9.0 New Feature Release Notes
Protected Student
Added the “Protected Student” feature, which restricts access of the protected student’s school of enrollment, address and contact information. Marking a student as protected will also prohibit parents from registering as the selected student’s parent via the portal.
Students > Student Fields: Added “Protected Student” to Student Fields; here users can determine where the check box is placed via a Category and which Profiles have View and Edit Access.
Users > Profiles: Added a Profile permission entitled, “View Protected Students;” when enabled, selected Profiles will be able to view detailed student information of the protected students just as they always have. Profiles who do not have this permission will not be able to view select student data.
Students > Student Info: To flag a student as protected, from the Students menu, click Student Info. Select the student. Click the applicable tab, such as General Demographics, then select the “Protected Student” check box.
Once flagged as a Protected Student, a warning message displays on the Student Info screen: “DO NOT RELEASE STUDENT INFO.” The warning message displays for all users, students, and parents.
If users do not have the three listed permissions, the Address & Contacts tab will not display: “View Protected Students,” “Edit Student Addresses,” and “Edit Student Contacts.”
If “Search All Schools” is selected upon conducting a student search, the search results will display the protected students, but the students’ school(s) will be replaced with “HIDDEN” for all users. If users have permission to View Protected Students, they can click the students’ name to open Student Info; however, if users do not have this permission, the students’ names will not include a link. Note: Users must also have rights to the students’ school(s).
Upon utilizing the swiftbox and left/right buttons in the upper right of the Student Info header to navigate to other students, if a protected student is selected, a pop-up will display an error message and the user will remain on the current student.
Students > Advanced Report: Address, contact, and school fields will all be HIDDEN; all other fields will be visible as normal for protected students unless the user has the appropriate Profile permissions: “View Protected Students,” “Edit Student Addresses,” and “Edit Student Contacts.”
Students > Print Letters & Send Email: Users who have “View Protected Students” will not see any changes.
Users who do not have “View Protected Students” permission but have permission to “Edit Student Addresses” and “Edit Student Contacts” will not see any changes.
Users who do not have “View Protected Students” and do not have “Edit Student Addresses” or “Edit Student Contacts” will not be able to select the student in order to print their information.
Students > Print Student Information: Users who have “View Protected Students” will not see any changes.
Users who do not have “View Protected Students” permission but have permission to “Edit Student Addresses” and “Edit Student Contacts” will not see any changes.
Users who do not have “View Protected Students” and do not have “Edit Student Addresses” or “Edit Student Contacts” will see not be able to see Address & Contact information when printing but can print other data.
Student > Print Avery Labels: Users who have “View Protected Students” permission will not see any changes.
Users who do not have “View Protected Students” permission but do have permission to “Edit Student Addresses” and “Edit Student Contacts” will not see any changes.
Users who do not have “View Protected Students” and do not have “Edit Student Addresses” or “Edit Student Contacts” will see not be able to select the student in order to print their information.
Attendance > Attendance Chart: Users who do not have “View Protected Students” permission will see student data; however, the protected students' names will not be clickable links. The “DO NOT RELEASE STUDENT INFO” warning will display for all users.
Parent Registration / Parent Portal: Added protected student support to Parent Portal Registration (/auth). If a parent tries to register by adding a protected student, an error message will appear and the parent will not be allowed to complete registration.
If the district allows students or parents to edit addresses and contacts with the Requires Authentication feature, then they will not be able to see protected students' Address and Contacts information (the tab does not appear on the left in Student Info).
Parents will see the “DO NOT RELEASE STUDENT INFO” warning displayed on the same screens as admins and teachers.
Student Portal: Students will see the “DO NOT RELEASE STUDENT INFO” warning displayed on the same screens as admins and teachers.
Teacher Portal: Teachers will see the” DO NOT RELEASE STUDENT INFO” warning displayed on the same screens as admins.
If running Advanced Reports, the school, contact, and address fields will display as “HIDDEN.”
Hidden Student
Added the “Hidden Student” feature, which allows users to completely hide a withdrawn student making the student inaccessible to users.
Students > Student Fields: Added “Hidden Student” to Student Fields; here users can determine where the check box is placed via a Category and which Profiles have View and Edit Access.
Users > Profiles: Added a Profile permission entitled, “View Hidden Students;” when enabled, selected Profiles will be able to view detailed student information of the hidden students just as they always have. Profiles who do not have this permission will not be able to view select student data.
Note: If a student is flagged as hidden, unless users have the profile permission to “View Hidden Students,” they will not see the student in student searches, reports, gradebook, attendance screens, etc.
Students > Student Info: To flag a student as hidden, from the Students menu, click Student Info. Select the student. Click the applicable tab, such as General Demographics, then select the “Hidden Student” check box.
Added new classroom referrals functionality, which is enabled by a new System Preference in the General tab, “Enable Classroom Referrals.” The preference defaults to on.
When the preference is enabled, the check box “Teacher Managed only - NO administrative action needed” is available on the referral for both teachers and administrators. When selected, the referral will not be sent to administrators in the Portal alert for processing. Teacher cannot mark a referral as a classroom referral after it has been processed by an administrator. An administrator can deselect the “Teacher Managed only” check box and process the referral if needed, and vice versa to make a regular referral a classroom referral as long as an action has not been added.
The Student Documentation link on referrals now includes a list of the student’s classroom referrals for that school year.
Enabling the preference also adds the tab “Teacher Codes” to Referral Codes & Actions for defining the teacher codes for use in classroom referrals. A code can be marked as “Automatically Escalate,” which will remove the “Teacher Managed only - NO administrative action needed” selection on the referral when that code is selected by the teacher, and the referral will be sent to administrators for processing. There is also an option to “Escalate after X Referrals,” which will also remove the “Teacher Managed only - NO administrative action needed” selection on the referral and send the referral to administrators for processing after the student receives the defined number of referrals with that teacher code used.
Classroom referrals do not count against the student in Students with Referrals. The Category Breakdown, Referral Log, and Referrals screens have options to include classroom referrals in the report. In Students > Advanced Report, a “Classroom” field has been added to the available fields in the Discipline Referrals category. When added to a report, it will indicate if the referral is a classroom referral.
The classroom referrals feature can also be used by teachers to save a draft of a referral form that will eventually be sent to administrators for processing. If the teacher selects “Teacher Managed only - NO administrative action needed” on the referral and submits the referral, the referral is saved and is still editable by the teacher later. The teacher can then deselect “Teacher Managed only” and submit the referral to administrators when ready.
Added new tardy referrals functionality. In Discipline > Referral Codes & Actions > Actions tab, the “Detention” check box has been added. Actions with this check box selected will display as an option in the Tardy Thresholds tab in Attendance > Attendance Setup.
The Tardy Thresholds tab in Attendance Setup allows users with permissions to set up rules that automatically assign detention referrals.
In Setup > Scheduled Jobs, a new job “Process Tardy Thresholds” has been added. This job creates detentions for students who meet the tardy threshold criteria.
In the Discipline menu, a new screen “Detention List” has been added to view students with detentions created via “Process Tardy Thresholds,” with an option to view completed detentions.
Calculate GPA
Updated the Calculate GPA module so users have the ability to run the GPA calculation for multiple schools and multiple marking periods.
Added the option to “Base class rank on” the “Cohort GPA.” When this is used, the students are sorted based on GPAs and the same cohort year. Note: This is only visible if the option is turned on in the file with a custom GPA.
Gradebook
Added a “Publish” date field to the Add an Assignment pop-up window in the Gradebook. The Publish date determines when the assignment is visible to parents and students in the Parent/Student Portal. Previously, this was dictated by the Assigned date, where parents/students could not see the assignment until the assigned date had passed. Now the assignment will not be visible to parents/students until the Publish date has passed. With this update, existing assignments will have the Publish date populated with the Assigned date.
Grading Scales & Comments
Removed “Show Gradebook Assignments & Grades in Parent/Student Portal” from System Preferences in order for users to customize individual grading scales with the option to “Show Running Average in Gradebook.” For example, if a school contained students from K-8, they may not want to display Elementary students’ grades on the student/parent portal; in which case, users could create a grading scale for middle school students’ for whom grades should be displayed and select the “Show Running Average in Gradebook” in order to achieve this.
Graduation Requirements Report
Update the Graduation Requirements Reports so the check box, “Student,” “Student ID,” “Grade,” and “Cohort” year columns are fixed; therefore, the user can now scroll through all other columns and still see the student’s name, ID, and grade level. Note: Cohort is a newly added column.
Removed the legacy Graduation Requirements Report, and all related profile permissions.
Added the following columns to the Graduation Requirements Report:
Cohort, Online Course Requirement Met, Course History Unweighted GPA, Course History Weighted GPA, Custom GPA (one column for each specified), Total Credits, Scholar Designation (Florida only), Merit Designation (Florida only), Biliteracy Seal Silver (Florida only), and Biliteracy Seal Gold (Florida only).
Teacher Completion
Added “Standard Grades” report to the Teacher Completion Report; therefore, administrators can now review missing and entered standard grades as well as post grades for teacher, as needed.
Web Pages
Added the ability for teachers to create web pages that can be viewed by parents and students on the Portal and in the Community App. Web pages are built using news (posts), resources, and settings. Posts can be sent to parents only, students only, or by default to all (parents and students). For resources, teachers can create files, links, and folders. In settings, the web page is enabled by default when created, but can disabled. Teachers can assign web pages to their sections. Only one web page can be assigned per section.
Teachers have the option to share uploaded Resources with other teachers by selecting the “Shareable to other teachers” check box. Selecting the check box allows other teachers to search for and share the same resource on their web pages via My Information > Resource Browser. The same is accessible for administrative profiles via Grades > Resource Browser.
If a teacher has a web page assigned to a section, a link to the webpage will display on the Parent/Student Portal next to the grade for the course. In the Community App, when clicking on a course from the student summary page, posts from the web page will display in the News section. The Links tab displays the resources from the web page. At this time, files cannot be accessed from the Community App.
Updated so teachers can re-assign sections to web pages; i.e. if a section is linked to another web page and the teacher selects the same section for a new web page, it will be removed from the previous web page. A warning message displays notifying the teacher that they are about to overwrite the section of another web page.
Administrators can create web pages in Users > Setup > Web Pages, and can view and edit teacher web pages in Users > Teacher Programs > Web Pages.
Updated so users can now add multiple enrollment forms from the Application Editor (Setup > Application Editor).
Added a “+” button; when clicked, a pop-up window displays allowing the user to title and create a new form.
Once the form is titled, another message displays: “New form created successfully. Switch now to the new form? Any unsaved changes on the currently loaded layout will be lost.” To save data from the current layout, click “No,” then click the “Save Layout” button before navigating away from the form.
If the “Enable” and “Publish on /apply” check boxes are selected, the forms will display as selection on a form pull-down via Forms > Online Application.
Added the option to “Copy Layout;” when clicked, a pop-up window displays from which users will select the “Enrollment Form” from which to copy and the “Language” that is to be copied. Then, click “Copy Layout.” Note: It is important that the user is already viewing the form that is to be copied.
Updated so duplicate student applications are now detected and alert the user trying to submit the application.
Updated so if a student is trying to apply as a new student and already enrolled in the district, a message will display directing the student to login.
The message that displays as an alert for duplicates is customizable via Setup > System Preferences > Default School Preferences > Online Application): “Message for potential duplicates: (HTML is allowed. Use ‘{focus_url}’ to insert the URL to the Focus installation.)”
Duplicates are identified via the student’s last name, birthdate, and up to 4 letters of the first name.
Updated so that email validation and email completion settings are done per form and/or per application layout.
Added the ability to force parents/students to complete re-enrollment forms to update student information. The Application Editor is now divided into Form Setup and Annual Re-Enrollment tabs. The Form Setup tab is used to set up enrollment, re-enrollment, and custom field forms. The Annual Re-Enrollment tab is used to designate the re-enrollment forms that must be completed by parents/students for specific schools and grade levels.
Schools can also force re-enrollment for individual students by adding a re-enrollment log entry on the new Re-enrollment tab in Student Info. They can also view the individual requests for a student.
All information collected through re-enrollment requests automatically requires approval and is pending. School admins can view their re-enrollments through the new Students > Online Enrollments module. This module shows the Unprocessed, Unsubmitted, and Processed re-enrollment requests.
Updated so that when the Address Block is included in the application layout in Setup > Application editor, the Required flag is respected. Previously, the Address Block was always required when including it on the application whether it was marked as Required or not. When the system preference “If address block is shown then require student to add a contact” is enabled and the Address Block is required, then the applicant must add an address and a contact in order to save and submit the application.
Updated so that the New Address pop-up window defaults to open when the applicant first reaches the page containing the address block on the application. The Primary Residence option now defaults to on automatically for the first address saved. For all subsequent addresses, it default to off. When hovering over the Primary Residence option, a tooltip displays “Only one primary residence can be marked per student.”
When adding a contact, the relationship defaults to None instead of Other. The contact details header now reads “Phone & Contact Details: Enter phone number(s) and other details for this contact. Multiple entries can be saved by clicking the ENTER key on your computer.” The column headers in the contact details section were renamed from “Title” to “Contact Type (i.e. cell phone, home phone, workplace)” and “Value” to “Phone Number / Value.” If the system preference “If address block is shown then require student to add a contact” is enabled, after the applicant saves the first address, the New Contact pop-up will display. The Custody option will default to on for the first contact saved, and off for any subsequent contacts. The New Contact pop-up will default the contact to residing at the primary address versus no address.
SSRS Reports
Added a new screen to generate and publish SSRS reports. The Generate tab is used to create an SSRS report batch request using student search and report parameters.
The History tab contains a table of all batches and their current status: Error, Pending, or Completed. The completed PDF can be viewed or downloaded.
The Publishing tab allows the report cards to be published to the Parent/Student Portal for specific schools, grade levels, and marking periods using report templates. A Start Date must be defined.
New profile permissions control View and Edit access to the screen, as well as who can publish report cards to the Parent/Student Portal.
Courses & Sections
Added an Active check box to the section fields in Courses & Sections. The check box defaults to selected for new and existing sections. Deselecting the check box will prevent students from being enrolled in the section, without having to delete the section. Only sections that do not have students currently enrolled can be marked as inactive. Inactive sections will not display on the Teacher Schedules Report. Attempting to add an inactive section to a student’s schedule in Student Schedule and Mass Add Course will display an error message.
An Active column has been added to the Master Schedule Report to indicate whether a section is active or inactive. Sections can be marked inactive on the Master Schedule Report if there are no students currently enrolled in the section.
On the Create Packages screen, inactive sections will not display in the Children Sections pull-down. If an inactive section is already a part of a package, it will not be removed from the package. Districts will need to review their packages. In the Teacher Portal, inactive sections will display at the bottom of the teacher’s section pull-down.
