Children and families

Review record retention settings

As an owner or organization administrator, open School settings, then Record retention.
Choose a record type and review its current period. Open View changes for saved history.
Check your school’s requirements before shortening a period. Enter whole days, review the change, then save.
Reload after an uncertain save or conflicting change before trying again.

How settings work: Settings apply across the organization. New records save the policy and duration used for their retention. Changing a setting does not delete records now or shorten already saved evidence. Licensing periods, recorded pauses and related records may keep information longer.
History and review: History shows observed changes only; older settings may be unavailable. The application starting period is not legal approval. Child files also use enrollment and licensing history; Review retention on a Leaving child explains its schedule.

Parent access requests

Parents can create a login and scan the school desk code to request access. They must verify email. An account or scan alone never reveals child records; invitation acceptance and consent still apply. This is not a new enrollment inquiry.

Open Children → Access requests.
Confirm you know the parent and select the correct child or matching-email enrollment inquiry.
Approve an invitation or decline.

Review school records

At a Texas child-care center or a licensed or registered Texas home, open a child’s More menu, then School records. Review each item, including the immunization record or exemption, identify where the school keeps the original, and add a reason. Use the document’s expiry date or your school’s next review date when one applies.

Every review stays in history. Listed or unconfirmed home permits and other unsupported jurisdictions show when their checklist is not available. A home permit change requires fresh reviews; earlier history remains visible. On file records the school’s review; it does not upload the original or certify licensing compliance. Missing, unreviewed, expired and due records remain on Home until addressed. A move to another school needs another review there. Family file exports include the history, which is removed with the child’s file.

What this is

Children is the roster of children in your care. A new family can start on Enrollment — parent name only, not the child’s. You can add a child here without a parent login. Connecting parents is highly recommended so they can do their part on Ashby.

Do this

After you sign in, open Enrollment from the left menu for a family still waiting.
For a child already in your care, open Children. Choose Room at the top to see one roster at a time. Choose Unassigned for children without a room. Switching rooms clears checked rows before bulk actions. Add a child is below it.
Add that child — name and date of birth. Parent email is optional. Or upload a CSV or XLSX spreadsheet with up to 500 rows. Match columns and review before Import. Tuition and opening balances are optional; no emails or payments are sent. Existing children and previously imported balances are not duplicated. Put each child’s balance on only one row. Name rooms first in School settings. Age group and how many children sit on each room header on Children — not in School settings.
Add a parent email on the child if you want them on Ashby. We email the invite when you add the child. They sign in with that same email and agree to enrollment. After a spreadsheet upload, check the children you want and tap Invite selected, or tap Invite all pending when you are ready for everyone. This is highly recommended, not required.
On a child row, tap More, then Add a parent. Existing parents show in a table — name, how they are related, email, phone, and whether they use Ashby — including a parent you added when you saved the child. Fill the form to add another. Close and Add a parent sit on one row. A parent with an email shows Invite pending, Uses Ashby, or Does not use Ashby. Tap More on that row, then Invite again, to send another link. Always add email and phone. Send a link only if they should use Ashby. Add a pickup name or Add an emergency name for people who should not get Ashby. The same person can be both — pick someone already on the child, or add someone new. Site leads can open Care notes.
Each row has a Status mark — green File ready, or Fill missing info. Tap Fill missing info to see what to add. Tap More, then Edit to change the child’s name, date of birth, weekly tuition, photo, or (in Texas) immunization status. Room stays on the roster. Check rows for Move to room, Invite selected, or Left the program.
Photo and extra-sharing choices are on that invite. Enrollment consent is always required.
After a room move, an age-matched tuition plan may be suggested. Choose Keep current plan or review the amount and choose Switch plan.

Open Ashby

How it works

The parent table lets staff view details, add another parent and resend a pending invitation. It does not currently have a general Edit action for an existing parent’s name, email or phone. Do not create a duplicate parent as a workaround.

A child belongs to your program. A room is where they are placed today. Moving rooms later keeps a history of where they were.

After a child leaves, Leaving shows the earliest file removal date. Each school attended and later record expiries can extend the hold. Changing school settings does not replace saved retention history. Older or backdated files may need review. Choose Review retention on Leaving to see the current hold, a related record’s later date, or what needs review. A file with no saved removal date is paused; opening the review does not resume removal. Keep opens a hold review. Choose a reason and Review by date, then Save hold. A due review never releases the file automatically. Review or release the hold from File retention; required clocks are still checked. Open Hold history to see recorded reasons, review dates and releases. Earlier changes loads older decisions; history may not include decisions made before recording began. Automatic cleanup keeps tagged classroom photos, event RSVPs and signed permission records while held. Recorded holds also pause message cleanup and permanent message removal across the school. Related conversations, family group posts and replies can extend a child file’s removal date. Tagged photos and their comments can also extend a child file’s removal date. Reminder cleanup has its own rules. Files with unresolved licensing rules or record expiries stay for review. Remove now works only after all required holds have ended.

Moving rooms keeps the selected tuition plan and any adjustment. A suggested plan changes tuition only after you confirm. Existing invoices keep their original amounts.

Child: first name, last name, date of birth. Educators only see children in their assigned rooms.
Room: named in School settings. One room can auto-place a new child. Two or more: pick one. On Children, each room shows who is in it, the age group, and how many children it is set for. A warning appears if the room is over that number. It does not block save.
Guardian: a parent on the child. Mother and father are both guardians. Always add email and phone. Invite pending means the link is out and they have not accepted yet. Uses Ashby means they accepted. Invite again sends another link. Staff and a parent who already uses Ashby can both add another parent.
Status: Green File ready when name, a parent on the child or a parent invite waiting, and an emergency name are on the file. Texas locations also need immunization status. Fill missing info when any of those are empty. You can still run the roster. The doctor’s note stays on paper.
Pickup and emergency: names and a phone on the child. They do not get Ashby. The same person can be both — pick someone already on the child, or add someone new. A parent can be the emergency name. Do not add a pickup name as a parent.
Waitlist: a parent lead on Enrollment. No child name yet. When you admit them, invite if you want them on Ashby — they fill the child’s details and you approve. Or add the child here without a login.
Billing → Tuition plans: same as the location weekly rate, a different weekly amount, or a percent off. It lives on the open enrollment so a room move keeps the history.
Photo: one picture on the child file. Staff can add or see it only when a parent has agreed to photos. It is not a gallery.
Immunization: Texas locations store current, exempt, or missing, plus an as-of date. Other states keep shots on paper.
Enrollment consent: records needed to provide care. Always required. Photos and extra sharing are separate.

Browse all childcare guides or explore Ashby’s features.