Release 2026.6.0 delivers critical enhancements to credential reporting, assessment logic, and integrations, with a focus on compliance, data accuracy, and client-specific needs. Major improvements include new search/reporting features, expanded duplicate detection, and technical optimizations for exports and integrations.
New Feature Highlight: PoP Summaries Include Outcome Attained Dates
The Period of Participation (PoP) Summary now shows attained dates for key Outcome Measures instead of simple Yes/No values, making it easier to report outcomes by specific date ranges.
What’s Included:
In the Student > Outcomes > PoP Summary / Measurable Outcomes panel, Outcome Measure columns now display Date Attained, No, or blank instead of Yes/No
This applies to the following Outcome Measures:
Employed 2nd Qtr (Outcome Measure)
Employed 4th Qtr (Outcome Measure)
Attained SSD (Outcome Measure)
Enrolled PS Ed/Trng (Outcome Measure)
Employed w/n 1 year (Outcome Measure)
Attained PS Cred w/n 1 year (Outcome Measure)
For each Outcome Measure, new fields support searching and reporting:
A display field showing Date Attained, No, or blank (matches the PoP Summary column)
A Y/N field that preserves the original Yes/No/Empty values, renamed with a Y/N suffix (for example, “Employed 2nd Qtr (Outcome Measure) Y/N”)
A Date Attained field (for example, “Employed 2nd Qtr (Outcome Measure) Date Attained”) for date-based filtering and reporting
In the All Pops Summary area, default views continue to use the Y/N fields so existing behavior and totals remain unchanged
All new and renamed fields are available for search, custom views, exports, and reporting wherever these Outcome Measure fields are expected
Why It Helps:
Enables reporting on how many students attained specific outcomes within a date range (month, quarter, year, or custom)
Preserves compatibility with existing views and reports that rely on Yes/No outcome flags
Improves visibility into when key employment and education outcomes are actually attained within a PoP
Provides a practical workaround for point-in-time NRS-style outcome reporting by leveraging PoP-level dates
New Feature Highlight: First Pre/Post EFL Gain Export
Users can now export Educational Functioning Level (EFL) gains based specifically on the first pretest → first posttest pairing in each subject area, rather than the highest-level test used for OCTAE reporting. This gives programs a clearer, more auditable view of level gains tied directly to a student’s initial assessment.
What’s Included:
New on-demand export that uses the same mechanism as PIRL (SQL-based .csv generation)
Pulls data from the existing Student Level Gains logic but changes the selection rules to use:
The first pretest in a subject area
The first posttest in that same subject area
Export is driven by the current student selection in the grid
Includes key student and test fields needed for analysis and audits, such as:
AgencyName, LastName, FirstName, StudentID
FiscalYearCode / Fiscal Year context
SubjectArea
PreTestLevel and PostTestLevel
PreTestDate and PostTestDate (with the time trimmed from the dates)
Instrument / Form / Level split into separate columns for easier filtering
Scaled Score for both Pre and Post tests
NonNegativeLevelGains, calculated as the non‑negative difference in EFL ordinal levels:
max(0, Post OrdinalValue – Pre OrdinalValue)
Represents level gains (0, 1, 2, …) rather than scaled-score differences
Optional Subject Area parameter for narrowing the export (aligned with the report contents)
Excludes test types that cannot produce an EFL gain, including:
Alternative Placement
GED
HiSET
Why It Helps:
Gives programs a purpose-built export showing EFL gains from the very first pretest to the first posttest, matching how they want to analyze progress
Improves audit readiness by making the pre/post pairing logic explicit and transparent
Supports easier QA and local analysis with:
Separate Instrument / Form / Level columns for flexible filtering
Pre/Post Scaled Scores to verify gains alongside level changes
A clear NonNegativeLevelGains value that measures level movement, not raw score change
Reduces confusion compared to existing reports that use “highest level” logic for OCTAE, while keeping the PIRL-style export workflow that users already understand
New Feature Highlight: Smarter Duplicate Student Warnings Using Demographics
The duplicate-student check in Student Intake now looks beyond exact first/last name matches and SSN. LACES can flag potential duplicates when a student shares either first OR last name plus matching demographics, helping data entry staff avoid fragmented records even when names don’t line up perfectly.
What’s Included:
Expanded duplicate detection criteria in Student Intake so that a Potential Match warning appears when:
First or last name matches an existing person (but not both), and
Birthdate, Sex, Hispanic/Latino, and Race all match
New “Potential Match on Combination of First or Last Name and Demographics” warning message shown in the intake footer action bar
Demographic fields added to the duplicate-check model to support the new matching logic
Person search logic updated to join to demographics and apply the new “name + demographics” matching rules
Duplicate warnings consolidated into the footer action bar with a clear warning icon, instead of inline fields
Real-time duplicate checks now fire when users change:
First Name, Last Name
SSN
Birthdate and Sex
Hispanic/Latino selection
Race checkboxes
All duplicate triggers (SSN, exact name, birthdate+sex, name+demographics) coordinate so that only one warning message is displayed at a time, with SSN taking top priority
Why It Helps:
Reduces duplicate student records when nicknames, married names, or family naming differences prevent exact first/last name matches
Gives data entry staff a clearer, more prominent warning in the footer, making it easier to notice and act before saving a duplicate
Uses demographics (DOB, Sex, race, Hispanic/Latino) to improve confidence that a “close” name really is the same person
Release Notes
Outcome Attained Dates in Student PoP Summary/Measurable Outcomes panel(LA-22256)
Outcome measures in the PoP Summary/Measurable Outcomes panel now track display the MSG actual date attained, enabling searching and reporting by outcome dates while preserving legacy Yes/No behavior for existing views and reports.
EFL Gain Export (LA-22262)
Introduced a new export/report for Educational Functioning Level (EFL) gain from first pretest to first posttest, with state-aligned logic and filtering for Tennessee programs.
Duplicate Student Detection Enhancements (LA-21898)
Expanded duplicate-warn logic to match on combinations of first/last name and demographic data, reducing the creation of accidental duplicate student records.
PIRL Data Extract Updates (LA-22241, LA-22240)
Fixed cases where PIRL outcome fields incorrectly showed “N/A” and added/updated mappings so postsecondary credentials and outcomes are accurately represented in PIRL exports.
Allow Download of Documents with Unicode Characters (LA-21709)
LACES now stores file names exactly as uploaded, including Unicode and special characters, and allows those documents to be downloaded using the same names.
MSG Type 1d Assessment Logic (LA-21575)
Adjusted MSG Type 1d logic so the same non-HSE subtest cannot be counted multiple times across fiscal years; corrected current-year data where applicable.
Students in Agency of Duplicates Reporting – Non‑Binary Inclusion (LA-21582)
Resolved an issue where non-binary students in Agency of Duplicates (AoD) were omitted from NRS Tables 1 and 2, ensuring they are fully included in related totals.
TopsPro / CASAS Email Matching Updates (LA-22320)
CASAS import now recognizes multiple potential email fields, improving matching of incoming records to existing LACES students and reducing unintended duplicates.
BE/EE Integration – Tennessee Time Rounding (LA-22104)
Removed rounding rules from imported time values in BE/EE integrations so LACES time totals align more closely with external proxy reports.
Pre/Post Assessment Report Performance Optimization (LA-22268)
Refactored stored procedures for pre/post assessment report logic to improve performance and maintainability, particularly in high-volume reporting scenarios.
Deployment and Infrastructure Updates (LA-22231)
Completed post-release infrastructure work, including cleanup and removal of legacy SFTP and export jobs that are no longer required.
Credential Attained Field (LA-22128)
The Postsecondary Credential Attained field now uses a standardized dropdown list of approved credential options to improve data consistency and reporting accuracy.
New Searches for In-School Credit (LA-21896)
Added new summary and demographic Groves searches for In-School Credit, with drill-downs and breakdowns by grade, ethnicity, and gender to support Delaware reporting needs.
Delaware Goals Drill-Down Error (LA-22317)
Fixed an issue where Goals report drill-downs in Delaware would fail with a SQL syntax error when rows contained apostrophes.
Combined HSE Generation (LA-22282)
Updated rules to support High School Equivalency (HSE) diplomas using multiple assessment instruments (including TABE 13/14), with configurable thresholds and subject-level tracking.