Master Schedule Snapshots
Added a new screen from which the master schedule and student schedules can be restored from system backups or manually created backups during the scheduling process. System backups are created automatically based on the Scheduled Job “Master Schedule Snapshots.” This is set to run every hour but can be modified as needed. Manual backups are created by clicking Create Snapshot on the Master Schedule Snapshots screen. Hourly system backups are saved for 24 hours. Daily system backups are saved for 2 weeks. Manual backups are saved for 6 months. For each snapshot, the creator, date/time, percent scheduled, and number of sections is recorded. A description can be entered. When running the backup, master schedules and/or student schedules can be restored.
New profile permissions control who can view and edit the screen, who can restore, and who can restore after the first day of school.
Teacher Schedules Report
Updated the Teacher Schedules Report to include the following:
The report options at the top of the screen are now swiftboxes. The Show and Rotation Days pull-downs are select multiple while the Filter by Subject pull-down is select one.
Added a Print button next to the Export button. The printout has been updated to fit more columns and has improved readability. When printing, there are additional print options to include the header and footer, include background graphics, and to scale the printout.
Added grid lines to define the room numbers, course/section numbers, terms, and totals.
The Teacher column is now frozen in place when scrolling to the right.
“Teacher” has been removed from Customize Columns, so the Teacher column can no longer be removed.
Select “Highlight on Double Scheduled” in the Show pull-down at the top of the screen to display sections in red when there is more than one section scheduled into the same period and teacher.
The “Show” options selected by the user are now remembered and pre-loaded when the user returns to the Teacher Schedules Report screen.
System Preferences > School Preferences/Default School Preferences > Grading
Added two system preferences “Hide posted grades from parents and students until grade posting closes” and “Hide grades X days after posting closes (only use if above option is checked).” Selecting the first preference will prevent parents and students from seeing posted grades in the Parent/Student Portal until the grade posting window is closed. Entering a number of days in the second preference (in conjunction with selecting the first preference) will prevent parents and students from seeing posted grades until the defined number of days has passed after the grade posting window has closed.
System Preferences > Default School Preferences > General
Added the “Restrict Parents/Guardians to editing their own Contact and Address info (During Parent Registration, the Parent/Guardian’s name must also match one of their Student’s Contacts)” system preference. When enabled the following changes will take place:
Parents can only edit their own contact information, which means parents can no longer edit other contacts, add new contacts, or delete contacts (including their own).
Parents can only edit their own address information, which means parents can no longer edit other addresses, add new addresses, or delete addresses (including their own). Parents cannot reassign any contact (including their own) to a different address.
The preference also requires the parent's name to match one of their student's contacts during parent registration.
Portal Editor
Updated so District Reports now display in its own “District Reports” block instead of the Alerts block on the Portal page.
Address Catalog
Added a new page, which allows users to type in their address and get a list of their zoned schools based on the Address Catalog. The page is accessed by appending /find-my-school to the end of the district’s Focus URL.
Results will list the current school year based on the “Default school year” set in System Preferences (Setup > System Preferences > Default School Preferences > General).
Results list the start date for the school year, based on the latest start date found for full year marking periods (school_years) for that syear.
Resulting matches include a link for each school, "View on Map;" when clicked, the link will open Google Maps in a new tab with directions to that school from the address entered on the find-my-school page.
Add a Student
Enhanced the query that searches for matching students based on criteria entered in the Add a Student fields. The query will now search Student records for SSN; First Name, Last Name; Last Name, Birthdate; and Local ID (custom_53).
Updated the arrows used to go forward or back to another student in the search results to blue arrows on the following screens in Focus:
Users > Teacher Programs > (all pages)
Scheduling > Student Schedule
Scheduling > Student Requests
Grades > Final Grades, GPA & Class Rank
Grades > Progression Plans
Grades > Gradebook Grades
Assessment > Test History
Assessment > View Standard Grades
Attendance > Absence Summary
Attendance > Attendance Chart
Discipline > Referrals
Billing > Fees & Payments
Eligibility > Student Screen
Added the option to set up multiple LDAP servers; Authentication will go through the LDAP servers in order and authenticate the user.
Added Filters functionality to Attendance > Administration and Students > Letter Queue.
Updated so Test History scores and Test History Administrations are converted to Database Objects; therefore, changes will be logged in the database_object_log table, which allows for better auditing of changes to students’ test history.
FAS Tests
Added the ability to Filter and Print data.
Absence Summary
Added the school name, “School Year,” and date and time “Generated” to the print out of the Absence Summary. In order to generate the Absence Summary with said information, click Print in the footer of the screen. This additional information will not display if using “Print Absence Summary.”
Attendance Setup
Updated so the “Color” set for each attendance code (Codes tab > Attendance tab) displays on the following screens: Attendance Chart, Absence Summary, Print Absence Summary, and Take Attendance (Teacher Profile).
Attendance Verification
Added a Sub Rosters option to the Attendance Verification screen for teachers, which has the same functionality as the administrator option “One page per day per class (with empty Absent / Present / Tardy columns)” in Verification Sheets/Sub Rosters. The Sub Roster option will print all days within the selected date range that are current/future dates but not past dates. The default date range is now month to date on the Attendance Verification screen and Verification Sheets/Sub Rosters screen.
Perfect/Excessive Attendance
Added the Perfect/Excessive Attendance report for use by teachers. It is the same report as is available to administrators, but is limited to the students enrolled in the teacher’s sections and it does not include the Show Teacher pull-down. The View menu permission has been added for the screen in Users > Profiles for teacher profiles.
Take Attendance
Updated the display of various functions on the Take Attendance screen, such as the Refresh button, the Save button, and students’ photos. Upon hovering the new photo icon, only students with photos will be displayed; photos will also appear next to the icon and be of a standard height.
Verification Sheets/Sub Rosters
Added a “Generated” date and time stamp to the printout.
Updated so that rotation days display on the student summary in the Community App when rotation days are enabled for the school.
Add Referral
Increased the height of the Discipline Incident pop-up window that displays when submitting a referral with a SESIR code for better visibility.
Category Breakdown
Updated so that referrals without a specified reporter will display under “No Reporter” on the graph/chart when Reporter is selected as the report criteria. Previously, referrals with no reporter specified did not display on the report.
Discipline Incidents
Added Customize Columns and Filter features to the Discipline Incidents screen, as on other datatables in Focus.
Positive Behaviors
Improved program speed when loading, adding, spending, and deleting badges.
Added the ability to add a comment when awarding a badge to a student or spending a badge. After awarding or spending the badge, a pop-up window displays where the comment is added. The comment displays in a tooltip when hovering the mouse over the badge in the Student Portal.
Added the ability to customize the page size.
Added the ability to mass spend badges for the list of students by clicking the $ in the column header.
Updated the logic for deleting and spending badges:
Deleting a badge will delete the most recently given unspent badge.
Spending a badge will spend the oldest unspent badge.
When an administrator deletes or spends a badge, the system will prefer to delete or spend a badge given by an administrator. If there are none, the system will delete or spend a badge given by a teacher. When a teacher deletes or spends a badge, the system will always delete or spend a badge associated with the course period selected at the top-right of the screen.
Added Toggle Columns button to customize the columns that display on the referrals list.
Added filters to all columns on the referrals list when the Filters button is turned on.
Updated so that the text in a long text field in the referrals list displays in a tooltip when hovering the mouse over the field.
Added the option to “Include Inactive” students. Unless selected, the Referrals screen only displays referrals for selected active students.
Fixed the “All Years” selection to include all submitted referrals for selected students.
Updated Referrals permissions so referrals cannot be edited by users without the following edit permissions (Users > Profiles > Discipline):
“Edit” Referrals
“Edit Referrals From Other Schools”
If the user wants to edit an inactive student’s referral, the user must have the above permissions as well as permission to Edit Inactive Students (Students section).
