Category Archives: News

On Saturday, August 10th, 2024, an update will be posted to all Minnesota SpEd Forms sites. The update will include the changes listed below:

IEP

1. The section on page two of the services section that was previously labeled “Membership hours in community preschool placement” has been relabeled, reformatted and repurposed. This IEP section can now be used to document placement in any center-based preschool program option at district expense.  This can include inclusive or self-contained district options, or options in the community for which the district pays tuition or otherwise expends resources. Using this section is one step in having SpEd Forms calculate attendance, membership and special education service hours for ECSE without the use of attendance logs. This will greatly lighten the workload of staff providing service to preschool children with disabilities.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms ECSE advisory committee #58151)

ER

1. Made an update to the Evaluation report to allow the addition of multiple tests at a time.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5189)

MA

1. When adding an ICD-10 code, a service will be required before the code can be added.

(Requested by: Sue Peterson, Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan Public Schools #59621)

2. Made a wording change to the federal crime language on the activity log print page to match the form.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5301)

Other forms and logs

1. A new form titled “Stand-alone Developmental Adapted Physical Education (DAPE) Assessment” has been added to the Referral and Evaluation section for use.

(Requested by: MN Advisory Team #60337)

2. The Part C Prior Written Notice for Dismissal was updated based on new MDE guidance. This version of the PWN now features an accompanying consent document.

(Requested by: Bill Underwood, Anoka-Hennepin School District #60418)

3. Added the number of injuries per incident to Restrictive Procedures forms.

(Requested by: Bryan Schmidt, Rochester Public Schools #60480)

Reports

1. The informed consent effective date will now be displayed on the 837P results page.

(Requested by: Dellynne Monson, SWWC Service Cooperatives #60097)

2. New MA quick reports have been added for recent school years titled, “PCA evaluations.”

(Requested by:  Lynda Hurt, Intermediate School District 917 #60001)

3. Providers with/without services have been renamed “Providers with/without MA activity logs,” and the school, plan type, and plan service start and end dates have been added to the results.

(Requested by: Tara Goebel, South Washington County Schools #59501)

2.0

 1. Admin and Educator’s Blank forms in PDF format reports, Educator Student history progress reports, Plan Management Agenda, Attendance Summary report, View student history report, MARSS B report, IFSP – Child and Family Outcomes, IFSP Family-directed assessment, Record access logs, Educator services report, Educator combined report, Team meetings in the next 90 days, and all alternate language IEP version have all been converted to v2.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5253, #DE-5255, #DE-5291, #DE-5278, #DE-5254, #DE-2946, #DE-5234, #DE-5239, #DE-5281, #DE-5220, #DE-5296 and #DE-5295)

2. When the plan type is set to ISP, that change will be reflected in the Individual Services Plan (ISP) menu, breadcrumbs, print and finalization lists.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5334)

3. An absence log has been added to the Enrollment and attendance folder. This new log captures absences of preschool children in center-based program options to support the accurate calculation and reporting of attendance hours as required by MDE. This will greatly lighten the workload of staff providing service to preschool children with disabilities.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms ECSE advisory committee #58151)

System

1. Educator permissions were added to the paraprofessional role to block access to the ICD-10 code setup, consent or PCA forms folders on the MA forms menu.

(Requested by: Kim Mackenzie, Intermediate School District 287 #59249)

2. The ability to sort by file type has been added to the v2 history menu.

(Requested by: Beth Watkins, St. Cloud Area School District #DE-5192)

3. The student setup screen has been updated to show the student’s creation date and last imported date.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5090)

4. The function of school setup has been enhanced to include the setup of a preschool placement option as a school to facilitate the alignment of an instructional days calendar to a preschool placement option.  This must be used by districts wishing to automate the calculation of membership, attendance and special education service hours for preschool children with IEPs without using the current attendance logs.  This will greatly lighten the workload of staff providing service to preschool children with disabilities. 

