Create a Form

How to create forms and permission slips in ParentSquare — including one-time forms attached to a post, reusable templates in the Forms Repository, and digitized versions of existing paper forms. Teachers, admins, and group leaders can add fields for signatures, text responses, checkboxes, and file uploads. Choose the creation mode that matches your use case: one-time for a single post, repository for forms you will reuse across classrooms or schools, or digitize to convert an existing paper form into an electronic version.

Who can use this?
Admin, Teachers, Group Owners, Room Parents, and anybody with permission to post at districts and schools (Forms Repository requires School/District Admin or individual user permission for Forms).

Choose the creation mode that fits your need:

• One-time form - Build a form directly inside a post when you only need it once.
• Reusable form in the Forms Repository - Save templates for frequently used forms and permission slips.
• Digitize an existing paper form - Convert a hard-copy form into a reusable ParentSquare template.

Forms must be enabled for your school. Admins can contact ParentSquare support to enable Forms. To watch a video on Forms and Permission Slips, click here.

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Create a One-Time Form

Forms and permission slips make it easy to collect parent permission for things like field trips and special school events. Parents can sign online, and you can view, print, and export reports of completed forms. You can also create surveys using forms to gather input from your school community or class.

Follow the steps below to create a post with a permission slip form.

1. From Home, click New Post. Fill out To and Subject fields and Description (optional).
2. Under Post Add-ons select Forms/Permissions.
   
   
3. Select the date when the form needs to be completed. Users will not be able to fill out the form after this date at 11:59 PM (school's timezone).
4. Select Create a new form.
   
   
5. Choose the appropriate form options (see Form Options below).
   
   
6. Enter Question, select Type of answer, and choose yes or no if an answer is Required. Click Add Question as needed.
   
   
7. Click Post Now.
   
   

Form Options

Forms have several options. Select the ones that apply:

• Form requires signature - For more about electronic signatures and disclaimers, see How to Use Electronic Signatures.
  • For giving permission to child, such as a field trip form - click Show Disclaimer.
  • For indicating approval/agreement, such as a media release form - click Show Disclaimer.
  • For verification, such as a residency form - click Show Disclaimer.
• Form can have attachments - select:
  • Attachment is optional, or
  • Attachment is mandatory.
• Require student information is checked by default. This allows a parent to select their child(ren) in a drop-down on the form. The following information is pre-populated: student ID, student name, student grade, student class, parent user name, parent email, and parent phone.
  • Allow repeat submissions for each student allows the form to be completed more than once for the same student. Note: repeat submissions cannot be selected if the form requires a signature.
• Require payment with form submission (if ParentSquare Pay is enabled) - collect payments at the same time the form is submitted.
  • Payment account for deposits - select an account from the drop-down.

Form Requires Payment

If you have ParentSquare Pay enabled, you can request payment with the form. Note: Payment can be required for both newly created forms and existing forms selected from the repository.

1. Select Require payment with form submission, and fill in the following details.
2. Enter the item, Account code (if you use them), and Price (optional).
3. Click Add Item to add another item.
   
   

Responses

Parents can complete the online form by logging into ParentSquare from a browser or the app. After the form is posted and parents complete it, access responses from the Forms Report.

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Create a Reusable Form in the Forms Repository

Schools and districts can create frequently used form and permission slip templates in the Forms Repository. Form templates can be created at the district and shared with school sites (see How to Share District Forms with School Sites). Advanced forms can be created with multiple sections, custom consent disclaimer text, and attachments.

Open the Forms Repository

1. From Add-ons in the top menu, click Forms/Permissions in the left sidebar. You will see your Forms Repository.
   
   

2. From the New Form drop-down menu, select one option:

   • Build your own
   • Duplicate existing form
   • Build from ParentSquare Template

   
   

Build Your Own

1. Fill in form details: Form For, Category, Form Title, Description (optional).
2. Select the appropriate options:
   • Form requires signature. For more about electronic signatures and disclaimers, see How to Use Electronic Signatures in a Form.
   • Form can have attachment and select optional or mandatory.
   • Require student information is checked by default. Allows a parent to select their child(ren) in the drop-down menu of the form. Child's ID, name, grade, and class are automatically pre-populated.
3. Type in Questions, select the answer Type, and yes or no for Required.
4. Click Add Question or +Add Another Section as needed.
5. Click Publish to add to the Forms Repository.
   
   

Duplicate an Existing Form

1. From the Forms Repository, you will see a list of forms that have been created.
2. Click View > Duplicate on the form you want to use.
3. Make changes to the form as needed.
4. Click Publish to add to the Forms Repository.
   
   

Build from ParentSquare Template

1. You will see a list of ParentSquare templates that you can use.
2. Click Duplicate on the form you want to use. Or, click the drop-down arrow next to Duplicate and select View to see it first.
3. Make changes to the form as needed.
4. Click Publish to add to the Forms Repository.
   
   

Delete a Form in the Forms Repository

1. From the Forms Repository, click View to the right of the form you want to remove.
   
   
2. Click Delete at the top.
   
   
3. Confirm by clicking Yes, I'm positive.
   
   

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Digitize an Existing Paper Form

To get started with forms and permissions, transfer your existing school forms into your Forms Repository in ParentSquare. The steps below walk through creating a generic field trip permission form from an existing hard-copy form.

1. From Add-ons in the top menu, click Forms/Permissions in the left sidebar.
2. You will see your Forms Repository. From the New Form drop-down menu, select Build your own.
   
   
3. You will see a New Form blank template to populate with information from your existing form. Under Form For, select Staff, Parents, Students, or any combination of these. Under Category, select an existing category or add a new category. Categories help keep your forms and permission slips organized.
   
   
4. The first section of the form includes general information for parents that is relevant to the form and field trip.
   
   
   
   Include this information in the description box of the form along with any other details about the field trip, such as time and location.
   
   
5. Here is what the signature portion looks like on the original paper form:
   
   
   
   In ParentSquare, select Form requires signature and then For giving permission to child. Click Show Disclaimer and then click Edit in the top right corner.
   
   
   
   Copy and paste the consent language from your form, making edits as needed. When ready, click Done in the top right corner.
   
   
   
   Parent name and date the form is completed are automatically captured on the form.
   
   In this section, you can also select whether the form should require student information. If selected, users choose their student from a drop-down list and the student's name, ID number, grade, and class automatically pre-populate on the form in ParentSquare.
   
   
   
   For more information and other options on using electronic signatures, see How to Use Electronic Signatures in a Form.
6. Scroll down to the Questions section and add questions. You can include multiple sections of questions to keep your form organized. Here is the first section of questions on the field trip form:
   
   
   
   ParentSquare forms automatically capture user information, including name, phone, and email, as long as it is listed in their account. For this reason, those questions are omitted. Emergency contact information is still included to allow phone numbers not in the account.
   
   You can select different question types, including short answer, paragraph, select one, select many, or date. This lets you customize your questions to match your existing form.
   
   Click Add Instructions at the top of the section for special instructions. Here are the questions as created in ParentSquare:
   
   
7. Click +Add Another Section at the bottom of the page to add a new set of questions. Here is the second section of questions on the field trip form:
   
   
   
   For these questions, select answer Type > Paragraph to allow longer, more detailed answers. Because these answers are not required, select Required > No. Here is how they look on the template:
   
   
8. When ready, click Save and Preview or Publish. The form will be saved to your Forms Repository for use in posts.
   
   

To translate your forms into another language, see How to Create Translated Forms/Permission Slips.