Added referral_id replacement for student computed field queries; i.e. users are now able to specify referral_id when “Print a Form/Letter” is selected. Note: The student field must be set up first as a computed table with references and {referral_id} as the value variable.
Added an Instance ID column to the Pending Approval and Approval History tabs of forms.
Average Pass/Fail Grades
Updated so that the student IDs on the report are now links that open the student’s Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank screen. Students who have already been processed are now unchecked by default when loading the screen.
Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank
Updated the swift boxes to show the entire contents of the pull-down options.
Gradebook
Added the ability to “Exclude from Average” when creating or editing an assignment. Selecting the “Exclude from Average” check box will ensure the assignment doesn’t count for or against the students’ averages. Upon hovering over the assignment “i,” users will see the assignment has been marked as excluded, which is also noted when viewing an individual student’s grades in the gradebook for teachers, parents, students, and admin via Grades > Gradebook Grades.
Gradebook Configuration
Added a new option “Default Assignment Points.” When defined, the value will populate the Points field when adding a new Gradebook assignment by default.
Gradebook Grades
Added the ability to “Print All Classes,” which, when selected, will make all of the gradebooks available as well as expanded to show all assignments for printing for the selected student. The user would then use the “Print” feature located in the footer to print the gradebooks.
Gradebook Reports
Added a new Gradebook report called “Deleted Assignments.” The report lists the deleted assignments in the current Gradebook, with an option to restore the assignment. Deleted assignments are now stored in the database table gradebook_deleted_assignments.
Progression Plan (Setup)
Added an option to the Push pull-down: “Default Courses to Planned Requests,” so now districts can push out multiple plans to multiple students in multiple schools.
Report Cards
Updated so when “Grade from Concurrent Schools” is selected, report cards display absences/tardies from concurrent schools.
Added the Marking Periods option: “Use data from most recent term if there is no grade in the term selected” to Report Cards.
If selected, the report card will populate with data (comments/conducts) from the most recent marking period for which data is present; that is if the student does not have a grade for the marking period selected. Note: Report cards will still only print the grades for the marking periods selected.
For example, if it is the end of the semester and Q1, Q2, and S1 and selected to print, but not all of the students’ classes post semester grades, the classes that only contain Q1 and Q2 grades will post comments and conducts from Q2. All other classes that contain a S1 grade will post comments and conducts as normal. Note: If “Use data from most recent term if there is no grade in the term selected” is not selected, the Q2 class will not post any comments because data is being pulled from S1 only.
Added EXIF metadata to Report Cards and Custom Report Cards PDFs, which now include the “Title:” Grade Reporting, “Author:” District Name, “Keywords:” Grades, and “Subject:” Grades. Upon downloading the PDF file to the computer, users can right click and select Properties for Document Properties.
Transcripts
Added Student ID or Local ID to additional pages (2+) of the header.
Updated Messenger so Recent Chats displays all chats not just the most recent 50 chats.
Fixed so if Parents’ email addresses have already been verified and they click the “click here to verify link” sent in the verification email after verification has already been completed, a message will display: “Your email address has already been verified. This window will now close,” as opposed to an error message.
Updated so the parents’ language preferences selected while creating parent portal accounts will be activated upon logging into the software eliminating the need to set the language again via My Information > Preferences > Display Options.
Updated the Terms and Conditions screen by removing “Sign your full name and agree to the Terms and Conditions above” from the signature line. Change the “I Agree” button to “I Acknowledge.”
Added the option to create a subtitle on the Parent Portal Registration page by creating a new variable, PARENT_PORTAL_SUBTITLE, which will display directly below Parent Portal Registration.
Added the “Course Number” column to the student’s Class Schedule.
District Reports
Added a District Report entitled “Immunization Rule Changes Report,” which explains the ruleset changes between school years.
Added a District Report entitled “Immunization Rule Report,” which explains the rulesets for an immunization including the steps that the compliance software takes to validate an immunization.
Added a “Pull-down Query” to the Edit Variables “Type” pull-down, which allows users to use a query to generate the select options for a pull-down upon running a district report.
Added the ability to add a link to a specific instance of a Form Builder form on a district report using the instance ID. The following is used in the query:
/Modules.php?modname=form-builder/requests/instance-viewer/[instance_id]/[editable]
where [instance_id] is the formbuilder_instances.id of the form to view and [editable] is "1" when the form should be editable. The view and edit permission for the specific form in Users > Profiles determines who can view and edit the form from the link.
Also added a new permission in Users > Profiles for each form called “View all history direct links.” This allows users to view and edit requests made by anyone if they have a direct link to the form.
Added the ability to use select multiple pull-downs in District Reports.
The Inclusion functionality is now enabled by default for all states. This can be disabled in config.inc.php. The Inclusion functionality affects the following screens:
Scheduling > Courses & Sections > Inclusion tab
Scheduling > Student Schedule > “Show Inclusion Fields” check box
Scheduling > Master Schedule Report > Inclusion tab
Scheduling > Mass Add Course > (ability to mass add inclusion sections to students using “Inclusion” check box)
Scheduling > Teacher Schedules Report > Inclusion sections will appear
Scheduling > Print Student Schedules > “Include Inclusion” check box
Scheduling > Print Class Lists > “Include Inclusion Classes” check box
Scheduling > Student Requests >”'Inclusion” column in table
Scheduling > Mass Requests > (ability to mass add requests for inclusion courses to students with “Inclusion” check box)
Automatic Course Requests
Updated the Automatic Course Requests screen so that the last tab you visited is remembered and automatically displayed when returning to the screen.
Courses & Sections
Updated the Marking Period pull-down on sections to display the marking period title (Quarter 1, Semester 1, etc.) instead of the marking period short name (Q1, S1, etc.), as defined in Setup > Marking Periods.
Updated so that sections that have student data attached (schedules, attendance, or grades) cannot be deleted, whether active or inactive. If attempting to delete a section that has student data, the message “This section contains student data and cannot be deleted” is displayed and the section will not delete.
Master Schedule Report
Updated so that filters are available on all columns in the Inclusion Sections tab of the report when the Filters button is enabled.
Print Class Lists
Updated the Periods and Teachers pull-downs to allow the selection of multiple options.
Added an Inclusion Student field in the Schedule category in the Available Fields list. This will display a check mark if the student is an inclusion student.
Requests Reports
Added a Credits column to the Print Requests report that calculates credits using the same logic as the Student Requests screen. Also added Total Credits above the list of requests. Courses now sort in ascending order based on Course Number.
Schedule Report
Added a new column “Inclusion Student” when viewing the “List Students in this Section” tab of the report. The column contains a check mark if the student is an inclusion student.
Student Requests
Updated so that when using a barcode scanner to add course requests to Student Requests, the row is automatically submitted and saved after scanning the course instead of having to press Enter after scanning each course. In the blank row at the top of the screen, click the Course pull-down to begin, and then scan each course one by one.
Approval Flow
Added email alerts for form requesters and approvers. When a form is submitted, the approver receives an email alert with a link to the form that is pending approval. The form requester receives an email alert for form approval, denial, or form sent back to originator. The email for approval or denial contains a link to the History tab of the form. The email for a form sent back to originator contains a link to the form where changes can be made and the form re-submitted. In My Preferences, the preference “Receive Email When Forms Require Your Attention” must be enabled in the Email Notification tab.
Automated Cron Messages
Added the ability to enter a Subject Line for the message. If the Subject Line is left blank, “Focus System Message” is used as the subject.
Form Builder
Added a text editor to the Text component in the Form Builder. Click Expand in the text properties to open the Text Editor window. Options include bold, italic, underline, font color, background color, font size, images, and table.