(Requested by: SpEd Forms ECSE advisory committee #58151)

5. The rich text editors have been updated to allow right-clicking with copy, spellcheck, and other browser features.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5315)

6. The role name for “GenEd Staff” has been changed to “504 Staff”, but no functional changes have been made to the role or its permissions.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5312)

On Saturday, August 10th, 2024, an update will be posted to all Wisconsin SpEd Forms sites. The update will include the changes listed below:

Other forms and logs

1.  Made an update to the Evaluation report to allow the addition of multiple tests at a time.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5189)

2.0

1. A new navigation tool has been added to the breadcrumbs found at the top of each IEP page, allowing for easy access to different sections of the service plan. This same navigation is already available within the Evaluation report.

(Requested by: Dena Hagen, Superior School District, #DE-5314)

2. Admin and Educator Blank forms in PDF format reports, Educator view student history report and Record access log have been converted to v2.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5253, #DE-5254, #DE-5255 and #DE-5239)

System

1. The ability to sort by file type has been added to the v2 history menu.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5192)

2. The student setup screen has been updated to show the student’s creation date and last imported date.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5090)

3. The role name for “GenEd Staff” has been changed to “504 Staff”, but no functional changes have been made to the role or its permissions.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5312)

4. The rich text editors have been updated to allow right-clicking with copy, spellcheck, and other browser features.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5315)

On Saturday, July 13th, 2024, an update will be posted to all Minnesota SpEd Forms sites. The update will include the changes listed below:

IEP

1. A new download button has been added to IEP/IFSP progress report measurement pages.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5055)

2. The amendment box will now be bolded after it’s selected to clearly show educators it’s an amended IEP.

(Requested by: Matthew Byrnes, Hopkins Public Schools #59883)

3. Number of sessions and session length have been removed from the ESY service form.

(Requested by: Krystal DeGraw, Brooklyn Center Community School #53549)

ER

1. The Transition Planning Inventory – 3rd Edition and Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills, Revised have been added to the SpEd Forms test library.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #60434)

MA

1. An option to print the MA billing setup has been added.

(Requested by: Suzy Vescio, Columbia Heights School District #59507)

2. The validation for a primary ICD-10 code has been removed from deleted codes.

(Reqeusted by: Kari Saarloos, Anoka-Hennepin School District #DE-5072)

3. ‘PCA’ has been added to the label on the team selector to clarify that it is a PCA certification date.

(Requested by: Kim Mackenzie, Intermediate School District 287 #59859)

4. The ability to add an MA service from the MA dashboard has been added.  Find our tutorial here: https://youtu.be/a3-bDZJ9RQ8 

(Requested by: Kari Saarloos, Anoka-Hennepin School District #DE-4976)

5. The end time on MA logs will now be auto-calculated based on the start time and the total time.

(Requested by: Katie Widestomr-Landgraf, Anoka Hennepin School District #DE-5184)

6. Finalized PCA plans have been added to the History folder on the student’s MA Forms menu.

(Requested by: Kim Mackenzie, Intermediate School District 287 #59249)

Other forms and logs

1. A dropdown option was added to the ‘reason for contact’ in the Communication log form that the district can edit. (Dropdown #276: Reason for contact)

(Requested by: Cherene Newman, Mahtomedi Public Schools #59869)

2. Title and email address textboxes have been added to the ECSE referral for screening or evaluation form.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms ECSE Advisory group #DE-5013)

3. The service coordinator’s contact information has been added to the IFSP Snapshot page.

(Requested by: Bill Underwood, Anoka-Hennepin School District #58745)

4. An ‘Attended’ checkbox has been added to the Record of Team Meeting form. If a team member is not in attendance, unchecking the checkbox will prevent the team member from being printed. Find the tutorial here: https://youtu.be/puNZQKHKIis

(Requested by: Stia Jama, Intermediate School District 287 #59650)

