Roles and permissions
This article describes dataset permissions in SchoolDay and how these permissions are acquired by users.
Roles determine what users can see and do in SchoolDay. Each role grants specific permissions for managing data, applications, and settings. Understanding roles helps you ensure users have the right level of access to perform their work.
How roles are assigned
SchoolDay assigns roles in two ways:
Automatic assignment
- Teacher, Student, School Admin, and Parent/Guardian roles are assigned automatically during data import and sync
- These roles come from your CSV files, SIS integration, or OneRoster data
- You don't need to manually assign these roles—the sync process handles this
Manual assignment by support
- District Admin and Vendor Admin roles are assigned by SchoolDay support staff
- Contact support to request these roles for users in your organization
Administrative roles
Administrative roles are for users who manage SchoolDay settings, data, and applications.
District Admin
District Admins manage data and settings for the entire school district. This role has limited administrative permissions.
What District Admins can do:
- Run sync operations
- Manage data sharing (duplicates, data quality, sync issues)
- Customize application settings (delivery configs, mappings, filters)
- Create and customize exports, imports, and datasets
- Browse data across the district
- Access the AppStore
- Manage SSO and identity providers
- Manage sync schedules
- Grant access to SchoolDay for staff and users
What District Admins cannot do:
- Add or remove applications
- Send data-sharing requests to vendors
- Access school year or semester rollover
- Grant Primary permissions to other admins
- Accept or reject privacy policies
Primary District Admin
Primary District Admin is an upgraded version of District Admin with full administrative control.
How to become a Primary District Admin: A user must first be a District Admin, then upgraded to Primary by enabling the Primary permissions checkbox.
Additional permissions Primary District Admins have:
- Add and remove applications for the organization
- Send data-sharing requests to EdTech vendors
- Access school year or semester rollover
- Manage organization email notifications
- Grant AppStore and Primary permissions to other admins
- Accept or reject privacy policies for SchoolDay and EdTech vendors
- Reset passwords for users
Can Primary District Admins grant Primary permissions to others? Yes. Once upgraded to Primary, they can grant Primary permissions to other District Admins.
Vendor Admin
Vendor Admins represent EdTech application partners who integrate with SchoolDay.
What Vendor Admins can do:
- Manage their applications
- Manage data sharing (data quality, sync issues, mappings)
- Send data-sharing requests to districts
- Access API Explorer
- Manage SSO for their application
Non-administrative roles
Non-administrative roles are assigned automatically during data import and sync. These users can log in and use applications but cannot manage SchoolDay settings.
Teacher
Teachers have access to applications and data for their classes.
What Teachers can do:
- Access and manage SSO applications assigned to their classes
- Manage QR codes
- Create bookmarks
- Optionally access the AppStore (if granted by Primary District Admin)
School Admin
School Admins have elevated permissions within their specific school.
What School Admins can do:
- Everything a Teacher can do
- Access and manage SSO applications for their entire school
- Manage users at their school
- Access reports and analytics for their school
Student
Students can access applications assigned to them.
What Students can do:
- Access SSO applications
- Create bookmarks
Parent/Guardian
Parents and guardians can access their student's information through the Parent Portal.
What Parents/Guardians can do:
- Everything a Student can do
- Access the Parent Portal to view their student's information
Role permissions reference
|
Role |
Key Permissions |
|---|---|
|
Primary District Admin |
Full administrative control: manage apps, data sharing, rollover, notifications, privacy policies, grant permissions |
|
District Admin |
Limited administrative control: run sync, manage data quality, customize settings, browse data, manage SSO |
|
Vendor Admin |
Manage vendor applications, data sharing, SSO, and API access |
|
School Admin |
Manage users, apps, and data for their school; access reports and analytics |
|
Teacher |
Access and manage apps for their classes; manage QR codes and bookmarks |
|
Student |
Access assigned SSO apps and create bookmarks |
|
Parent/Guardian |
Access Parent Portal; create bookmarks |
Common scenarios
Multiple roles
Users can have more than one role. For example:
- A teacher who is also a School Admin has both sets of permissions
- A District Admin who also teaches classes can access both administrative functions and their classroom apps
The system automatically combines permissions from all assigned roles.
"I can't add applications to SchoolDay"
If you're a District Admin and can't add applications, you need Primary permissions. Contact your Primary District Admin to grant you this permission, or contact SchoolDay support.
"A teacher role is missing or wrong"
Don't manually assign teacher roles. Teacher, Student, School Admin, and Parent/Guardian roles come from your data sync. Check your CSV file, SIS integration, or OneRoster data to ensure the role information is correct, then re-run the sync.