Added a Rectangle component to the Form Builder. This allows a rectangle to be added to the layout without having to use the line component. The rectangle width and height can be adjusted using Width and Height options on the right side of the screen or by clicking and dragging the corners or sides of the rectangle.
Updated so that when an e-signature component is included on a form for SIS, ERP, or SSS, the signature completed by the user is visible in previews and on the printed form.
Grade Levels
Updated Grade Level pull-downs so it display the Title instead of the Short Name entered on the Grade Levels screen on the Add a Student and Enrollment screen (Students > Add a Student and Students > Student Info > Enrollment tab). Note: This is only applicable if there are two or more Grade Levels that have the same Short Name but different Titles.
Manage Integrations
Added the option to send the SFTP identifier first or last. Note: This only applies to districts with wired SFTP setup.
Scheduled Jobs
Added a new “Class Size Averages” job, which calculates the average class sizes and populates the FLORIDA_CLASSSIZE_COUNTS table. If the user selects a date rather than selecting the “Current Date” check box, the user also has the option to “Save Separate Records for Given Effective Date” in the table.
Updated so Profiles with View only permissions (Users > Profiles) will have access to Jobs and Execution History, but will not be able to Edit or Create Scheduled Jobs.
Added a limit to the number of rows displayed in Execution History: “There is a limit of 2000 rows. The ‘To’ field will adjust to that range.” In addition, a date range filter has also been added to allow users to search for specific history without displaying all execution history. The date range entered defaults to the last month of history.
Added a “FLEID Export/Import” Scheduled Job. Upon creating the job, the user selects the “FLEID Process” (Export or Import).
The Import process checks against the FLEID History table when determining which files to import. When a file is imported and the students are successfully matched, the FLEID numbers are automatically updated in Focus.
The Export process allows the user to set the “Source Indicator” (K-12 Students or WDIS Students), the “School Years,” and whether or not to “Include inactive students.”
Added the user’s username and the user’s IP address to the execution email. If the job ran at its scheduled time, the email will display: Scheduled; otherwise, the time displays. If the job ran while the user was logged out of the system, only the IP address will display in the email.
Added a “Outgoing MSIX FASTER Responses” scheduled job (only available for Florida clients), which can be used to automatically create outgoing FASTER responses to MSIX for migrant students. The FASTER process will pull the created responses and send them when the FASTER process is executed.
The scheduled job allows the user to identify a “Qualifying Arrival Date (QAD) within [X] Years” and allows the user to select the check box to “Only pull students missing MSIX ID.”
Added “Use each School’s System Preference” option to the Calculate Class Rank and GPA scheduled job, which allows users to set up the scheduled job using the selected school preference (Setup > System Preferences > School Preferences > Grading).
School Choice Application
Added functionality which allows districts to limit School Choice Programs visible to an applying student or parent based on his/her primary address zone.
Updated the School Choice Application (SPA), so it displays the “Program Description & Additional Requirements.”
Site Administration
Added the Site Administration screen, which is an improved version of the Updater in System Preferences, used to update the version of Focus.
System Preferences > Default School Preferences > General
Added a preference, “Enable Terms and Condition,” which allows select profiles to add/create Terms and Conditions to display for Parents upon logging into the Parent Portal.
Enabling the preference will display additional system preferences as follows: “Terms & Conditions Frequency,” “Terms and Conditions Start Date,” “English Terms and Conditions File,” and “Espanol Terms and Conditions File.”
Enabling this preference will enable the Profiles permission: “Enable Terms & Conditions;” if the View check box is selected via Users > Profiles > School Information, the users will have access to Terms & Condition via User Info.
Added a preference, “Hide Sender’s Name in Email ‘From’ Field.” If enabled, emails sent from Focus will no longer include the sender’s name in the From Field of the email, instead, the students’ school names will display (if sent from Print Letters & Send Emails). If sent from Student Info, the sender will display as Focus/SIS.
Added “Itemized List” to the “Error Selection” pull-down as it pertains to Immunization Compliance. Selecting “Itemized List” will make non-compliant records display as rule set errors via Students > Student Info > Immunization Compliance in order to enhance performance and speed. Note: Users must enable the Nightly Immunization Compliance Job for changes to take effect (Setup > Scheduled Jobs).
System Preferences > School Preferences/Default School Preferences > Grading
Added “GPA Rounding” system preference, which will affect Post Final Grades, Final Grades, GPA & Class Rank, etc. Options include “Round down (Truncate)” and “Round normally.” This preference works in conjunction to “Round GPA to: Decimal Places.”
Added the “Recalculate parent marking period grades and GPAs when a grade is changed on Final Grades, GPA, and Class Rank” system preference, which (when enabled) will recalculate the parent grade (Semesters and Course History) when a child level grade is changed via Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank (Grades menu).
System Preferences > School Preferences/Default School Preferences > Scheduling
Added “Schedule School with” system preference, with a list of the district’s schools as options. This is primarily intended for “school within a school” situations, such as an IB school that is part of the main high school, but is built as a separate school in Focus. The IB students can take classes at both schools. On the Student Requests screen, the school that has the preference enabled will see the school name along with the course name in the Course pull-downs, as well as in the Quick List. Courses from both schools can be added to the students enrolled in both schools. Auto-scheduling the student or using Run Scheduler will schedule for both schools. Only the school with the preference enabled sees courses from both schools on the Student Requests screen and can schedule the student into both the primary and secondary school.
Third Party Systems
Updated API route permissions so they are based on what is selected, as opposed to what is not selected by the user.
Updated to separate permissions for GET and PUT routes so they are not all grouped into one permissions.
Updated the interface, which now contains “Read” and “Write” columns.
Added a table, “external_api_permission” to replace “external_api_schema_restrictions.”
Added a migration, which adds permissions to the new permission table based on the users’ restrictions.
Updated the “Title” column, which now remains stagnant while scrolling through the remaining columns.
Added black sorting arrows to each column so that data can now be sorted alphanumerically.
Added the Filters tool, which allows users to filter data displayed only pertinent data.
Added Toggle Columns, which allows users to customize the columns displayed on the screen.
Added a title “Test” to the column containing the “Test External API” button.
Add a Student
Updated the Add a Student screen so the cursor is automatically focused on the First Name field; therefore, upon navigating to the Add a Student screen, user can automatically begin typing the student’s first name.
Add a Student/Student Info
Updated Addresses & Contacts in Add a Student and Student Info. In the New Address/Edit Address pop-up window, the tooltip “Only one primary residence can be marked per student” displays when hovering over the Primary Residence option.
In the New Contact pop-up window, the relationship defaults to None instead of Other. The contact details header now reads “Phone & Contact Details: Enter phone number(s) and other details for this contact. Multiple entries can be saved by clicking the ENTER key on your computer.” The column headers in the contact details section were renamed from “Title” to “Contact Type (i.e. cell phone, home phone, workplace)” and “Value” to “Phone Number / Value.” If the system preference “If address block is shown then require student to add a contact” is enabled for the online application, then in Student Info, the Custody option will default to on for the first contact saved, and off for any subsequent contacts. The New Contact pop-up will default the contact to residing at the primary address versus no address. This is also the case in Add a Student, but regardless of the system preference setting.
Student Fields
Added an option to “Show school year” to logging fields via Student Fields.
Student Fields/User Fields
Added the ability to encrypt data in the database for custom fields marked as Encrypted in Students Fields or User Fields. Text, Long Text, Rich Text, Logging Field Text, Logging Field Long Text, and Logging Field Rich Text can be marked as Encrypted. Text fields with a suggestion query cannot be marked as Encrypted. This functionality requires the an encryption key in config.inc.php.
Student Info
Updated the Phone Number/Value field so that it automatically formats upon leaving the field (Student Info > Addresses & Contacts).
Added four new options to the Rolling/Retention Options in the Enrollment record: “Do Not Enroll - WD Out of District,” “Do Not Enroll - WD Out of State,” “Do Not Enroll - WD to Home Ed,” and “Do Not Enroll - WD to Private Sch.” These options all function the same as “Do Not Enroll.”
Adjusted the Student Info screen to fit better on narrower screen widths.
Student Groups
Added a “Schools” column to the Student Groups screen.
If the “Schools” pull-down is left null upon creating a student group, the group will be available for the assigned users or profiles regardless of the school selected from the School pull-down located in the header (top right of the screen).
If one or more schools is selected from the “Schools” pull-down, the group will only be available for the assigned users/profiles when they are logged into one of the selected schools via the School pull-down located in the header (top right of the screen).
Users who have View and Edit access to Student Groups will be able to select the schools to which they would like to assign the group.
Users who have View only access to Student Groups will see the “Schools” column but will not be able to edit the Schools pull-down(s). The user will also only see the Student Groups that are linked to the selected School via the pull-down located in the header (top right of the screen).
Users who have access to multiple schools, but not all schools, will only see those schools available in the “Schools” pull-down.
Student Search
Added the ability to search for students by Texas unique ID (custom_400009369) singularly as well as in a string separated by spaces, commas, or both. Note: This changes applies to Texas clients only.
Added an “Scheduled into an Inclusion Section Last Year” option to the Scheduling section of the More Search Options feature. When selected, the search will return results for students who were scheduled into an inclusion section in the previous school year. It will exclude students who have a drop date on the schedule record for the inclusion section.
Updated the “Receive Personal Copy” check box to default to enabled. The check box is also now uneditable for students and cannot be changed by any users. If the student changes the “From” email address, a copy of the email will be sent to both the “From” email address specified and to the student’s email address (custom_200000012). Note: This does not affect the Parent Portal; therefore, the “Receive Personal Copy” check box can still be cleared as needed.
Added the “Course Number” column to the student’s Class Schedule.
Added additional security measures so when students try to access Inspect > Console the screen will continuously refresh and the Console will display as “Console Cleared.” Therefore, students cannot run javascript or make HTML changes.
Updated the Class Requests screen to prevent students from entering a request for certain graduation subjects if an administrator or teacher already entered a request for that graduation subject. This affects the following graduation subject short names:
Math - MA A1 GE
Social Studies - SS AH WH EC AG
Science - SC EQ PH CH
English - EN
Added two-factor authentication via the Google Authenticator application for additional security upon logging into Focus. The two-factor authenticator can be enabled for select profiles via Users > Profiles or as a user preference via Users > My Preferences. If needed, select users have the option to “Reset Two Factor Authentication” via Users > User Info.
Upon logging in to Focus, a one-time QR Code will display for scanning using the Google Authenticator app. The QR Code, once scanned, will allow the app to generate a six digit code that lasts 30 seconds.
Add a User
Enhanced the query that searches for matching users based on criteria entered in the Add a User fields. The query will now search User records for SSN; First Name, Last Name; Last Name, Birthdate; and Local ID (custom_53).
Profiles
Added new Menu permission for teacher profiles under Discipline > Referrals, “View Referrals from Other School.” When enabled, this allows teachers to view referrals from other schools for their students.
Added new Menu permission for teacher profiles under Discipline > Referrals, “Print Letters.” When enabled, this allows teachers to print relevant letters when viewing discipline referrals. Previously, only administrators had this ability.
Added new Menu permission for administrators under Discipline > Referrals, “Delete a Referral.” When enabled, this allows the profile to delete a referral by clicking the minus sign next to the referral in the referrals list or by clicking the “Delete this referral” button when viewing a referral.
Added a new Menu permission for administrators under Discipline > Add Referral, “View Administrator Fields.” This permission defaults to enabled when the profile has View and Edit permissions for Add Referral. When this permission is disabled, the Add Referral screen functions as it does for teachers, with the administrator fields removed.
Added Portal Alerts for Standard Grades to be posted. The alerts will display on teacher portals in order to allow the teacher to post standard grades directly from the link within 20 days of the last day of the posting period. Note: The standard grades posting dates in Marking Periods will determine the dates the alerts are displayed, if identified via Setup > Marking Periods > Standard Grades Posting Begins and Standards Grade Posting Ends. Otherwise, the regular Grade Posting (Begins and Ends) dates will be used. Sections that are not marked as “Graded” will be excluded (Scheduling > Courses & Sections).
Updated so that if a payment is made on an invoice and the allocation is changed, printing a receipt will pull the first available invoice allocation change record after the receipt’s created date to determine the original amounts on the invoice allocation. Note: If the receipt does not contain a created date (old receipts), this will not work. I.e. if an invoice is processed via POS and the transaction is voided or refunded via Transaction History, users can change the original price and/or quantity via POS; however, upon reviewing the original transaction via Transaction History, the items and total should be the original total; it should not reflect the new total after reprocessing.
Added titles to the following printed reports:
Accounts Receivable > Customer Ledger - When printing the Customer Ledger, the title “Customer Ledger” now displays on the report. When printing the Simplified Ledger, the title “Simplified Customer Ledger” now displays on the report.
Accounts Receivable > Invoice Report - When printing the Invoice Report, the title “General Invoice” now displays on the report. When printing the Detail Report, the title “Detailed Invoice Report” now displays on the report.
Accounts Receivable > Receivables Report - When printing the Receivables Report, the title “Receivables Report” now displays on the report. When printing the Customer Report, the title “Receivables Report - Customer Report” now displays on the report.
Cashout Report
Updated so the report will now reflect a new line called “Net Credit,” which is the tendered amount--credit card refunds.
Funding Sources
Added an Active column to the Funding Sources tab. If the Active check box is not selected on a funding source, it will not be available for selection in Point of Sale. If the funding source is used for automated vouchers, then deferrals based on vouchers from that funding source will also stop.
Added the ability to specify Student Vouchers, which can then be used automatically defer the cost of funding sources when the student is billed.
Added a “Voucher” check box to the Funding Sources screen in order for users to easily specify the sources that are available for vouchers.
Voucher Sources also need to be specified on Template Fees that are to be used for billing. If using a district template, multiple Voucher Sources can be selected for multiple facilities. When the district template is pushed out to the schools, only the Voucher Sources that are applicable (based on the Funding Sources’ accounting strips) will apply to school-specific fees via the school-specific fee template.
Receipts / Internal Account Receipts
Removed the ability to edit the “Amount” or the “Facility” of a receipt that has been deposited unless the deposit is first voided. Note: This does not apply to allocations as districts may allocate receipts after the deposit has been made.
Updated to allow $0 fees for classes set up for sale via Purchase & Pay; previously, if the fee amount was $0, it would be disregarded when billing. Now the $0 fee appears on the invoice and the customer is billed successfully.
If users do not want a specific fee to appear on an invoice without deleting the fee altogether, users should select "Inactive” because setting the fee to $0 will no longer hinder billing via the Billing menu > the appropriate manage fee screen.
Note: If a class is set up with no fee entered (the amount field is left null) the class will display via the class search for purchasing. An amount (zero or otherwise) must be entered in order to validate the class (via the Billing menu > the appropriate manage fee screen.
Made the following improvements to the Billing functionality:
Added a “Bill Per” pull-down to fees. The Flat Fee check box has been removed as it is now available in the Bill Per pull-down.
Moved the billing-related System Preferences out of the Post Secondary tab into a new tab called Billing, and also added new system preferences:
Enable Daily Fees - When enabled, daily fees can be used.
Use Free/Reduced Fee Cost Tier - When enabled, the new free/reduced cost tier can be used.
Use Nonresident Fee Cost Tier - When enabled, the nonresident cost tier can be used.
Updated the Fee Summary screen that displays after clicking Create Invoice on the student’s schedule to have a better breakdown of the fees.
Updated Quote Course, the Store, Mass Billing, Additional Fees, and Reauthorization to accommodate the new billing features.
Customer Ledger
Added the ability to cancel a transaction placed through the Store on the same day the order was made. A Cancel button now displays next to the Transaction Number. After clicking cancel, the student must confirm cancellation.
FA Worksheet
Added a “Program Number” column to the FA Worksheet.
Invoice Students
Added the ability to mass add a drop date to schedule records when invoicing students on the Invoice Students screen. Select the Mass Drop check box and enter a date in the field. The date entered cannot be prior to today. When the date field is populated and students are mass billed, the drop date will be placed on the schedule record that was billed.
Purchase & Pay (Parent/Student Portal)
Updated the Vouchers functionality so Vouchers apply to the entirety of the class time-frame, as opposed to applying to the dates the voucher and the class match.
Updated to have a more mobile-friendly user interface.
Updated so that if a student has an active Voucher/Waiver, the Waiver is applied to the full-price fee, even if the student is Free/Reduced eligible.
Updated so classes no longer have to contain a positive value amount to be searchable for purchasing. Now classes containing a $0 amount will display and be available for purchase.
The student/parent will also now be able to “Complete Checkout” although no payment will be collected. Classes will then be scheduled automatically. The invoice generated will reflect all free fees, along with the schedule page.
Quote Course
Added the ability to use a letterhead template when printing quotes.
Classes for Sale
Added two seat columns: “Total Seats” and “Filled Seats.” The counts are now displayed for each class. A seat is considered filled if a schedule record exists for that course period containing a date range equivalent to or within the date range of the class for sale.
Added a “Publish Start Date” and a “Publish End Date” column. Note: the System Preference, “Allow the use of ‘Publish Dates’ on Classes for Sale” must be enabled for these columns to display (Setup > System Preferences > Default School Preferences > Scheduling). These columns allow the user to specify a start and/or end date to be displayed on the Purchase & Pay screen via the Student/Parent Portals. If a start or end date is specified here, the Start Date entered will determine when the class displays for purchase.
Course Progression
Updated so that if the student is billed by section, the funding end date is the withdrawal date for course progression. For fail out of program, course completion, and program completion, the funding end date is the WDIS End Date. If the student is billed by something other than section, the funding end date is the withdrawal date for course progression. For fail out of program, course completion, and program completion, the funding end date is the end of the term.
Student Schedule
Added a “Clear Selected” link beneath the Dropped date on the student schedule for Post-Secondary schools. This allows the Dropped date to be cleared and the student quickly re-enrolled into the section.
Updated so Vouchers, which currently apply automatically via the Store and Mass Billing, will also apply automatically when a student has applicable vouchers and is billed (BILL BY) via the Student Schedule. Note: Vouchers currently only apply to daily fees. In the image shown, the deferral is automatically applied on the Point of Sale screen.
Updated so the Dropped date is cleared from the reauthorized schedule record when the balance from the invoice is 0 either through payments or deferrals.
System Preferences > Default School Preferences > Scheduling
Added a new system preference “Use previous TABE test scores, regardless of date.” When enabled, all TABE tests will be considered to set the basic skills when running the Basic Skills Assessment scheduled job. When disabled, TABE tests from more than two years ago do not affect the student’s basic skills status.
Clauses
Added a new screen to create clauses and assign them to the receipt footer, invoice header, and invoice footer in Point of Sale. Clauses can be facility-specific.
Links to the Clauses screen have been added to the Receipt Footer Text, Invoice Header Text, and Invoice Footer Text settings in Setup > Settings > Accounts Receivable tab > Point of Sale section to alert users that the settings have moved there. A new setting has also been added to Setup > Settings > Accounts Receivable tab > Point of Sale section called “Receipt Footer for Store Transactions.” This clause will be used on all Store transactions regardless of the facilities involved in the purchase.
Settings > 1098-T tab
Added the option to “Mask SSN on forms and report” via Print 1098-T’s and 1098-T Report. Social Security Numbers will display as XXX-XX-1111 when the setting is enabled.
Settings > Accounts Receivable
Added the option “Lock cash drawer while pending cashout approval” in the Cashout settings. The cash drawer will not be available for selection in Point of Sale for that day (per the “Allow Cashouts by Date setting) while the cashout is pending. If the cashout is approved the same day, the drawer can be selected again. If the setting “Allow Cashouts by Date” is disabled, the cash drawer cannot be selected in Point of Sale while the cashout is pending through the date the cashout was submitted. This locks the drawer through the cashout submitted date, and allows it to be accessible the following day, regardless of the cashout approval status.
Added the option “Edit Cash Drawer on Void and Refund” that allows the user to select the cash drawer when voiding or refunding an Accounts Receivable transaction. The cash drawer will default to the cash drawer on the POS screen, but will allow users with multiple drawers or facilities to select a different drawer.
Student Fields
Added an option to “Show school year” to logging fields via Student Fields. If enabled, the school year will display in the syear column. The “Show school year” option will automatically be enabled for Industry Certification logging fields, which will migrate data from the previous syear log column and delete the old data.
Student Reauthorization (Teacher Profile)
Added the ability to Mass Update the "Length" column.
Added the ability to Mass Update “Hours/Custom” via the Length column.
FAS Tests
Updated the Test List to be a datatable, which allows filtering, exporting to Excel, and printing the list of tests.
Cashouts / Cashout Report
Added the ability to attach “Files” and and leave “Comments,” which displays on the Cashout Report as a “Files & Comments” button.
Receipts / Internal Account Receipts
Added the ability to “Import” allocations.
Journal Report
Added an “Actions” column to the Journal Report.
Board Packet Report
Updated the summary table for better display by reducing the padding.
Updated all top-level revenue and object codes to display for revenue and expenditures, which will ensure that all function/object combinations and all revenue combinations display regardless of budget changes.
Trial Balance
Added accounting strip filters to the Trial Balance by GL tab.
Lookup Employees Missing Primary Jobs - Added a new tool to the Development menu that displays a list of employees who do not have “Primary” selected on any of their jobs in Human Resources > Employee > Jobs.
Added the Time & Attendance module, which allows employees to clock in and out via the Portal.
SIS > Setup > Portal Editor: Added “Punch In/Punch Out” to the Blocks.
ERP > Setup > Profiles: Added Time & Attendance profile permissions for set up users and approvers.
Added “Time & Attendance Setup” and “Time & Attendance Approval.”
Added “Can view all requests.” Note: This permission is for Focus users only.
Human Resources > Time & Attendance Setup: Added Settings, Schedules, Special Requests.
Settings: This tab includes Grace Period, District IP Format, Automatic Leave Unpaid Bucket, Automatic Leave Unpaid Reason, Allow approval of the current week, Allow original, and Default to original.
Schedules: Users can set up the schedules needed for Time & Attendance
Special Requests: Users can set up unique events or activities for which employees can submit time; For example, field trips, athletic events, covering another teacher's class, fundraisers, etc.
Human Resources > Position Control: Added the ability to apply the created Schedules, Special Requests, and Automatic Dockage options to positions.
SIS > Users > Profiles: Added Time & Attendance Employee Self Service permissions for users utilizing the “Punch In/Punch Out” feature.