5. The primary disability field has been made editable on the Student Acknowledgement form.

(Requested by: Angela Bradt, St. Michael-Albertville Public Schools #59402)

6. Names and titles will no longer text wrap on the Notice of a Team Meeting and Record of a Team print pages.

(Requested by: Lauren Johnsen, Minnetonka Public Schools #59997)

7. Enrollment and Attendance pages now include links for easy navigation between them.

(Requested by: Janelle Ortiz, Sherburne and Northern Wright Special Ed Cooperative #60021)

8. The ability to add a district template has been added to the building section of the Evacuation plan form.

(Requested by: Renee Hartman, New Prague Area Schools #58800)

9. The ability to be able to finalize the Communication log form has been added. Find the tutorial here: https://youtu.be/63jt52Oga8w?feature=shared 

(Requested by: Krystal DeGraw, Richfield Public Schools #59924)

Reports

1. The ‘Finalized’ column has been added to the “Claims in error” MA Forms quick report.

(Requested by:  Rieger Viche, Duluth Public Schools #60090)

2. School has been added as a search option on the MA “Total amount paid” report.

(Requested by: Rieger Viche, Duluth Public Schools #59551)

3. Created quick reports titled “Students turning 22 in 2023-24” and “Students turning 22 in 2024-25,” which can be found in Admin reporting and Educator reports. 

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #59902)

4. A new admin quick report titled, ”IEP Additional information page” has been added.

(Requested by: Bill Underwood, Anoka-Hennepin School District #50157)

5. The “Paid claims by district and modifier” MA quick reports now include a column for schools.

(Requested by: Rieger Viche, Duluth Public Schools #59943)

6. Added a link to the Grade rollover tool that opens the Admin guide page for this process.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5196)

7. The active and SpEd checkboxes from the student setup have been added to the search criteria on the Create/edit claim transmission, Student claims, and Reconciliation reports.

(Requested by: Tara Goebel, South Washington County Schools #59800)

8. A district search option has been added to the MA services educator report.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5105)

9. A building search option has been added to the “service minutes and group” report.

(Requested by: Tara Goebel, South Washington County Schools #59659)

2.0

1. The MARSS A report and View student history report have been converted to v2.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-4837 and #DE-5010)

2. Made wording changes and added new checkboxes to the debriefing forms.

(Requested by: Amanda Leal, South Washington County Schools #59076)

3. When you hover over the due process icon on the far right of the SpEd dashboard, a message will appear, prompting educators to click the icon for more information.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5081)

4. The finalize button on the v2 IEP validation screen has been updated to be grayed out if errors need to be corrected.

(Requested by: Lindsey Pellaton, Meeker and Wright Special Education Cooperative #59942)

5. Using the search field on a student’s history page has been updated to show the form date instead of the finalization date.

(Requested by: Traci Tapiz, Sherburne & Northern Wright Special Ed Cooperative #DE-5080)

6. A new v2 user preference has been added to the educator setup profile page. It allows educators to choose whether their system calendars start on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. 

(Requested by: Jennifer Krueger, Roseville Schools #59900)

7. The ability to select a font has been added to short form rich text editors.

(Requested by: Chrissy O’Brien, ISD 199 #60100)

8. The SpEd Dashboard will not display the updated IEP meeting date until the plan has been finalized.

(Requested by: Nicole Doescher-Train, Hopkins Public School #51085)

9. A button has been added to the Admin educator setup page allowing administrators to know what filters educators have selected. Find the tutorial here: https://youtu.be/puFyagrbnCA?feature=shared

(Requested by: Rashelle Weicherding, River Bend Education District #60019)

10. On your v2 educator setup profile page, a new ‘enable autosave’ setting has been added. Turning on this preference will automatically save most v2 student forms every five minutes while actively working on the page. Find the tutorial here: https://youtu.be/I-y7jkAiTDQ?feature=shared 

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-4967)

System

1. Educators will get a message within SpEd Forms if they are assigned a task when the due date is added to a student’s assessment tracker and saved.

