/contacts (aka. /parents)

WI DPI WISEdata Ed-Fi Docs

/contacts (aka. /parents)


Reporting Parent and Guardian Information to WISEdata Portal

Reporting parent and guardian information to the WISEdata Portal enables integration with various services, including the Wisconsin eSchool Network, food service programs, and some special education vendors.

Vendors must program the /contacts (parents) and /studentContactAssociations (studentParentAssociations) endpoints to support LEAs must report parent and guardian data to the WISEdata Portal as needed.

Food Service Programs: If an LEA participates in federal school meal programs (e.g., National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)), these endpoints are mandatory. The WISEdata Portal will validate and require parent/contact and guardian data (Name, Address) for students eligible for free and reduced-priced meals.

This endpoint is expected from Choice schools.

Ed-Fi Tech Docs:


Data Properties:

#

Property Name

Data Type

Public (Required/ Optional/ Conditional)

Choice (Required/ Optional/ Conditional)

Business Definition

Data Element Page

1.0 A

contactUniqueId* (25/26 SY and later)

string

REQ'D

REQ'D

A unique alphanumeric code assigned to a parent.

contactUniqueId: [LEA ID+’-’+contact ID in SIS system]

https://dpi.wi.gov/wise/data-elements/parent-guardian-wisedata

1.0 B

parentUniqueId* (24/25 SY and prior)

string

REQ'D

REQ'D

A unique alphanumeric code assigned to a parent.

parentUniqueId: [LEA ID+’-’+contact unique ID in SIS system]

https://dpi.wi.gov/wise/data-elements/parent-guardian-wisedata

2.0

firstName

string

REQ'D

REQ'D

A name given to an individual at birth, baptism, or during another naming ceremony, or through legal change.

NA

3.0

middleName

string

OPT

OPT

A secondary name given to an individual at birth, baptism, or during another naming ceremony.

NA

4.0

LastSurname

string

REQ'D

REQ'D

The name borne in common by members of a family.

NA

5.0

generationCodeSuffix

string

OPT

OPT

An appendage, if any, used to denote an individual's generation in his family (e.g., Jr., Sr., III).

NA

6.0

parentAddress

array

CONDITIONALLY REQ’D

CONDITIONALLY REQ’D

An unordered collection of contactAddresses. Parent's address, if different from the student address and/or [Placeholder] when the student's Economically Disadvantaged Type (FRAN) is either 'Free' or 'Reduced'.

NA

7.0

addressTypeDescriptor

string

CONDITIONALLY REQ’D

CONDITIONALLY REQ’D

The type of address listed for an individual or organization. Values are: Mailing, and Home.

NA

8.0

streetNumberName

string

CONDITIONALLY REQ’D

CONDITIONALLY REQ’D

The street number and street name or post office box number of an address.

NA

9.0

apartmentRoomSuiteNumber

string

CONDITIONALLY REQ’D

CONDITIONALLY REQ’D

The apartment, room, or suite number of an address.

NA

10.0

city

string

CONDITIONALLY REQ’D

CONDITIONALLY REQ’D

The name of the city in which an address is located.

NA

11.0

stateAbbreviationDescriptor

string

CONDITIONALLY REQ’D

CONDITIONALLY REQ’D

The abbreviation for the state (within the United States) or outlying area in which an address is located.

NA

12.0

postalCode

string

CONDITIONALLY REQ’D

CONDITIONALLY REQ’D

The five or nine digit zip code or overseas postal code portion of an address.

NA

13.0

parentElectronicMail

array

OPT

OPT

An unordered collection of parentElectronicMails. The numbers, letters, and symbols used to identify an electronic mail (e-mail) user within the network to which the individual or organization belongs.

NA

14.0

electronicMailTypeDescriptor

string

OPT

OPT

The type of email listed for an individual or organization. Values are: Home/Personal, or Work

NA

15.0

electronicMailAddress

string

OPT

OPT

The electronic mail (e-mail) address listed for an individual or organization.

NA

16.0

parentLanguage

array

OPT

OPT

An unordered collection of parentLanguages. The language(s) the individual uses to communicate. It is strongly recommended that entries use only ISO 639-2 language codes.

NA

17.0

languageDescriptor

string

OPT

OPT

A specification of which written or spoken communication is being used.

NA

18.0

parentTelephone

array

OPT

OPT

An unordered collection of parentTelephones. The 10-digit telephone number, including the area code, for the person.

NA

19.0

telephoneNumberTypeDescriptor (2025-26 and after)

string

REQ'D

OPT

The type of communication number listed for an individual or organization. Values are: Mobile (M); Home (H); Work (W); and Other (O).

NA

20.0

telephoneNumber (2025-26 and after)

string

REQ'D

OPT

The telephone number including the area code, and extension, if applicable.

NA


Descriptors:

NameSpace

Code Value

Short Description

Long Description

NameSpace

Code Value

Short Description

Long Description

uri://dpi.wi.gov/AddressTypeDescriptor
( Removed 2026-27 SY)

H

Home

Home

M

Mailing

Mailing

uri://ed-fi.org/AddressTypeDescriptor
( Added 2026-27 SY)

Home

Home

Home

Mailing

Mailing

Mailing

Physical

Physical

Physical

uri://ed-fi.org/StateAbbreviationDescriptor

There are over 60 values for state abbreviation. See the Swagger documentation for descriptor values https://uaapps.dpi.wi.gov/EdFiSwagger/index.html?urls.primaryName=Descriptors#/stateAbbreviationDescriptors

uri://dpi.wi.gov/ElectronicMailTypeDescriptor
( Removed 2026-27 SY)