Under Employee Self Service, “View/Edit Timecards” must be enabled.
Board Packet
Increased the font size of the report title when printing the Board Packet.
Employee
Added a “Payments” button to the Supplements section of the Jobs tab. Clicking the button displays a pop-up window with supplement payment details. Pay runs that have been calculated but not posted will show with a run status of “In Process,” and posted runs will be shown as “Finalized.”
Added the employee’s name, EIN, and original hire date to the "Service Verification" (check box) printout via the Jobs tab.
Employment Agreement
Added a multi-select field for “Contract Type” to the View/Create Agreements, Pending Agreements, and Signed by Employee tabs.
The “Contract Type” field allows users to create agreements for employees based on their contract status; Note: The contract status can be viewed via Human Resources > Employee > Jobs > Details.
Employment Agreement Maintenance
Added a “Cleanup” tool to the Pending Agreements tab; the “Cleanup” tool acts as a mass delete button which can remove any pending agreements based on the parameters set by the user.
Leave Maintenance
Updated the Config tab so that the Copy All button now displays as Copy. Instead of copying the selected leave bucket config to all pay types, users can choose one or more pay types from a multiselect field, and copy their configuration to only those pay types.
FRS Adjustment
Added a null/blank option to the “Type” pull-down, which allows users to submit an FRS adjustment without having to select a Type since the FRS does not require a code for current month adjustments only prior period adjustments.
Maintenance > Main Tables > Slots/Steps
Removed the Advanced Degree and Supplements columns.
Updated so the “Salary Schedule” and “Additional Comp” fields populate from the maintenance tables via Setup > Florida Codes.
Rollover
Updated so that when the Calendars module is rolled in Payroll Rollover, the system will now also roll the survey 5 calendar table in Payroll > Maintenance > Main Tables (tab) > Facilities.
Updated Payroll > Rollover > Change Step Pay and Payroll > Maintenance > Slots & Steps. Each step now includes fields for Effective, Highly Effective, COLA (cost of living adjustment), Step, and Other.
Run Payroll
Updated the internal menu on the Run Payroll screen. Now there is a filter option at the top of the menu. The menu can collapse to increase screen space.
In the Reports tab, added accordion show/hide functionality to the report parameters section at the top of the screen and the report results section at the bottom of the screen. When the user selects parameters and then runs the report, the selections collapse automatically in order to give more space on the screen to view the report results. Users can also hide the report results to view or change the report selections, and toggle back and forth as needed. Also, when a section in the report select options contains 20+ options, the section will now scroll instead of spilling over outside of the parameter selection space.
Added an Optional Filters section to the Reports tab. The new filters allow the report to be run for one or more specific employees, wage types, and/or deductions.
Updated the Import tool on the Reimbursements tab to allow records that are missing leading zeros from strip elements (e.g. center element is 41 instead of 0041) to be imported, as well as null elements (as long as the accounting strip is still valid).
Added a user alert, “The bank account used for paper checks is missing the account number of account id” when a user tries to Post a batch with a missing account number for the check/ACH bank account (Setup > Bank Accounts).
School/Department Payroll Entry
Added “Hours/Day Grand Total” to the bottom of the Hours/Day column for the Leave tab (Current Payroll and History) and the Leave records table on the Assign Run tab.
Added the setting, “School/Dep PR Entry inactive threshold (days)” via Setup > Settings > Payroll,” which allows users to pull terminated employees when the assigned jobs ends within the defined threshold.
The threshold is determined by the check date for the current pay run. For example, if 14 days is applied and the current pay run has a check date of 10/15/2018, the School/Dept PR will pull in employees who have been terminated on or after 10/01/2018. Employees terminated on or before 09/30/2018 will not be pulled.
Added a profile permission, “Include Inactive Employees” via Setup > Profiles > School/Department Payroll Entry.
The “School/Dep PR Entry Inactive threshold (days)” setting will only be applied if the user has said permission enabled.
Added a Sub Records drill down tool for any substitutes assigned a leave record via School/Department Payroll Entry > Manager Facility > Leave > Substitute.
Updated so Facilities lacking accounting strips (Setup > Settings > Accounting Strips) can now be selected as “Manager Facility” regardless of missing data.
Transfer Job Balances
Removed supplement amounts from the contract earned amount in Transfer Job Balances.
Updated so users can now increase inventory for an item before the item is released, as long as the following setting is enabled via Setup > Settings > Accounts Payable: “Invoices can be entered before POs are released but items must be applied.”
Profiles
Added a new permission for Purchasing/Accounts Payable > Invoices called “Display P-Card Repayment.” When the permission is enabled for a profile, the “P-Card Repayment” option is available in the Batch Type pull-down in Purchasing/Accounts Payable > Invoices > Batches tab.
Settings > Accounts Payable
Added “Purchase Order Subtypes”, which allows for “Travel” purchase orders. Travel Subtypes can be set up for Blanket and Standard purchase orders, and for specific Profiles. Travel POs can be applied to District accounts, Internal accounts, or Both. Users also have the ability to select whether or not the PO Must Be Received.
Added “Invoices can be entered before POs are released but items must be applied,” which allows invoice reconciliation to run for non-posted applied line item invoices. This provides an estimate of the allocated amounts for an applied batch.
Settings > Accounting Strips
Added a Placeholder check box to designate an accounting strip should not be used in any finance updates or accounting actions posted by the payroll system. Any strip that has the Placeholder flag will trigger an error if it is processed in a pay run, and the run can not be posted until the allocation is changed. The Placeholder check box has also been added to the search/filter parameters in Settings > Accounting Strips.
Scheduled Jobs
Added the Regions Bank Import scheduled job to import pcard transcations from Regions Bank.
PetroVend Import
Added the ability to import PetroVend files.
Added the “Work Orders” module, which allows users to input requests for work needed, input a review/approval piece, a completed piece to allow finalization of work orders, and contains a reporting aspect. This will pull and interact with aspects of the Fixed Assets and Warehouse modules as well. The following screens have been added to the Work Orders menu:
“General:” The General setup screen contains the following tabs: “Request Types,” “Issue Types,” “Priority Levels,” “Routes,” and “Products.”
“Work Order Requests:” The request screen functions just as all other ERP request screens function, such as PO requests, it contains a “Drafts” tab, a “Current Request” tab, and a “Request History” tab.
For specific users who are responsible for approving work order requests, two additional tabs will display, “Pending Approval” and “Approval History.”
For specific users who are responsible for tending to work orders, the “Assigned Request” tab will display.
“Pick Lists:” The pick list works just as the Warehouse Pick List does; approved work orders that have been assigned a route will be available via the “Manage Pick Lists” tab. The “View Pick List” tab display when creating a new pick list from the “Manage Pick Lists” tab; here users can customize the list. Once created and assigned, the assignee can view the list via the “My Pick Lists” tab.
Manage Student
Updated to print highlights in grayscale when printing in black and white.
Updated so that the number of uploaded files in parentheses next to the step’s name will update whenever the number changes without having to reload the page.
Updated so that the Notes icon is blue if there are notes present on the selected event instance.
Updated so that the steps pop-up for an event has the steps in the sort order as defined in Setup.
Updated so that the Related Services on the Schedule of Services step of the IEP pulls the transportation codes from the database.
Moved the Extended Time column to the Scheduling tab in the Accommodations step of the IEP or Amended IEP event. The Extended Time column now only displays when Extended Time is selected as an accommodation.
Setup
Added a new dependency in the Events tab that prevents an Amended IEP event from being initiated if the current locked IEP event has expired. A warning message will display.
Updated to allow the pre-lock meeting notice event trigger to be customized.