(Requested by: Rande Peyton, Watertown-Mayer Public Schools #59837)

2. An “EL” icon to represent English Learners has been added to the SpEd, Health, MTSS and 504 dashboards. You can find this checkbox on a student’s setup page.

(Requested by: Patricia Sullivan, Moorhead Area Public Schools #59803)

3. A new dropdown option – Referral status was added to the Student setup page and the Admin students’ search criteria (Dropdown #277: Referral status).

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5053 and #DE-5054)

4. Changed wording in the email to the designated person when a parent signs a form electronically when there is no LSID in the student’s setup.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5075)

5. The ability to search by title has been added to the admin educator page.

(Requested by: Kim Mackenzie, Intermediate School District 287 #59723)

6. The Google translate link has been added to IEP forms and some of the 504 forms.

(Requested by: Rashelle Weicherding, River Bend Education District #60040)

7. A new preference titled: Add special education and related services check in the IEP validation process was added.

(Requested by: Bill Underwood, Anoka-Hennepin School District #60024)

8.  IEP written date preferences have been changed to district-specific preferences. 

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #58282)

9. Educators will be restricted from adding dropdown options if the same text is already available in the district, SpEd Forms or another user’s list.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-4969)

10. A new preference to be able to turn on and off the Medical documentation form has been added.

(Requested by: Karen Stay, St. Cloud Area School District #60066)

11. A new district preference has been created to allow districts to turn off the reminder at the top of a student’s SpEd Forms menu that they are a resident of another district and to send appropriate forms to that district. 

(Requested by: Zach Selnes, Hiawatha Valley Ed District #59562)

12. An educator preference has been created to allow individual users to receive an email when a new message arrives in SpEd Forms.

(Requested by: Zach Secrist, Watertown-Mayer Public Schools #DE-5074)

13. When a Notice of Team Meeting is completed and finalized, a message will be sent within SpEd Forms to all individuals listed on the student’s team member list.  

(Requested by: Wendy Van Batavia, Midwest Special Education Cooperative #59667)

14. The Admin Students results page now will show you links to both enrollment and attendance pages when clicking the more button.

(Requested by: Katie Roiger, Yellow Medicine East Schools #DE-5157)

15. Multiple team members can now be selected when using the team selector.

(Requested by: Emma Christenson, Fergus Falls Area Special Education Cooperative #59520) 

On Saturday, July 13th, 2024, an update will be posted to all Minnesota SpEd Forms sites. This update includes the following fixes:

MA

1. Made a change to ensure only the provider signing an activity log sees the signed indicator on the activity log list.
(Requested by: Emma Christenson, Fergus Falls Area Special Education Cooperative #59971)
2. When creating a trip log from a finalized PCA log, the transporting district will automatically be selected on the trip log if a transporting district has been selected in the student setup.
(Requested by: Dellynne Monson, SWWC Service Cooperative #60449)

Other forms and logs

1. Made a wording change to the IFSP services validation warning.

(Requested by: Tisha Warbalow, Cloquet School District #60401)

Reports

1. Updated the results of the combined report to display the evaluation due date of the student’s third birthday if they’re under three years old. 

(Requested by: Shannon Proulx, Esko School District #59892)

2. Applied a fix to ensure the Service logs by provider report runs as anticipated.

2.0

1.  Updated the IFSP Services page to prevent extra data from being saved in the “length (minutes)” field.

(Requested by: Tisha Warbalow, Cloquet School District #60401)

2. Made a fix to the ESY progress report to ensure that the show objectives button inserts as expected.

(Requested by: Deb Gormley, Intermediate School District 287 #58480)

System

1. Multi-building admins will receive an email when there are MARSS changes for all buildings they are assigned to if they have the extended permission “email MARSS changes” in their educator setup.

