MDE-EdFi-Documentation

Joint Powers Certification Patterns & Scenarios

For MARSS data reporting, Minnesota has several education organizations with a joint powers agreement to manage certain programs for their member districts. These programs include State Approved Alternative Programs.

These joint powers agreements pose a challenge for syncing MARSS data to MDE using Ed-Fi. Typically student data must first be shared between the joint powers district and their member districts before reporting MARSS data to MDE.

During the 2024-25 school year, MDE will pilot Ed-Fi support for students served in programs under these joint powers agreements. The patterns and scenarios listed here are intended to help vendors understand how the Ed-Fi API can support a data submission via the Student Education Organization Responsibility Association (SEORA), and typical situations when such a submission is desirable.

Reference Information

In order to facilitate understanding of these situations, patterns, and scenarios, we have provided the following reference documents for vendors:

The MDE and MNIT teams highly recommend reviewing these documents before programming an implementation of SEORA records, and asking questions of the Ed-Fi Project Support team (EdFiProjectSupportMNIT.MDE@state.mn.us) as necessary.

Patterns & Scenarios

The following two patterns contain collections of individual student scenarios. The reasoning behind using the patterns, along with sample data for each, are available in the Certification Pattern Spreadsheet.

Both patterns have a prerequisite of a Sandbox loaded with Education Organizations and ResponsibilityDescriptor. Vendors can expect to be certified on those sandboxes.

Within each pattern, scenarios are presented on a student-by-student enrollment record basis, because MDE expects that SIS software will benefit from tight integration between SSA and SEORA records. However, if vendors prefer to be tested on a resource-by-resource basis (first SSAs, then SEORAs), that is acceptable.

Student and School Identifiers used in the scenarios below are for reference only in order to demonstrate the required integration. Vendors are expected to generate their own student identifiers and to use school IDs from districts they support. Any additional school identifiers needed can be acquired from the ODS API, as detailed in the Read-Only Endpoints section of the Data Requirements and API Resources document.

Pattern 1: Member SEORA

Prerequisite Data

Student A Enrollment 1

SSA
SEORA

Student A Enrollment 2

SSA
SEORA

Student B Enrollment 1

SSA
SEORA

Student B Enrollment 2

SSA
SEORA

Student C Enrollment 1

SSA
SEORA

Student C Enrollment 2

SSA
SEORA

Student D Enrollment

SSA
SEORA

Student E Enrollment 1

SSA
SEORA

Student E Enrollment 2

SSA
SEORA

Pattern 2: JP SEORA

Prerequisite Data

Student I Enrollment 1

SSA
SEORA

Student I Enrollment 2

SSA
SEORA

Student J Enrollment 1

SSA
SEORA

Student J Enrollment 2

SSA
SEORA