How to add a custom question

Apply to

District, school and provider dashboards

Note: This video is from the school dashboard. Navigating to the right place is different in the provider dashboard, but the steps are the same for creating custom questions.

Use custom questions to collect additional information from families during registration. These are easy to set up from your District Dashboard, School Dashboard, or Provider Dashboard.

Before you begin:

If you want the questions to appear for families across all schools, set it up form the District Dashboard. For questions at a specific school, use the School Dashboard. Providers can collect custom information during registration from their own Provider Dashboard.

Set up Custom Questions

1. From the dashboard, go to Manage registration (and attendance) > Customize registration form.
2. Use one of our built-in questions or add a custom question with the Add a New Question button.
3. Type your question.
4. Choose the response: Free form, Dropdown, or Document
   • Free form will allow parents to type whatever they wish in a text field.
   • Dropdown will allow parents to choose from a list of items that you set.
   • Document allows parents to attach a document (such as a signed medical release, physical exam form, or permission slip). Uploaded files will show as links in roster downloads and can be opened in a new tab.

          Note: The system accepts PDF files and images (JPEG, PNG) with a maximum size of 10 MB

5. Set the question to Active and choose if the question is Required or not.
6. Click "Save" once you have set up the question to your liking.

Add Additional Details

To provide more context or detail in your question, click “+ Additional details.” This opens a text box where you can add formatted text and links. The content in the Question field will serve as the title, while the text box will act as the body of your question.

The additional details added to a custom question will not appear in session rosters, CSV downloads, or custom rosters. You will only see a header with the text from the first text field of the question.

Important: Custom Questions vs. Waivers

Adding a custom question does not trigger a parent signature at the end of registration.

A signature is only paired with a waiver.

If you need families to acknowledge something with a signature, you must set up a waiver.

• Custom Questions collect information or acknowledgments (e.g., “How will your child get home?”).
• Waivers are what require a parent/guardian signature.

If you want a signature during family registration, be sure to set up a waiver, not just a custom question.

Configure Your Questions

There are a few ways to configure the questions you create.

“Ask this question before entry to waitlist/lottery”

Select this option if you’d like to collect information during the waitlist or lottery process. You may want to do this if the responses will help you decide who to invite off the waitlist.

"Want an answer per session"

Check this option if the answer to the question could vary by session. When selected, parents will be required to answer the question separately for each session they register for.

Example: If you’re asking how a student will get home after different activities—such as extended care on one day and a club on another—this option ensures you collect a specific answer for each session.

Show question for specific sessions only

If you want this question to appear for certain sessions only, select “Only sessions selected below” and choose the specific sessions for which the question should appear.

Important: If you choose this option, you’ll need to manually update the question whenever new sessions are added to the program. It will not update automatically.

Special, Built-in Custom Questions

Several special custom questions can be set up from the school and district dashboards.

District Dashboard

Pickup Question

Ask parents where their students will go after the class. The answers will appear on the printed roster and at student sign-out.

Pickup Note Question

Ask parents to leave a note about student pickup. The answers will be shown on the printed roster and at student sign-out.

School Dashboard

Homeroom question

The homeroom, teacher's name, or a combination of the two can be set up as a drop-down question. Parents select their homeroom teacher during registration, and their answers will be homeroom options on the unified roster page (Read more details here) 

Pickup Question

Ask parents where their students will go after the class. The answers will appear on the printed roster and at student sign-out.

Pickup Note Question

Ask parents to leave a note for student pickup. The answers will be shown on the printed roster and at student sign-out.

Scholarship Question

Use this question to apply a scholarship or discount to specific students. First, create a discount code separately. Then, use this question to collect a unique identifier (like a student ID or name) for each student receiving the scholarship. The identifier must match the one linked to the discount code.

For step-by-step instructions, check out this article.

Where Answers Appear

Session Rosters

Check from the roster page (Rosters & attendance > Session rosters > find the session that you want to see the rosters for > click on the blue “Enrolled” link)

Download CSV

Answers to the custom questions appear in the CSV file for a session when you select “Download CSV”.

Show/Hide attributes

Click the “Show/Hide attributes” button in the left corner, select the custom questions, and answers to the questions will then show up on the roster.

Student Info Panel

Answers to custom questions, including any files uploaded by parents, will appear on the “Info” panel on the right side of the student’s name.

Uploaded files will appear as clickable Document links in this panel, and clicking them will open the file in a new tab.

You can also click on the pencil icon next to a student’s name to see their answers to the custom questions.

Custom Rosters

From the district, school and provider dashboards, you can create a custom roster that includes the questions you created. For more on how to create custom rosters, see this help article.