(Requested by: Lynne Rau, Eden Prairie ISD 272 #60049)

2. Fixed an error when saving changes on the Admin dropdown list editor.

(Requested by: Katie Wilder,  Mounds View Public Schools #60400)

On Saturday, July 13th, 2024, an update will be posted to all Wisconsin SpEd Forms sites. The update will include the changes listed below:

IEP
1. A new download button has been added to the IEP Measurable annual goals and Annual goal review measurement pages.

(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5055)

ER

1. The Transition Planning Inventory – 3rd Edition and Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills, Revised have been added to the SpEd Forms test library.
(Requested by: SpEd Forms #60434)

Other forms and logs

1. Names and titles will no longer text wrap on the Notice of a team meeting and Record of a Team meeting forms and print pages.
(Requested by: Lauren Johnsen, Minnetonka Public Schools #59997)
2. The ability to be able to finalize the Communication log form has been added. Find the tutorial here: https://youtu.be/63jt52Oga8w?feature=shared
(Requested by: Krystal DeGraw, Richfield Public Schools #59924)
3. The phone number listed was updated for WI DPI on RE-1, RE-5, P-1, and P-2 forms.
(Requested by: Bonnie Barker, Boyceville Community Schools #59251)

Reports

1. A new admin quick report titled ”ESY checked ‘Yes’ on I-11” has been added.
(Requested by: Dena Hagen, Superior School District #60222)
2. A “BIP Behavior Plan dates” quick report has been added.
(Requested by: Dena Hagen, Superior School District #60029)
3. A new quick report titled “Last finalized ER with type” has also been added.
(Requested by: Laurie Larson, Superior School District #60482)

2.0

1. When you hover over the due process icon on the far right of the SpEd dashboard, a message will appear, prompting educators to click the icon for more information.
(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5081)
2. The “Finalize” button on the v2 IEP validation screen has been updated to be grayed out if there are error(s) to be corrected.
(Requested by: Lindsey Pellaton, Meeker and Wright Special Education Cooperative #59942)
3. A new v2 user preference has been added to the educator setup profile page. It allows educators to choose whether their system calendars start on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.
(Requested by: Jennifer Krueger, Roseville Schools #59900)
4. The ability to select a font has been added to short form rich text editors.
(Requested by: Chrissy O’Brien, Inver Grove Heights Schools #60100)
5. The admin “View student history” report has been converted to v2.
(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-4837)
6. The v2 search box on a student’s history page has been updated to show the form date instead of the finalization date.
(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5080)
7. A button has been added to the Admin educator setup page allowing administrators to know what filters educators have selected. Find the tutorial here: https://youtu.be/puFyagrbnCA?feature=shared
(Requested by: Rashelle Weicherding, River Bend Education District #60019)
8. On your v2 educator setup profile page, a new ‘enable autosave’ setting has been added. Turning on this preference will automatically save most v2 student forms every five minutes while actively working on the page.
(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-4967)

System

1. Educators will get a message within SpEd Forms when the due date of an assessment in the SpEd Forms Evaluation Tracker has been added and saved if they are assigned a task
(Requested by: Rande Peyton, Watertown-Mayer Public Schools #59837)
2. A new dropdown option – Referral status was added to the Student setup page and the Admin students’ search criteria (Dropdown #269: Referral status).
(Requested by: SpEd Forms #DE-5053 & #DE-5054)
3. An educator preference has been created to allow individual users to receive an email when a new message arrives in SpEd Forms.
(Requested by: Zach Secrist, Watertown-Mayer Public Schools #DE-5074)
4. Multiple team members can now be selected when using the team selector.
(Requested by: Emma Christenson, Fergus Falls Area Special Education Cooperative #59520)                                                                                                                           

On Saturday, July 13th, 2024, an update will be posted to all Wisconsin SpEd Forms sites. This update includes the following fix:

System

1. Fixed an error when saving changes on the Admin dropdown list editor.

(Requested by: Katie Wilder,  Mounds View Public Schools #60400)