SchoolsBuddy offers seamless Single Sign-On (SSO) integration with a variety of providers including ManageBac+, Google, Microsoft Office 365, and several major MIS platforms. This allows your school community to access the platform using their existing institutional credentials.

Setting up SSO simplifies the login process, as users who are already authenticated with their provider will be logged straight into SchoolsBuddy without needing to enter a separate password.

Overview

SSO is available for staff, parents, and students. Once configured, a dedicated button appears on your login page. If a user is already logged into their provider account (e.g., Gmail or Azure AD), SchoolsBuddy will authenticate their email automatically and grant immediate access.

Key Concepts

Before implementing SSO, please review these essential operational details:

• User Import: New users must be imported into SchoolsBuddy before they can log in via SSO. The automated data import runs every 24 hours (between 1:00 AM – 3:00 AM in your server's default timezone).
• No Activation Required: Users do not need to be manually activated to use SSO; they can log in the moment their data is successfully imported.
• Welcome Emails: We can customize your welcome email template to remove the "Set Password" link if your school intends to use SSO exclusively.
• Homepage Customization: Upon request, we can remove the standard username/password login fields to ensure all users authenticate through SSO.

Step-by-Step Navigation

Self-Service Setup (ManageBac+, Google, Azure AD, Office 365)

1. Log in to your SchoolsBuddy account with administrative privileges.
2. Navigate to the Authentication/SSO settings menu.
3. Follow the prompts to authorize your specific provider.

MIS-Specific Setup (iSAMS & PowerSchool)

1. For iSAMS: Contact the iSAMS support team to retrieve your integration credentials, then apply them within SchoolsBuddy.
2. For PowerSchool: Install the SchoolsBuddy plugin in PowerSchool, then provide your credentials and signing key to the SchoolsBuddy Support team.

Support-Assisted Setup (Firefly, MySchoolPortal, Clever)

1. Identify your specific portal URL for Firefly or MySchoolPortal.
2. Contact the SchoolsBuddy Support team with your URL or a request to enable Clever SSO.
3. Our team will finalize the backend configuration for you.

Tips & Best Practices

• Hybrid Access: By default, users can still log in with an email and password. This is useful as a fallback during your initial SSO rollout.
• SSO-Only Workflow: If you want to enforce SSO, ask us to remove the password fields from your login page and the "Set Password" link from welcome emails.
• Daily Sync: Remember that user access is tied to the daily import cycle (1:00 AM – 3:00 AM). If a user is added to your MIS today, they can log in via SSO tomorrow.

Warnings & Important Notes

Important Limitations:

• We currently cannot offer SSO for VeraCross or Engage.
• Users must exist in the SchoolsBuddy database via an import before the SSO provider can successfully authenticate them.

Related Articles

• iSAMS Integration Guide
• Understanding the Daily Data Import
• Customizing SchoolsBuddy Welcome Emails

Frequently Asked Questions

Do users need to set a password if we use SSO?

No. If SSO is enabled, users can bypass the password creation process entirely. We can even remove password references from your welcome emails upon request.

What happens if a user is already logged into their school email?

The authentication is automatic. When they click the SSO button on the SchoolsBuddy login page, they will be logged in immediately without having to type their credentials again.

In Summary

• SSO is available for staff, parents, and students via ManageBac+, Google, Microsoft, and several MIS providers.
• New users must be imported into the system before they can log in via SSO.
• Configuration can be done via self-service for common providers or via the SchoolsBuddy Support team for others.

Simplify your school's login experience with SchoolsBuddy SSO.