H

Home/Personal

Home/Personal

W

Work

Work

uri://ed-fi.org/ElectronicMailTypeDescriptor
( Added 2026-27 SY)

Home/Personal

Home/Personal

Home/Personal

Work

Work

Work

uri://dpi.wi.gov/LanguageDescriptor

There are over 400 values for language. See the Swagger documentation for descriptor values https://uaapps.dpi.wi.gov/EdFiSwagger/index.html?urls.primaryName=Descriptors#/languageDescriptors

uri://dpi.wi.gov/TelephoneNumberTypeDescriptor

H

Home

Home

M

Mobile

Mobile

O

Other

Other

W

Work

Work


Use Cases:

#

Use Case Title

Use Case Description

What to Submit/retrieve

#

Use Case Title

Use Case Description

What to Submit/retrieve

1.0

Sending parent/guardian information for each parent/guardian

The /contact and /studentContactAssociation resources have been renamed to /contacts and /studentContactAssociation starting 25-26 SY.

The parent/guardian data collection is optional for LEAs to submit to WISEdata.

  • The vendor authorization is based on that LEA ID prefix (e.g. 5006058-JS007), which is the LEA ID in the target year, i.e. 2021-22 SY.

  • The order for posting JSON is: /student, /studentSchoolAssociation, /contact, then /studentContactAssociation

  • The First Name, Last Name, and Contact Unique ID are required data properties. Other data properties are optional.

  • Without posting the /studentContactAssociation record, vendor cannot do a GET on /contact

  • The /contact record cannot be updated until the /studentContactAssociation record is posted.

For 2024-25 SY, the parent/guardian data collection has been updated to include legal guardian information, living arrangements, and primary contact status.

These new data elements will facilitate the distribution of Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (S-EBT) cards to families, ensuring a more targeted and efficient outreach strategy based on the enhanced data insights. Additional considerations: • The vendor authorization is based on that LEA ID prefix (e.g. 5006058-JS007), which is the LEA ID in the target year, i.e. 2021-22 SY. • The order for posting JSON is: /student, /studentSchoolAssociation, /parent, then /studentParentAssociation • The First Name, Last Name, and Parent Unique ID are required data properties. Other data properties are optional. • Without posting the /studentParentAssociation record, vendor cannot do a GET on /parent • The /Parent record cannot be updated until the /studentParentAssociation record is posted.

For 2025-26 SY, the Contact data collection has been updated to include telephone information, including telephoneNumberTypeDescriptor and telephoneNumber.

POST on /contacts:
contactUniqueId : EdFiLEAid+’-’+’contactuniqueidinSISsystem
firstName:
lastSurname:
middleName:
generationCodeSuffix: I through XV, Sr, Jr, and SJ (trailing punctuation must be removed from the from the string)
addresses:
addressTypeDescriptor: Home; and Mailing
city
postalCode
stateAbbreviationDescriptor
streetNumberName
apartmentRoomSuiteNumber
electronicMails:
electronicMailTypeDescriptor: Home/Personal; and Work
electronicMailAddress
languages:
languageDescriptor
telephones
telephoneNumber
telephoneNumberTypeDescriptor: Mobile; Home; Work; and Other

POST on /studentContactAssociations:

"contactReference":
"contactUniqueId": "5004934-6737512",
"studentReference":
"studentUniqueId": "1025340078",
"relationDescriptor": "uri://dpi.wi.gov/RelationDescriptor#G",
"legalGuardian": true,
"livesWith": true,
"primaryContactStatus": true

2.0

Sending the student's parent/guardian information for a student who resides with their mother, but the legal guardian is the grandparent

The student resides with their mother (livesWith: true), but the legal guardian is the grandparent (legalGuardian: true). The mother in this example is marked as the primary contact (primaryContactStatus: true).

POST on /contacts
POST on /studentContactAssociations: FOR THE MOTHER

"contactReference":
"contactUniqueId": "5004934-6737512",
"studentReference":
"studentUniqueId": "1025340078",
"relationDescriptor": "uri://dpi.wi.gov/RelationDescriptor#M",
"legalGuardian": false,
"livesWith": true,
"primaryContactStatus": true

POST on /contact
POST on /studentcontactAssociations: FOR THE GRANDPARENT

"contactReference":
"contactUniqueId": "5004934-6737512",
"studentReference":
"studentUniqueId": "1025340078",
"relationDescriptor": "uri://dpi.wi.gov/RelationDescriptor#G",
"legalGuardian": true,
"livesWith": false,
"primaryContactStatus": false

3.0

Sending the student's parent/guardian information for a student who lives with the grandparent, but the father is identified as the legal guardian

The father is identified as the legal guardian (legalGuardian: true), but the student lives with the grandparent (livesWith: true), who is also in this example assigned as the primary contact (primaryContactStatus: true).

POST on /contact
POST on /studentContactAssociations: FOR THE FATHER

"contactReference":
"contactUniqueId": "5004934-6737512",
"studentReference":
"studentUniqueId": "1025340078",
"relationDescriptor": "uri://dpi.wi.gov/RelationDescriptor#F",
"legalGuardian": true,
"livesWith": false,
"primaryContactStatus": false

POST on /contact
POST on /studentContactAssociations: FOR THE GRANDPARENT

"contactReference":
"contactUniqueId": "5004934-6737512",
"studentReference":
"studentUniqueId": "1025340078",
"relationDescriptor": "uri://dpi.wi.gov/RelationDescriptor#G",
"legalGuardian": false,
"livesWith": true,
"primaryContactStatus": true

4.0

Submit the student's parent/guardian information for Milwaukee School District

(This only applies to vendors that support Carmen Schools and Milwaukee College Prep 'MCP')

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction