Students may be assigned State Alternate ID numbers as an alternative to a Social Security Number (SSN). The State Alternate ID is stored in encrypted form in the Encrypted Student/Staff Data (ESD) table. The state of Texas provides districts with a "bank" (or range) of State Alternate IDs, which can be stored in Aeries and assigned to students as needed.
Note: State Alternate IDs are not Unique IDs. State Alternate IDs are alternative identifying numbers, used in place of SSNs if the student does not have an SSN or if their SSN has not been provided. See the Texas - Unique Identifier documentation for more information on assigning Unique IDs. See the Texas - Secure Access to Student SSNs documentation for more information on assigning SSNs.
Permissions for State Alternate ID Management
Update permissions to the Encrypted Student/Staff Data security area are required to assign a new State Alternate ID to a student. Admin permissions to ESD are needed to change the State Alternate ID settings on the District Settings page. Additionally, the District Settings page will display the State Alternate ID settings based on whether the user has Read/Update permissions to the District Rules security area and Admin permissions to ESD.
Configuration of State Alternate IDs on the District Settings Page
The administration of State Alternate IDs is configured on the District Settings page. An option is provided to have the system display a warning on a student's Demographics page, when the student does not have an SSN or State Alternate ID recorded:
If this option is not checked, the warning on the Demographics page will not be displayed. Additionally, the warning will be displayed only for users who have Update permissions to ESD.
The distribution of State Alternate IDs is configured in the State Assigned Alternate ID Settings section of the District Settings page:
After the state has provided the bank of State Alternate IDs, the numbers should be recorded here. Click Change at the bottom of the page to move into Edit mode.
The Prefix is pre-filled with S, but can be changed. The Starting Number and Ending Number should be the first and last numbers in the state-provided bank of numbers. These options are saved in the District Options Table (DPT).
When a new bank of numbers is recorded, the Next Number field should be set to the same as the Starting Number. The Next Number will increment automatically if State Alternate IDs are assigned by Aeries on the Demographics page using the Assign Alternate ID button. If numbers are assigned manually, the Next Number will not increment, but it can be changed manually, if needed.
For example, if the state provided a new bank consisting of the numbers 10000000 - 10001000, then the settings should originally be filled out as shown:
Assigning State Alternate IDs on the Student Demographics Page
State Alternate IDs are assigned at the school level, in the Encrypted Student Data area, on the Student Data 2 tab of the student Demographics page:
The Encypted Student Data button and area will not be displayed unless Allow Collection of Social Security Numbers via Encrypted Student/Staff Data (ESD) is enabled on the School Settings page. See Encrypted Student Data for more information.
The warning Student Does Not Have an SSN or State Alternate ID will be displayed if Warn when students do not have an SSN or State Alternate ID is selected on the District Settings page. If that option is not selected, the warning will not be displayed. Additionally, only users with Update permissions to ESD will see these warnings.
Click on the Encrypted Student Data button to view the Encrypted Student Data area for a student who does not have an SSN or State Alternate ID recorded. An Assign State Alternate ID button will be displayed:
At this time, if an SSN or an Alternate State ID should be recorded manually, press the Edit button and type in the number as usual. Press the Save button to save the record.
Alternatively, to have the system automatically assign the next available Alternate State ID, press the Assign State Alternate ID button.
A warning message will be displayed:
Press Cancel to abandon the process or press OK to assign a State Alternate ID:
A green message will be displayed to indicate a State Alternate ID was assigned:
The next available State Alternate ID number from the bank, as recorded on District Settings, will be assigned. Click the Lock/Un-lock button. The Next Number on District Settings will be incremented. When the next student is assigned a State Alternate ID, the next available number will be assigned.
If the bank of numbers was not recorded in the State Alternate ID Settings on District Settings, when the Assign State Alternate ID button is pressed, a blue message will be displayed:
If this message is displayed, check the State Assigned Alternate ID Settings on District Settings to see if the bank of numbers has been recorded correctly.
When the bank of numbers is nearly used up, another message will be displayed when a State Alternate ID is assigned:
This message indicates that there are twenty more available State Alternate IDs in the current bank. At this time, a new bank of State Alternate IDs should be obtained for use when the current bank runs out.