator indicating a referral was returned with comments. When the referral is opened, the comment will display at the top of the referral form and will remain until the referral is updated. When a referral is sent back for correction, it does not count against the student until the referral is sent back to the administrator.
1. On the referral that will be sent back for correction, click the green gear icon at the top of the screen.
2. Click Send Back.
3. In the pop-up window, enter a Comment and click Send Back.
When a referral is sent back for correction, "Returned" will display in the "Processed" column when viewing the referrals list.
The originator will receive a Portal alert "1 referral has been returned with comments." At the top of the referral form, it will indicate that the referral was sent back with comments, and will display the comments entered. The originator can then correct and resubmit the referral.
A discipline referral can be closed without processing by an administrator when the system preference "Enable Closing of Unprocessed Referrals" is enabled in Setup > System Preferences > General tab.
Unlike deleting a referral, closed referrals are still available in Focus for viewing. When a referral is closed, it is indicated at the top of the referral form, along with any comments entered by the user who closed the referral.
Closed referrals do not count against the student; closed referrals are not included in the "X new referrals" Portal alert, in counts for Discipline > Category Breakdown or Discipline > Students with Referrals, or in state reporting. Closed referrals do not display on the Parent/Student Portal.
A referral cannot be closed if it is linked to a discipline incident, if it has an action record, or if it has already been processed.
When the system preference "Alert Teachers when a Referral is Closed" is enabled, the teacher who submitted the referral will receive a Portal alert when the referral is closed by an administrator. Clicking the alert will open the referral, where the teacher can review the comment entered by the administrator.
1. On the referral that will be closed, click the green gear icon at the top of the screen.
2. Click Close Without Processing.
3. Enter a comment and click Close.
The comment is displayed at the top of the referral form. The Closed field on the form displays a green check mark.
Referrals can be deleted by users with the profile permission to delete referrals. Referrals that have been processed and referrals linked to a discipline incident cannot be deleted.
1. On the referral that will be deleted, click the green gear icon at the top of the screen.
2. Click Delete.
3. In the confirmation message, click Delete.
The referral includes a link to the Student Documentation tab of the student's record. If the minor infractions functionality is enabled for your school (controlled by the system preference "Enable Minor Infractions" in Setup > System Preferences > General tab), then a list of the student's minor infractions from the school year is also displayed.
To make a field viewable in Student Documentation, select "Visible on Discipline Referral" on the field in Students > Student Fields.
1. At the top of the referral, click the purple info icon.
2. After reviewing the information, click Close.
If letters set up in Students > Print Letters & Send Email and/or Students > Communication were associated with the Discipline module, the letters will be available to print when viewing a referral. Only users with the profile permission "Print Letters" can print discipline letters.
1. At the top of the referral, select a letter from the Print a Form/Letter pull-down.
A PDF preview of the letter is displayed in a pop-up window. The letter can be downloaded to your computer or printed. There are also options at the right side of the window to email the student, linked users, or custodial contacts, or send to the student log. Sending the letter to the student log will automatically create a letter in the Letter Log student category, which will include a time stamp and a printable version of the letter.
2. Click Done when finished.
The referral screen can be printed, if needed.
1. At the top of the referral, click the blue print icon.
2. Follow your printer's prompts to print the referral.
A new referral can be added for the student you are currently viewing directly from the Referrals screen.
1. At the top of the referral, click the green gear icon.
2. Click Add New Referral.
The Add Referral screen is displayed with the current student already selected. Complete the Add Referral form and click Save.
If the student has been flagged as a Protected Student, a warning message displays on the Referrals screen: DO NOT RELEASE STUDENT INFO. The warning message displays for all users. For more information about how to set up a Protected Student, see Student Fields: Protected Student.
