Dismissal Tracker — Long-Term, Temporary, and Program Dismissals

Overview

When a staff member or guardian edits a student’s dismissal, they choose one of three save modes:

1. Long-Term — a standing default that applies every school day going forward
2. Temporary — a one-time or short-term override for specific dates
3. Program — enrollment in an after-school program for specific days

Understanding the difference between these three modes is the key to using the Dismissal Tracker correctly. This article explains each one in detail.

Long-Term Dismissals

What Is a Long-Term Default?

A long-term default is the student’s normal, everyday dismissal plan. It represents the answer to the question: “On a typical day, how does this student get home?”

Once set, a long-term default applies automatically every school day until:

• A staff member or guardian updates it
• It is replaced by a new long-term default
• A temporary override is added for a specific date (the temporary override takes priority for that day only)

When to Use Long-Term

Use a long-term default for anything that reflects a student’s regular routine:

• “This student always rides bus #14”
• “This student is always picked up by a parent”
• “This student always walks home”

How to Set a Long-Term Default (Staff)

1. Go to the Students tab
2. Find the student and click Edit
3. Select the Long-Term option
4. Choose the dismissal type (Bus, Pickup, Walk, etc.)
5. Optionally add a note (e.g., a bus number if your school isn’t connected to the auto-import, or a pickup contact name)
6. Optionally set a start date (defaults to today)
7. Click Save

How to Set a Long-Term Default (Guardian)

1. Navigate to the Dismissal Tracker page for your child
2. If no default is set, you will see an alert and a prompt to set one
3. Click the edit button or select Long-Term from the edit sheet
4. Choose the dismissal type and add any notes
5. Save

When a guardian saves a new long-term default, the previous one is automatically closed out. There is only ever one active open-ended default per student at a time.

Long-Term Defaults in the History Tab

Long-term defaults appear in the History tab with a teal “Long-term” badge. You can see who set the default (staff member name, or “Guardian”), when it was set, and when it was closed (if applicable).

Temporary Dismissals

What Is a Temporary Override?

A temporary dismissal is a one-time or short-term change to a student’s plan for specific dates. It overrides the long-term default for only the dates you choose — the long-term default resumes automatically on all other days.

When to Use Temporary

Use a temporary override when something about the student’s plan is different for a limited time:

• “Mom is picking up on Thursday instead of the bus”
• “Student will be walking home every Monday and Wednesday for the next three weeks”
• “Early dismissal on Friday for a doctor’s appointment”

How to Set a Temporary Override (Staff)

1. Go to the Students tab
2. Find the student and click Edit
3. Select the Temporary option
4. Choose the dismissal type and add any notes
5. Select the date(s):
   • A single date (e.g., just today or just Friday)
   • A set of hand-picked dates (click individual days on the calendar)
   • A repeating pattern — choose which days of the week and an end date; the system will generate all matching dates automatically
6. Click Save

How Temporary Overrides Interact with Long-Term Defaults

On any given day, the system uses the following priority order to determine a student’s effective dismissal:

1. Absence (highest priority — always wins)
2. Temporary override for that specific date
3. Long-term default (applies if no temp override exists)

This means if a student has a long-term default of “Bus” and a temporary override of “Pickup” for Tuesday, they will show as Pickup on Tuesday and Bus on all other days — no changes to the long-term record are needed.

Deleting Future Temporaries

If a batch of temporary overrides was set by mistake, or plans change, staff can delete all future temporary records for a student at once using the “Delete future temporaries” option in the edit modal. This removes all temporary overrides for that student for dates after today.

Note: Some temporary records may be marked as protected by the system and cannot be deleted this way. These will remain in place.

Temporary Dismissals in the UI

Students with a temporary override for today display a “Today” badge in the Students tab. In the History tab, temporary records appear with an indigo “Temporary” badge showing the date range they cover.

Program Dismissals

What Is a Program?

A program is an after-school activity that a group of students attends — after-school care, tutoring, sports, clubs, or any other structured activity that affects dismissal. Programs are defined at the school level and students are then enrolled in individual programs. When a student is in a program on a given day, their dismissal type shows as Program rather than their long-term default.

Programs are covered in full detail in Article 2: Programs — Setup and Day Selection.

How Programs Differ from Long-Term and Temporary

Key Characteristics of Programs

Days of the week are central to programs. Each program has a defined set of active days (e.g., Monday, Wednesday, Friday). When you enroll a student, you choose which of those program days to include them on. You can enroll a student in a program that meets Mon/Wed/Fri but only sign them up for Mon/Wed.

Programs have a date range. Each program has an optional start date and end date. Students are enrolled from the start of their enrollment through the program’s end date (or a custom end date you choose at enrollment time).

Program enrollment generates individual daily records. Enrolling a student in a program creates a separate dismissal entry for each matching day within the program’s range. This is why you can see the full set of dates in the History tab.

First program day is highlighted. The very first day a student appears in a program is flagged as “New to Program” with a green badge in the Roster tab.

Partial enrollment is indicated. If a student is enrolled in fewer sessions than the full program, they are marked with an asterisk (*) in the Programs tab as a partial enrollment.

Quick Reference: Choosing the Right Mode