IEP data transfers rarely fail because the “API broke.” They fail because identity breaks first. When a transferring student lands in the receiving district’s systems, the question is simple, is this the same student or a different one? If the answer is uncertain, the database does what databases do, it creates a new record. That single moment creates a chain reaction, duplicated minutes, missing accommodations, transportation errors, Medicaid billing rejections, and compliance timelines built on incomplete context. The solution is not another platform. The solution is deciding what your source of truth is, usually the SIS, then implementing a crosswalk that maps the canonical StudentID to every other system’s identifier. Pair that with matching rules that prioritize stable identifiers, automation for high confidence matches, and a review queue for uncertainty. Clean identity is not paperwork, it is protection.