Wisdom Ndieli – SpEd Forms

SpEd Forms: Virtual Holiday Open House

Dreaming of a White Christmas… Again?

The holiday magic is back, and we’re ready to spread some cheer! Join us for a virtual holiday open house where we’re bringing all the fun, laughter, and spirit of the season to life! Whether you’re dreaming of snow or just some festive flair, let’s make this season merry and bright together.

🎄 Date & Time: Thursday, December 19th at 3pm

❄️ Link to join: meet.google.com/usb-rjts-szn

🎅 What’s in store?

Meet our amazing team
Show off your holiday decorations or just enjoy ours
Wear your most fabulous holiday sweater (the more festive, the better!)
Have a question or suggestion about SpEd Forms? Bring it along—let’s chat and celebrate! Can’t make it right at 3pm? No problem! Drop by anytime during the hour. We can’t wait to share some holiday cheer and kick off the season with you! Grab your cocoa, your holiday spirit, and let’s make this virtual gathering one to remember!

SpEd Forms: Thursdays at Three – MA claim file import

MA coordinators, tired of manually entering MA logs from another system? Grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and join us tomorrow, December 12th, at 3pm to learn how importing a file can save you time by automatically generating claims! You can access the meeting link and all upcoming topics on our website here:

Thursdays at Three meet link

Please join us – we’re excited about this new feature!

MN December Updates

On Saturday, December 7th, 2024, an update¹ will be posted to all Minnesota SpEd Forms sites. The update will include the changes listed below:

IEP

1. MCA accommodations have been changed from ‘General’ Accommodations to ‘Universal’ within the dropdown options based on MDE guidance. In addition, the MCA Alt Science format (Dropdown 278) has been updated based on MDE guidance.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #63184)

1. A new form titled “Summary and recommendations” has been added to the Mental health folder on the student MA Forms menu. This folder is only viewable by staff with CTSS permissions.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5665)

2. A process to import a file that will automatically create MA logs has been created.

(Requested by: Andrew Kehren, Northeast Metro Intermediate School District 916 #60398)

3. Interpreter services are now included in the dashboard documentation service dropdown.

(Requested by: Patricia Sullivan, Moorhead Area Public Schools #62090)

Other forms and logs

1. Updated Procedural Safeguards: Part C according to MDE requirements.

(Requested by: Sarah Anderson, Hastings Public School #62497)

Reports

1. The number of times a claim has been sent has been added to the Claims in error quick report.

(Requested by: Rieger Viche, Duluth Public Schools #60674)

2. A new “Progress reporting narrative from IEP page 1” quick report is available.

(Requested by: Kristen Hillesheim, Independent School District 199 #63288)

2.0

1. We have added an age-related warning to the SpEd dashboard when a student on an IFSP has been identified as being potentially eligible for Part B services, but the date of the transition conference is empty.

(Requested by: Wendy Van Batavia, Midwest Special Ed Coop #60780)

System

1. The MA consent to share data form has been added to quick links for students.

(Requested by: Rieger Viche, Duluth Public Schools #60088)

2. If a ‘preferred’ phone number is selected for a parent, that phone number will be the default. If no preferred is selected, the default phone number will be set as the home phone.

(Requested by: Rieger Viche, Duluth Public Schools #60560)

¹We’re always working hard to ensure the smooth running of SpEd Forms. During the past month, we’ve made a number of performance improvements that aren’t immediately visible to most of our users but ensure the system operates efficiently, thanks to input from our customers.

WI December Updates

On Saturday, December 7th, 2024, an update¹ will be posted to all Wisconsin SpEd Forms sites. The update will include the changes listed below:

System

1. If a ‘preferred’ phone number is selected for a parent, that phone number will be the default. If no preferred is selected, the default phone number will be set as the home phone.

(Requested by: Rieger Viche, Duluth Public Schools #60560)

2. When adding assessment tools to the IE-3 or RE-5, the educator’s custom eval/assessment tools will be listed above the district’s list.

(Requested by: Trista Wochnick, St. Cloud Area School District #DE-5504)

Reports

1. The ‘DPI SpEd records’ tool now has a dropdown setting for the DPI school.

(Requested by: Kasie Smith, Superior School District #63058)

2. A new ‘Special factors question 5 checked Yes’ quick report is available.

(Requested by: Dena Hagen, Superior School District #62269)

SpEd Forms: Exciting MA Forms updates are coming!

We are excited to introduce three powerful new features, each designed to make your MA workflow faster, easier, and more efficient:

🎉 December: MA claim file import

📊 January: Administrator MA dashboard

✅ February: Attendance claim validation

First up: The MA claim file import feature!

Launching on Saturday, this update will save you time and eliminate manual effort in managing claims.

Now, you can easily import a CSV file that automatically generates claims and logs in the system, eliminating the need for manual data entry. This update brings several key benefits to enhance your experience:

Time-saving: No more entering claims manually. Our new process saves valuable time and reduces the chance of human error.
Ease of use: The file import feature walks even the newest MA coordinator through the process step-by-step and integrates smoothly into your existing workflow, making it simpler than ever to manage claims.
Efficiency: Imported data is automatically converted into claims, speeding up the creation process.

This feature was designed with your team in mind, helping you manage claims faster, more efficiently, and with less manual effort.

Want to learn more?

