Where and when service may happen
- Allowed windows are long enough for the required session
- No-pull or blocked windows are recorded separately
- Week A, week B, or both is correct
- Location and effective dates match the current school schedule
School-based OT scheduling
Build a weekly schedule around the school day.
Add student and provider availability, no-pull times, groups, travel, plan dates, and A/B weeks. The School OT builds a draft, shows which services did not fit and why, and waits for you to accept the week.
92% placedDraft v3 · Week A
- ✓ 23 services fit the week
- ! 2 services need your decision
Before you build the week
Fix missing availability and scheduling details first.
If a student has no allowed window, the scheduler has nowhere to begin. If the assigned COTA is unavailable during every student window, there is no eligible match. If campus travel takes 20 minutes and the calendar leaves 10, those blocks cannot sit next to each other.
When a service cannot fit, the draft shows the reason instead of forcing it into a time that breaks a school-day rule.
Required scheduling information
Enter the information the schedule needs.
Run this check whenever a new plan, provider assignment, bell schedule, campus, or A/B pattern changes.
What the active plan requires
- Frequency period and session minutes are current
- Delivery mode and maximum group size are accurate
- Provider credential and location preference are recorded
- The plan is active on the date being scheduled
Who is eligible and available
- The student assignment is active
- Provider role satisfies the requirement
- Availability and blocked commitments are current
- Campus location and effective dates are correct
What is already committed
- The week start and A/B label are correct
- Locked events still belong in the new draft
- School closures are entered as blackout dates
- Travel rules reflect the actual campus transition
Scheduling rules
Check every scheduled service against the same rules.
The scheduler gives more weight to preferred student times, services that are falling behind, earlier times in the week, and compatible groups. Every option still has to pass the travel check. A preferred time can rank valid choices, but it cannot override a scheduling rule.
- 01
Student availability
The full session must fit inside an allowed student window.
- 02
Blocked and no-pull windows
A proposed block cannot overlap a dated, recurring, or A/B-specific restriction.
- 03
Student conflicts
The same student cannot be placed in overlapping accepted or locked events.
- 04
Provider availability
The provider must have a matching window at the same location or an unrestricted location.
- 05
Effective dates
The plan, student window, and provider window must all be active on the proposed date.
- 06
Active assignment
The provider must be assigned to every student in the proposed block.
- 07
Provider credential
An OTR-only service stays with an eligible OTR. A COTA-only requirement stays with a COTA.
- 08
Locked commitments
Existing locked events hold their time while the rest of the draft is rebuilt.
- 09
Group compatibility
Students must share duration, location, intersecting windows, credential compatibility, and an allowed group size.
- 10
A/B week pattern
A Week A window cannot be used in Week B, and the reverse is also blocked.
- 11
Campus travel time
The gap between locations must meet the configured route time or workspace travel buffer.
Unscheduled services
See why a service could not be scheduled.
Each unscheduled service includes a reason. Use it to decide whether information needs correcting, the draft needs changing, or the clinician and school team need to make a decision outside the tool.
NO_ELIGIBLE_PROVIDERCheck the assigned clinician and required credentials
Confirm that an active assigned clinician has the role required by the service. Opening more student time will not help if no eligible provider exists.
NO_ALLOWED_WINDOWCheck student availability
Look for a missing availability window, an incorrect effective date, or a session duration longer than every recorded window.
WINDOWS_BLOCKED_OR_OCCUPIEDCheck schedule conflicts
Allowed time exists, but restrictions, locked work, other events, or campus travel consume it. Decide which source fact can actually change.
NO_FEASIBLE_PLACEMENTReview the full schedule
The student and provider have time, but not at the same usable moment. Try a justified manual move, change an input that is truly wrong, or plan recovery work with the appropriate team.
Unscheduled service example
Review why a service was not scheduled.
ST-022 needs one 30-minute OTR session in Week B at North Elementary. The first draft leaves it unplaced.
Check plan dates and the Week A or B setting
If the service begins next Monday or the draft is actually Week A, leaving the block out may be correct.
Compare student and clinician availability
The student is available Tuesday from 9:00 to 10:00. The assigned OTR is available there from 9:15 to 9:45. That creates one exact 30-minute candidate.
Check travel time and locked schedule blocks
The OTR has a locked 8:45 to 9:15 block at South Elementary. The route needs 20 minutes. The apparent 9:15 opening is not reachable.
Choose how to resolve the issue
Moving the locked block, assigning another eligible OTR, or adding a valid student window could solve the collision. Shortening the travel rule to force a fit would make the data less true.
Schedule review
Review the clinical fit before accepting the schedule.
The checks below require human judgment. The scheduler does not know whether a time supports participation, whether a group makes clinical sense, or whether a technically available transition is realistic for the student.
Can you account for every active service as scheduled, already completed for the period, or intentionally left for a documented decision?
Do pull times make sense around instruction, meals, transportation, fatigue, regulation, and other services even when the time is allowed?
Does each group fit the service requirements and make sense for the students' goals, supports, and likely participation?
Does the sequence leave enough time for transitions, documentation, meetings, lunch, and real campus conditions?
Does the draft help students who are falling behind without disrupting students who are currently on track?
Which students, teachers, and clinicians would need notice? A mathematically better week may create more disruption than it resolves.
Schedule changes
Create, edit, lock, accept, or restore a schedule.
Dragging a draft block and using the accessible edit form run the same server-side checks. An accepted week cannot be replaced by a treating OTR or COTA. Owners and supervisor OTRs can accept a new version, and the earlier accepted version remains available for restoration.
Use locks for commitments that should survive the next generation pass. Avoid locking most of the week by habit; too many locks can turn a solvable draft into a wall of collisions.
Follow the accepted week into documentationFAQ
What the scheduler does and does not decide.
Does generating a schedule change the live week?
No. The result is a versioned draft. It becomes the accepted week only after an authorized owner or supervisor OTR reviews and accepts it.
Why did two students fail to group?
Compare their delivery modes, maximum group sizes, session lengths, locations, allowed windows, effective dates, provider credentials, and assigned eligible providers. Every part must be compatible.
Should I loosen a no-pull window to improve coverage?
Only if the recorded restriction is wrong or the appropriate school team has changed it. A higher placement percentage is not evidence that the new window is appropriate.
What happens after an absence?
The completed attendance record can add a missed-service follow-up task and update the student’s remaining minutes. The clinician and district decide whether, when, and how to provide a makeup.
Schedule draft