EdgeEX — Cascading overview: Customizing course content and making changes to course options

In EdgeEX, when you make customizations to course options and course content, the changes cascade down from the District Catalog to the School Catalog to the section to the individual student enrollment.

To learn about the types of customizing you can do, reference the following:

Frequently asked questions

Has cascading always worked this way?

Effective July 1, 2026, changes have been made to the way cascading works. Previously, changes made at the District Catalog and School Catalog levels impacted active sections and enrollments. This sometimes resulted in accidental changes to live instruction. Also, administrators could not prepare for future terms by customizing courses because the changes would flow down to active sections and enrollments. The changes to the customization cascade rule address these concerns.

What changed?

Before After
Changes to course options and content customizations made at the Catalog levels were applied immediately to all lower levels unless it would override a previous change that was made at a lower level. Changes to course options and content customizations made at the District Catalog and School Catalog level are applied only to future sections and enrollments. Active sections and enrollments remain unchanged.

Changes cascaded from:

District > School > Existing and future sections > Existing and future enrollments

Changes cascade from:

District > School > Future sections only > Future enrollments only

What is not changing?

Section-level customizations still cascade the same way. Changes at the section level still cascade to:

  • Current enrollments in that section
  • Future enrollments in that section

Imagine Edgenuity maintenance updates will still be applied immediately at all levels. Examples include:

  • Refreshed videos
  • Minor updates to instructions (such as corrections of misstatements or typos)
  • Corrections to practice or assessment questions

What are the benefits of the change?

  • Safer prep: Districts can prepare fall courses without accidentally impacting summer school or current students
  • Less risk: Fewer unexpected downstream impacts. No more surprises, like "why did my student's enrollment change?"

Are there any things to consider?

Yes. Because Catalog changes no longer immediately cascade to every level, this means that old sections will not receive customization updates. This means that:

  • Reused sections don't inherit new Catalog customization, resulting in outdated customizations.
  • Reused sections may remain tied to an older edition, missing out on updated content and standards.
  • Reused sections do not inherit updates to default course options, resulting in outdated course options.

Best practice is to not reuse EdgeEX sections. Sections should be thought of as a means to manage active instruction. We recommend creating new sections at the start of each term or each school year so the sections have all the latest updates adopted at the district and school levels.

Are existing students impacted by Catalog changes?
No. Existing sections and enrollments remain unchanged.
Are existing students impacted by section changes?

Yes. If a change is made to an existing section, existing enrollments are impacted by those changes. 

Exception: Section-level changes that would directly conflict with a change previously made at the enrollment level would not change.

Example: If the section quiz pass threshold is changed from 70 to 65, but an enrollment's quiz pass threshold had previously been set to 60, the enrollment would not get that update.

What happens if I make changes in the District or School Catalog and then add enrollments to section that already exists?
Existing sections and enrollments do not receive the changes made at the Catalog level. If you create a new enrollment in an existing section, it will not inherit updates from the Catalog level.
What if active sections need to be updated?

There are three options:

  • Update the sections one at a time.
  • Create new sections and transfer the current enrollments.
  • Contact Support.
Can I prepare courses ahead of time?
Yes. This is recommended.

How cascading works

Changes made to course options and course content at one level flow down to the levels below it.

There is a purpose behind making changes at each level:

  • Catalog level changes are intended to prepare future instruction.
  • Section and enrollment level changes are for managing active instruction.
Level Intended purpose How it works Role
District Catalog  Prepare future instruction

Changes made to course options and course content at the District Catalog level apply to all schools in the district. This gives the district the ability to standardize options and content across the entire district. 

Future sections and enrollments will receive the changes. Existing/active sections and enrollments are unaffected by these changes. 

To provide educators with the updated course options and content, you must create new sections of the courses and enroll students in them.

District administrators:

School Catalog Prepare future instruction

Changes made to course options and course content at the School Catalog level apply only to future sections and enrollments. Existing/active sections and enrollments are unaffected by these changes. 

To provide educators with the updated course options and content, you must create new sections of the courses and enroll students in them.

School administrators: 

  • Manage School Catalog configurations
  • Define content customizations 
  • Prepare courses for future terms
Section Manage active instruction Changes made to course options and course content at the section level apply to the current section and cascade down to its existing/active enrollments and future enrollments.

Teachers:

  • Customize active sections
  • Control content and options for enrolled students
Enrollment Manage active instruction Changes made to course options and course content at the enrollment level apply only to that enrollment.

Teachers:

  • Customize content and options for individual enrollments