Join us for Thursdays at Three on December 5th, 2024, where we’ll take a sneak peek into how this new feature works and share details about our other upcoming updates. Then, next week, on December 12th, we will dedicate the Thursdays at Three session to the file import process. Click below to access the meeting link to join in anytime during the hour:

Thursdays at Three

Thank you for choosing SpEd Forms! If you have questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact our support team.

SpEd Forms: Thursdays at Three – Tech tips, tricks, and improvements

Technology staff and administrators, this one is meant for you! Please join us today at 3pm for “Tech tips, tricks, and improvements!” This session is designed for troubleshooting professionals. We will guide you on how to efficiently identify and resolve issues, enabling you to support educators using SpEd Forms more effectively and promptly. We also encourage you to bring any suggestions you may have.

You can find the Google Meet link on our website here:

Upcoming events

If this is not your area, please forward this to the appropriate person. We look forward to seeing many of you today!

MN November Updates

On Saturday, November 2nd, 2024, an update will be posted to all Minnesota SpEd Forms sites. The update will include the changes listed below:

IEP

1. IEP validation now includes a warning if the Supplementary aides and services in nonacademic and extracurricular activities and services are left blank.
(Requested by: Jennifer Danielson, South St. Paul Public Schools #60540)
2. A link to MDE’s IEP Team Support: PLAAFP has been added to the Stand-alone IEP Present Levels and the guidance found on the IEP Goals pages.
(Requested by: Minnesota SpEd Forms Advisory Team #DE-5493)

1. The WORD Test-2 Adolescent has been added to the SpEd Forms test bank.
(Requested by: Lauren Miller, Superior School District #62616)
2. A new delete button has been added to evaluation sections within the ER.
(Requested by: Amanda Leal, South Washington County Schools #60236)

1. The ADLs on the PCA plan can now be re-ordered.

(Requested by: Karen Stay, St Cloud Area School District #62277)

Other forms and logs

1. A student’s enrollment page will show the description of the Status end code, not just the number.

(Requested by: Dorothy Eckblad, Goodhue County Education District #62223)

2. We changed “expected” to “invited” to attend on the Notice of a Team Meeting form.

(Requested by: Whitney Weber, St. Michael-Albertville Public Schools #62158)

Reports

1. Modified the Educator report titled “Teacher workload analysis” to more clearly identify a student’s primary disability and Instructional setting.

(Requested by: Karen Stay, St Cloud Area School District #62295)

2. The federal share percentage has been reduced to 51.16% for payments on or after 10/1/2024 on the “Reconciliation” and “Total amount paid” reports.

(Requested by: Catherine OReilly, Wayzata Public Schools #62574)

3. A new Super Admin report has been added called “Record deletions.”

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5412)

2.0

1. “Timeline monitoring” report has been converted to v2.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5532)

2. Added the ability to download multiple history records at one time using the v2 Admin report “View student history”.

(Requested by: Dorothy Eckblad, Goodhue County Education District #DE-4846)

3. The ability to filter users and titles has been added to educator sharing/transfer.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5413)

System

1. A new educator permission has been added to prevent the finalizing of CTSS forms.

(Requested by: Bryan Schmidt, Rochester Public Schools #60897)

2. The ability to add a district template has been added to the Positive behavior support plan (PBSP) form.

(Requested by: Matthew Byrnes, Hopkins Public Schools #60382)

3. The new referral link in Admin Overview shows results when ‘New referral’ is set as a ‘Referral status’ in student setup.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5514)

We’re always working hard to ensure the smooth running of SpEd Forms. During the past month, we’ve made a number of performance improvements that aren’t immediately visible to most of our users but ensure the system operates efficiently, thanks to input from our customers.

SpEd Forms: Thursdays at Three – PCA forms

Join us today at 3pm for an engaging and in-depth session on PCA forms! Discover how these forms work together to streamline your processes. You’ll learn the purpose of each form, efficient completion techniques, and how they integrate to provide seamless support for your program. Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your understanding and improve your workflow! Please find below the direct Google Meet link:

PCA Forms – Google meet

We look forward to seeing you and answering any questions you might have. If you can’t attend, don’t worry—we’ll record the session and make it available on our YouTube channel.

SpEd Forms: New Group Documentation Feature!

Exciting News: Introducing Our New Group Documentation Feature!

We’re thrilled to announce the release of our latest feature – Group Documentation. This tool is designed to streamline your workflow by creating a log for multiple students at one time!

Learn how it works!

To help you get started, we’ve created a quick video tutorial that walks you through the process. In just a few minutes, you’ll learn how to make the most of this powerful new feature. Watch it here:

MA group logging

In addition to our new group documentation, we’ve also added the ability to document for individual students directly from the MA dashboard. To see our tutorial on singular dashboard documentation, click here:

MA dashboard documentation

Please share these videos with your providers to help them simplify and expedite documentation this school year!

We’re confident these new features will provide flexibility and make documentation more efficient. If you have any questions or need assistance, our support team is always here to help!

Happy documenting!

SpEd Forms: Thursdays at Three – Health Forms

Do you have students with a medical diagnosis that impacts their care in school? Our easy-to-use Health Forms can help communicate those needs throughout your district. We hope that you and your nursing staff can join us today for our Thursday at Three session where we’ll walk you through the essentials and answer any questions you may have. We are also looking for input and collaboration to make Health Forms even better! Join us today, 10/10/24, at 3pm. You can access the Google Meet details and all upcoming topics on our website linked here:

Thursdays at Three link and more

Please join us – we are hoping for a great discussion!