Managing a co-op

_In the app: `/co-ops`_

Co-op is where homeschool leaders create and manage shared groups, invite member families, and optionally access a shared compliance dashboard. While a co-op subscription is active, every member family gets full ArborSlate access for $19.99 per student/month (minimum 5 students). Admins curate a shared shelf of 18 unit studies that all members can download free.

How to

Start a co-op

1. Go to Co-op in the main menu.
2. In the 'Start a co-op' card, enter a name (required, up to 120 characters).
3. Optionally add a description (up to 500 characters) — e.g., 'Tuesday classes in Mesa, AZ'.
4. Click 'Create co-op'.
5. You'll automatically become the first admin and land on your co-op's detail page.

Invite families to join via link

1. Go to your co-op detail page.
2. Scroll to 'Invite families' card.
3. Click 'Copy' to copy the shareable invite link (or manually copy from the read-only field).
4. Share the link however you prefer — text, email, group chat, etc. Anyone with it can join.
5. The link never expires unless you regenerate it (which invalidates the old one).

Invite families to join via email

1. Go to your co-op detail page.
2. Scroll to 'Invite families' card.
3. In the 'Or send email invites' section, paste email addresses — one per line, or comma-separated.
4. Click 'Send invites'.
5. Each recipient gets an email with their own single-use invite link (valid for 14 days).
6. If an invite expires, create a new one by re-sending the email. (Note: This requires email to be configured on your ArborSlate instance.)

Regenerate the shareable invite link

1. Go to your co-op detail page.
2. Scroll to 'Invite families' card.
3. Click 'Regenerate link'.
4. The old link is immediately invalidated; a new one is generated.
5. Share the new link — the old one no longer works.

View and manage the member roster

1. Go to your co-op detail page.
2. Scroll to 'Members' card to see all member families.
3. For each family, you see: family name, role (Admin or Member), student count, and compliance-sharing status.
4. Next to each member, use the buttons to: promote them to admin ('Make admin'), demote them ('Remove admin' or 'Step down' if it's you), or remove them from the co-op.
5. You cannot remove the last admin — promote another admin first or delete the co-op entirely.

Promote a member to admin

1. Go to your co-op detail page.
2. Scroll to 'Members' card.
3. Find the member you want to promote.
4. Click 'Make admin' next to their name.
5. They are now an admin with full roster, compliance, billing, and settings access.

Step down or remove admin rights

1. Go to your co-op detail page.
2. Scroll to 'Members' card.
3. To step down as admin yourself: click 'Step down' next to your name. You'll stay as a regular member.
4. To demote another admin: click 'Remove admin' next to their name. You cannot do this if they are the only remaining admin — promote someone else first.
5. A confirmation dialog appears before the change is applied.

Remove a member from the co-op

1. Go to your co-op detail page.
2. Scroll to 'Members' card.
3. Find the member to remove (you cannot remove yourself — use 'Leave co-op' instead).
4. Click 'Remove' next to their name.
5. Confirm in the dialog. They are immediately removed; their access to the co-op ends.

Edit the co-op name or description

1. Go to your co-op detail page.
2. Scroll to 'Co-op settings' card.
3. Click 'Edit name / description'.
4. Edit the name (required, up to 120 characters) and/or description (optional, up to 500 characters).
5. Click 'Save' to apply changes, or 'Cancel' to discard.

Curate a shared unit-studies shelf for the co-op

1. Go to your co-op detail page.
2. In the 'Unit studies' card, click 'Manage unit studies →'.
3. You'll see the 'Shared shelf' section (showing what's already added) and the 'Add from the catalog' section.
4. Browse the catalog list (or visit /unit-studies for the full catalog).
5. Click 'Add to shelf' next to any study you want to add (you have 18 included picks per year; the count resets on your plan anniversary).
6. Once added, every member family can download that study free. Picks are used year-to-year; after you exhaust them, the shelf stays available but you can't add new studies that year.

Set up billing for the co-op

1. Go to your co-op detail page.
2. Scroll to 'Co-op plan' card.
3. You'll see a seat estimate based on your current roster (minimum 5 students).
4. Click 'Subscribe — $19.99/student/mo' to start a trial or subscription.
5. You'll be taken to a Stripe Checkout page. Confirm the quantity (number of students billed) and payment method.
6. After checkout, the subscription becomes active. Every member family now has full ArborSlate access for the subscription period.

Update or adjust billing seats

1. Go to your co-op detail page.
2. Scroll to 'Co-op plan' card.
3. If your roster has grown or shrunk since you subscribed, you'll see a note: 'Your roster now has N students (min 5 billed). Update seats to match.'
4. Click 'Update seats' to sync your subscription quantity to the current student count (with automatic prorating).
5. Alternatively, click 'Manage billing' to access the Stripe customer portal for full billing controls, invoice history, and payment methods.

