Audience: District Admins
Platform: District Web
📌 Mobile is not supported for sending Broadcast notifications at this time (though sent notifications can be viewed in the TalkingPoints for Admins mobile app).
📢 Broadcast notifications are only included in a partner's TalkingPoints plan with the purchase of the Admin Family Connect Plus package. If you're interested in adding this package, please reach out to partnersupport@talkingpts.org
📢 What Are Broadcast Notifications?
Broadcast notifications are large-scale announcements districts can send when information needs to reach many families at once.
Broadcast notifications are:
📱 Delivered through text or app (depending on contact preference)
⚖️ Respectful of each family’s communication preferences (unlike 🚨 Emergency Alerts, which override opt-outs)
💡 Examples of when to use 📢 Broadcast Notifications include school closures, reminders about upcoming events, or district-wide updates.
👥 Who Can Send Broadcasts
✅ District Admins
🚫 School Admins
🚫 Teachers
📌 Permission to send Broadcast notifications is automatically included in district admin roles but can also be added to a custom role.
📨 Sending a Broadcast
Go to Compose.
Select Broadcast message type.
Write your message. ✍️
Review delivery methods:
Text/App based on user preference (always included) 📱
Call (always included) 📞
Email (if enabled) 📧
Confirm before sending. ✅
Below is a screenshot of the compose modal, with the Broadcast notification option selected:
📌 You can also save Broadcast notifications as templates for future use.
🔊 Call and Audio Options
When sending a Broadcast with phone calls, District Admins have multiple options:
🗣️ Text-to-speech: choose a male or female voice
🎧 Preview (optional): listen before sending. If skipped, audio will be generated from the text at the time of sending
🎙️ User voice recording: record your own message
✏️ Transcript editing: edit the transcript generated from your recording
If edits change more than 5% of the text, the system will prompt you to:
Revert to the original transcript, OR
Re-record the audio so it matches the new transcript
⚠️ If you proceed without re-recording, the system discards your recorded voice and regenerates audio from the edited text to keep English + translations consistent.
📂 Where to Find Sent Broadcasts
📋 All Messages page
📨 Sent box
🧵 Student threads (labeled “Broadcast”)
Admins can also see:
📄 Message content
🏷️ Message type (Broadcast, Emergency, or Standard)
📊 Delivery details (sent, delivered, read) by channel: App, Text, Call, Email
📱 Family + Student App Experience
Families and student contacts experience Broadcasts in several ways:
📞 Hear the Broadcast if they answer the phone
📢 See Broadcasts in the Announcements section of the app
▶️ Calls are playable inside the app
📧 Emails are not displayed in the app
📝 Additional Notes
⚖️ Broadcasts follow user communication preferences (unlike Emergency alerts, which bypass opt-outs)
📧 Emails can only be sent through Broadcast notifications or Emergency alerts, if enabled for the partner
🗒️ Transcript editing is only available when an admin has recorded their own voice
📊 Delivery details are viewable and can be downloaded
👉 Looking for Emergency Alerts? Read this article →