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Who this is forDistrict Admin

EDS Staff Setup

Who: District Security Manager (DSM) — done in EDS, not eVAL

Where: EDS, OSPI's Education Data System

eVAL doesn't manage its own accounts. It gets every staff member — along with their building(s) and eVAL role(s) — from EDS. Before anyone can use eVAL, their EDS account must exist and be associated with the right building and role. This is maintained by your District Security Manager.

At the start of a year, that means two jobs: adding people who are new to the district, and removing people who have left. Staff who were already in EDS with an eVAL role simply carry over — there's nothing to redo for them.

:::info This Runs in Parallel — It Isn't a Prerequisite This work doesn't have to happen before your eVAL setup, and it doesn't hold it up. The DSM can work before, during, or after framework selection; staff sync into eVAL nightly either way and are attached to a framework once one is selected.

The reason to start early isn't that it blocks you — it's that nobody can be assigned an evaluator or a plan type until they're in eVAL. The sooner the roster is accurate, the sooner evaluations can be configured and evaluators can begin. :::

New or changed staff flow into eVAL automatically (a nightly sync, and on the person's first sign-in). If someone is missing from eVAL or has the wrong school or role, the fix is almost always in EDS — contact your District Security Manager.

:::note This continues all year EDS isn't a one-time September task. Staff join, leave, and change buildings throughout the year, and the DSM keeps EDS current as that happens — each change flows into eVAL on the next nightly sync. :::

Your District Security Manager (DSM)​

Every district has at least one DSM who manages EDS access. If you're onboarding, you likely already know yours; if not, OSPI publishes the District Security Manager list. The DSM is usually already comfortable with EDS — so this is mainly about telling them what eVAL needs.

What the DSM Does for eVAL​

For people joining the district, the DSM:

  1. Confirms they have an EDS account. Most teachers and principals already do — OSPI requires one to register a teaching certificate. Staff in non-certificated roles (a District Admin, for example) may need a new account created.
  2. Associates their building(s) and eVAL role(s) — for example, Principal at Lincoln Elementary, or District Admin for the district.

For people leaving the district, the DSM removes the eVAL role association so they stop flowing into eVAL. Pruning matters as much as adding: staff who've left otherwise keep appearing in evaluator dropdowns and caseloads, where they're easy to assign by mistake.

For everyone else, nothing is needed. Existing EDS users with an eVAL role continue through to the new year automatically.

The role assigned in EDS becomes the person's role in eVAL. See Roles in eVAL for what each role does.

:::tip Head Principal Covers Principal + School Admin At a school with more than one principal, assign the lead the Head Principal role — it automatically includes the Principal and School Admin roles, so don't add those separately. At a school with a single principal, just assign Principal. :::

:::caution Match the Role to the Building Type EDS won't stop you from putting a district role on a school building, or a school role on the district — but those mismatches don't work correctly in eVAL. Keep school roles (Teacher, Principal, Head Principal, School Admin) on schools, and district roles (District Admin, District Evaluators) on the district. :::

Start Small — Add Roles Only If Needed​

Give each person the fewest roles that cover what they actually do, and add more later only if needed. Two common over-assignments to avoid:

  • District Admin already covers it. A District Admin can do everything a District Assignment Manager (manage assignments) or a District Viewer (read-only oversight) can. Don't stack those on top of District Admin — assign the narrower role only to people who aren't District Admins.
  • District Teacher Evaluator is for the district, not a school. Only assign District Teacher Evaluator to someone who genuinely works at the district level and evaluates teachers across multiple schools. A principal already evaluates the teachers at their own school through the Principal role — they don't need (and shouldn't be given) District Teacher Evaluator.

Learn More (OSPI)​

EDS is an OSPI system, so OSPI maintains the authoritative how-to guides: