Reseller Notes
Reseller Notes: Observers Can Reopen Observations Again
A fix for observers and evaluators who lost the Reopen button in June. What to tell districts who reported it.
Published
What happened
Section titled “What happened”In June, a release accidentally narrowed who is allowed to reopen an observation. Before that release, anyone set up as an Observer or an Evaluator could reopen their own work. Afterwards, only Organization Administrators and System Administrators could.
That was not an intended change. It was a defect, and it has been fixed. Observers and Evaluators can reopen again, exactly as they could before June.
Nothing to enable and no district action required.
Who this affected
Section titled “Who this affected”Anyone set up as an Observer or an Evaluator who is not also an administrator. Coaches are the most common case: many districts deliberately keep coaches out of the administrator roles so they cannot see the formal evaluations that evaluators conduct.
If a district has coaches who are administrators as well, they never lost the button and will notice nothing.
Districts that only ever reopen through an administrator are also unaffected.
What they were seeing
Section titled “What they were seeing”
This is an observer looking at an observation he closed himself. The Closure section at the bottom says so. There was no Reopen button in the toolbar and nothing in the panel on the right.
The common report was a coach who closed a form before they had finished writing, and then had no way back in. One district described it this way: “I closed one before I was done typing. In the past there was a button one could click to reopen it and I’m not seeing where/how to do this.”
What they see now
Section titled “What they see now”
Reopen is back in both of the places it lives: the toolbar at the top of the observation, and the card in the panel on the right.
Reopening still asks for a reason
Section titled “Reopening still asks for a reason”
This part has not changed. Reopening requires a written note explaining why, and the reopen is recorded permanently with the person’s name, the time, and their note. An observer reopening their own work leaves exactly the same trail an administrator would.
If a district asks whether this weakens their records, that is the answer: nothing is quietly rewritten, and every reopen is on the record.
What did not change
Section titled “What did not change”- Teachers still cannot reopen. Only Observers, Evaluators, and administrators can.
- Administrators are unaffected. They could reopen throughout and still can.
- The written reason is still required, and the audit trail still records every reopen.
- Who can see the reopen history is unchanged. That remains an administrator view.
- Nothing to turn on. No new setting and no configuration step.
If a district asks
Section titled “If a district asks”| They say | You can say |
|---|---|
| ”Our coaches can’t reopen their own forms any more.” | That was a defect introduced in June and it is fixed. They can reopen again, with no change needed on your side. |
| ”How long was it broken?” | From the June release until this one. We are sorry it took a report from the field to catch it. |
| ”Do we need to make our coaches administrators to fix this?” | No. Please don’t. Observers and Evaluators can reopen again, so coaches can stay out of the administrator roles and away from the formal evaluations. |
| ”Does letting observers reopen weaken our audit record?” | No. Reopening still requires a written reason, and every reopen is recorded permanently with the person’s name and the time. |
| ”Can a teacher reopen their own observation?” | No. That has never been possible and has not changed. |