View compliance at a glance (members who opted in)

1. Go to your co-op detail page.
2. Scroll to 'Compliance at a glance' card.
3. You see a summary for each member family that chose to share their compliance status: family name, completed/total requirements, and the next due date.
4. Only families who explicitly opted into sharing appear here. No student details are shown — just the family's overall standing.
5. If no members have opted in, you'll see 'No members have opted into sharing their compliance status yet.'

Delete the co-op

1. Go to your co-op detail page.
2. Scroll to 'Co-op settings' card.
3. Click 'Delete co-op'.
4. Confirm in the dialog. This permanently deletes the co-op and removes all member families. This action cannot be undone.

Join a co-op (as a member)

1. Ask the co-op admin for an invite link (via link-share or email).
2. Click the invite link or paste it into the 'Join a co-op' form on the Co-op page.
3. You'll land on a confirmation page showing the co-op name and current member count.
4. Optionally check 'Share my compliance status with the co-op leader' if you want the admin to see your family's overall compliance standing (no student details).
5. Click 'Join [co-op name]'.
6. You are now a member. While the co-op subscription is active, you have full ArborSlate access.

Leave a co-op

1. Go to the co-op detail page.
2. Scroll to 'Your membership' card (appears only if you are not an admin).
3. Click 'Leave co-op'.
4. Confirm in the dialog. You are immediately removed and lose access to the co-op.
5. If you are an admin, you must first promote another member to admin or delete the co-op entirely before you can leave.

Toggle compliance sharing as a member

1. Go to the co-op detail page.
2. Scroll to 'Your membership' card.
3. Check or uncheck 'Share my compliance status with the co-op leader'.
4. The setting is saved immediately. When checked, the leader sees your family's overall compliance standing (met/pending); when unchecked, they see nothing.

Options & settings

• Co-op name (required, up to 120 characters)
• Description (optional, up to 500 characters)
• Invite link (shareable, regenerable)
• Email invites (when Resend is configured)
• Member role (Admin or Member)
• Compliance sharing toggle (per member family)
• Unit studies allowance (18 picks/year, see how many remain)
• Subscription status (Active, Trialing, or None)
• Billed seats (synced to roster count, minimum 5)

Common questions

How much does a co-op cost?

$19.99 per student per month while the subscription is active. There's a minimum of 5 students billed. So a co-op with 12 students pays at least for 12 seats. The co-op leader controls the subscription and pays the bill; member families get free full ArborSlate access during the subscription period.

Can I change who is an admin after creating the co-op?

Yes. Admins can promote any member to admin or demote any other admin (but not the last one). If you're the sole admin and want to leave, promote another member first or delete the co-op.

What happens to the co-op if I cancel the subscription?

The co-op stays and all members remain in it, but they lose access to ArborSlate once the subscription period ends. They can rejoin by paying individually or waiting for the subscription to be renewed. The roster, invite links, and shared unit-studies shelf are preserved.

How many times can I invite families?

You can share the permanent link unlimited times. Email invites are rate-limited (per day, per co-op admin) to prevent spam. If you hit the cap, try again the next day or use the shareable link instead.

What information does the compliance dashboard show?

Only for members who explicitly opted in to share. You see: family name, how many state-compliance requirements they've completed out of their total, and the next upcoming due date. No student names, subjects, or attendance details are shown — just the family's overall standing.

Can members download unit studies from the co-op shelf?

Yes. Any study the admin adds to the shared shelf is free for all member families to download, even after the co-op subscription ends. The shelf persists independently of billing.

What if a member family has more students than the co-op paid for?

The system blocks new joins if adding that family's students would exceed the billed seat count. The admin must click 'Update seats' to increase the subscription quantity first. Existing members are never kicked out.

Can I add more than 18 unit studies to the shared shelf?

No. Co-ops get 18 included picks per year (resets on your subscription anniversary). After you use them, the shelf stays available to members but you cannot add new studies until next year. You can always see how many picks you have left on the shelf management page.

Good to know

• Only admins see the member roster, compliance dashboard, billing, and unit-studies shelf. Regular members see just their own membership status and can toggle compliance sharing.
• The invite link never expires unless you regenerate it. Anyone with the link can join at any time.
• Email invites expire in 14 days. If a recipient doesn't join within that window, regenerate the invite.
• You must have at least one admin in the co-op at all times. You cannot remove or demote the last admin.
• Canceling a subscription does not remove families from the co-op; they just lose ArborSlate access once the billing period ends.
• Compliance sharing is opt-in and per-family. Even if a family joins, the admin cannot see compliance unless that family explicitly checks the box.
• The roster shows active students only. Archived students (those marked as inactive in the family) do not count toward billing.
• If a co-op reaches capacity (all paid seats are used) and a new family tries to join, the system rejects the join until the admin increases the subscription quantity.
• Deleting a co-op is permanent and removes all member families immediately. There is no undo.

Plans

Requires an active co-op subscription ($19.99/student/month, minimum 5 students). The co-op leader pays; member families get full app access during the subscription period. Email invites require Resend to be configured. Stripe configuration is required for billing.

_See also: `/settings`, `/unit-studies`_