Individualized Distance Learning Plan

SpEd Forms Users,

We have good news!

We have worked with our Advisory Committee, Special Education Directors from across the state and with Christian Shafer from Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney, PA to create an Individualized Distance Learning Plan to be used during this time of mandated distance learning. The form is now available for your use.

Your SpEd Forms Super Administrator will need to enable the form in order for it to be visible for your staff. Go to:

Admin organization
Preferences
Service Plans tab
Check “Enable Individualized Distance Learning Plan”
Click Save
Once the form has been enabled, it should appear on the student forms page directly under the IEP section.

The form will auto-fill with some student information from the working IEP. The form will not change anything in the student’s current IEP or Setup page. The form can then be finalized and saved in history, but there is no “validation” of the form required.

In addition to this form we have added sample language addressing the Individualized Distance Learning Plan to the PWN dropdowns. The language was provided by Rupp, Anderson, Squires & Waldspurger, PA.

We hope this new plan will be helpful to you and your staff. Please contact us with any questions or concerns.

Distance Learning Update

Good Morning SpEd Forms Users,

We don’t have to tell you that these are trying times as educators are working with urgency to prepare for distance learning. Perhaps no group has a more daunting task ahead of them than special educators. SpEd Forms is here for you. We are working with our Advisory Committee, Special Education Directors from across the state and with Christian Shafer from Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney, PA to create an Individualized Distance Learning Plan to be used in this time of distance learning. It will be out as soon as possible. Administrators will be able to choose this option to add to their list of forms with an admin preference that can be turned on or off. We will also be adding sample language provided by Rupp, Anderson, Squires & Waldspurger, PA for the PWN dropdowns addressing the Individualized Distance Learning Plan. We hope these items will be helpful to you and your staff.

Please hang tight. We are working hard to get this developed for you.

Documenting Distance Learning Correspondence

From the MDE: 

SpEd Forms has many tools designed to make the due process and documentation work easier for case managers and service providers. One such tool is the SpEd Forms Communication Log, which allows you to quickly and easily document correspondence between the school and parents. 

This tool is especially useful for districts that are currently developing plans to employ distance learning. Families may have questions about how to complete distance learning, or may need extra guidance as they prepare for an adjusted educational format. It can be useful to document this correspondence.

How to use the Communication Log:

  1. Choose the desired student from the list of students you serve.
  2. Click: OTHER FORMS AND LOGS
  3. Click: Communication Log
    1. If you have completed other logs you will see them in a list now.  
    2. You can edit or delete any of the logs from this screen.
    3. You can print the list of log entries by clicking on the print icon.
  4. Click: NEW ENTRY
  5. A box comes up with your name, date, time, contact method and boxes to document the reason for contacting the person and notes from the conversation.    
  6. After completing the form click “Save.”

Extra tip:

Below the NEW ENTRY is a link to Parent/Guardian Information. Clicking on that link will show you a list of parent information including all phone numbers and email addresses that were listed in the student’s setup.  

District educators and administrators can learn about additional tools and processes in the SpEd Forms Support Center.

Coronavirus Response

Dear SpEd Forms Users,

SpEd Forms software will continue to operate normally as schools respond to the coronavirus public emergency.

To protect everyone’s health, our staff is now working from home and replacing face-to-face meetings with video conferences. We have limited office staffing to one person at any time.

Rest assured we stand with you during this difficult time.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

SpEd Forms’ 2020 Redesign: What You Need To Know

As of Saturday, March 7, we’ve added a new drop down menu in “Profile” called “Version”. This menu allows users to choose from two versions of SpEd Forms: “2000” and “2020”. “2020” allows users to preview the “new and improved” SpEd Forms interface that will be released over the upcoming year. 

 

New “Version” menu

The 2000 version is selected by default. If a user chooses 2020 then some pages in SpEd Forms will look and feel different. For example:

 

Student list in SpEd Forms 2000
Student list in SpEd Forms 2000

Student list in SpEd Forms 2020

Super administrators can prevent users choosing 2020 by unchecking the “Enable SpEd Forms 2020” preference.

 

SpEd Forms 2020 is a new, contemporary user interface for SpEd Forms.

SpEd Forms has retained a similar look and feel for almost twenty years to minimize change over time for SpEd Forms users. However, in recent years it has become apparent the 2000 design cannot be adapted to meet the evolving needs of our customers.

The most important improvements in SpEd Forms 2020 are:

  1. Navigation and data entry on small mobile devices.
  2. Compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0).
  3. A user interface that is intuitive for new users.

Other improvements scheduled for July or sooner:

  1. Much improved data entry for MA activity logs.
  2. Single sign in from district identity portals
  3. Live Ed Fi record management (Wisconsin only)

SpEd Forms 2020 will be rolled out incrementally over the next twelve months. We encourage our “super-users” to try it out ahead of time, but we do not recommend schools make the full switch until July 2020, at which point substantial changes will be available. Schools will be able to choose to continue to use the familiar 2000 user interface until at least July 2021, allowing for gradual change-over. 

The workflow of 2020 is the same as the workflow for 2000

Although SpEd Forms 2020 looks different, the workflow remains the same as the 2000 version, and its pages contain the same elements as the old equivalent 2000 pages. Thus, the organization and workflow of SpEd Forms remains the same. For this reason we expect teachers to be able to use 2020 with minimal, if any, retraining.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about SpEd Forms 2020.

Email 03/06/2020: MN March Update

On Saturday, March 7th 2020, an update will be posted to all SpEd Forms sites. The update will include the changes listed below:

IEP
1. ESY checkboxes have been added to each IEP goal and objective that can be checked to indicate whether it should be included on the ESY services form.
(Source: Diane McCarron, SpEd Forms #40841)

ER
1. “Scales for Assessing Emotional Disturbance – 2nd Edition”, “Connors Comprehensive Behavior Rating Scales – Self Report” and “Functional Listening Evaluation” tests have all been added.
(Source: Gary Lewis, SpEd Forms #43010)
2. “Test of Gross Motor Development – 3rd Edition” has also been added for use.
(Source: Janea Mitchell, Wayzata Public Schools #43210)

Reports
1. “ER not finalized with days since ER date” and “Plan not finalized with days since meeting date” have both been added as available admin quick reports.
(Source: Heather Guzik, St. Croix River Education District #43015)

Email 03/06/2020: WI March Update

On Saturday, March 7th 2020, an update will be posted to all SpEd Forms sites. The update will include the changes listed below:

IEP
1. A link to “Measure Goal” has been added to the goal submenu.
(Source: Gary Lewis, SpEd Forms #40978)
2. Child Specific Paraprofessional Support has been added to the Program Summary I-4.4 A. Supplementary Aids and Services section.
(Source: Gary Lewis, SpEd Forms #41152)

ER
1. Added the SLD Team Signature page if SLD is the primary disability or the “SLD was assessed, therefore signatures are required” checkbox is selected.
(Source: Gary Lewis, SpEd Forms #40900)
2. “Scales for Assessing Emotional Disturbance – 2nd Edition”, “Connors Comprehensive Behavior Rating Scales – Self Report” and “Functional Listening Evaluation” tests have all been added.
(Source: Gary Lewis, SpEd Forms #43010)
3. “Test of Gross Motor Development – 3rd Edition” has also been added for use.
(Source: Gary Lewis, SpEd Forms #43210)

Other Forms
1. Team members will auto complete on the Notice of Meeting of the IEP Team I-1, Team Meeting Cover Page I-3 and the Evaluation Report Cover Page.
(Source: Gary Lewis, SpEd Forms #DE-237)

Organization
1. Preferences to “Allow educators to permanently delete histories less than one month old” or “Allow educators to permanently delete any history” have been added.
(Source: Mark Oehrlein, SpEd Forms #43070)

Email 02/13/2020: MN February Update

On Saturday, February 15th 2020, an update will be posted to all SpEd Forms sites. The update will include the changes listed below:

IEP
1. The dropdowns for the Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS Accommodations and General Supports) have been updated.
(Source: Diane McCarron, SpEd Forms #42893)

IFSP
1. “Needed Medical and Other Services” has been added to the IFSP validation process.
(Source: David Thomas, White Bear Lake Area School District #41199)

504
1. Wording on the Parent/Student Rights form has been updated, a new checkbox has been added to the Notice of Discontinuation form and step 2 (a) has been revised on the Manifestation Determination form.
(Source: Angela Bunnell, Rum River Special Education Coop #40628)

ER
1. SpEd Forms Criteria for Deaf-Blind has been updated.
(Source: Gary Lewis, SpEd Forms #42766)
2. “Developmental Profile 3” and “Devereux Early Childhood Assessment” tests have been added for use.
(Source: Diane McCarron, SpEd Forms #42617)

Other Forms
1. Start and End Times have been added to the Emergency Health/Transportation Information (2019) form. Gender has also been added to this form.
(Source: Sally Wulf, Westonka Public Schools #41464)
(Source: Steph Betley, Shakopee Public Schools #42885)
2. A Procedure drop down has been added to the Use of Restrictive Procedures: Physical Holding form. Administrators can add options to this dropdown for use.
(Source: Kandice Voigt, Benton Stearns Education Programs #42575)
3. There will now be a Parent/Guardian section available in the ECSE COSF team list.
(Source: Katie Mikla, Hastings Public Schools #41292)
4. The Parent/Guardian section will also be available on the IFSP Team Members page.
(Source: Sue Scully, Shakopee Public Schools #42719)

Organization
1. An “Emergency Health/Transportation Email” field has been added to the school setup page. There is also a preference on this same page, titled “send an email to the ‘Emergency Health/Transportation Email’ when the ‘Emergency Health/Transportation Information (2019)’ form is finalized.” When there is at least one email address listed and the checkbox for the preference is checked, the email address will receive an automatic email from SpEd Forms when a student’s Emergency Health/Transportation Information (2019) form has been finalized. This is meant to get transportation information to the correct transportation department.
(Source: Duane Woeste, North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale ISD #40011)
2. An admin preference titled “Do not automatically finalize the IEP Snapshot when the IEP is finalized” has been added.
(Source: Whitney Swenson, Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools #40932)
3. The ability to add a tertiary disability has been added. There is also an accompanying admin preference to turn this off.
(Source: Laura Odland, Willmar Public Schools #41010)

Reports
1. “Revocation of Consent” has been added to the available blank forms in pdf format.
(Source: Jennifer Clausen, Owatonna Public Schools #42699)

Announcements

1. “My evaluations” has been removed under Educator Reports due to the availability of the Assessment Tracker.

Where’s the Money?

As 2017-2018 medical billing claims are being reprocessed, some business managers might be wondering, “Where’s the money?” Even if you have submitted your claims, you may not have received compensation from the Department of Human Services. This is because you will not receive a check until you have paid back your recoupment balance from FY18. 

We wrote about the reprocessing of FY18 claims in our December 10th blog post and explained how to use MA Forms to review your data. Business managers should have already completed processing and re-submitted claims for 2017-18. If the final rate calculated is less than the interim rate your district was paid, you will have a recoupment balance. Some districts may need to pay back thousands of dollars. The DHS does not request a check from schools, but will retain any payments of claims submitted in the future until their balance is paid in full.

In December, we explained how billing coordinators can utilize the Annual Rates report to help gather data to determine if their MA rates need to be updated. Business managers also play an important role in the rate setting process. Deciding to move costs of eligible providers to federal sources could have a significant impact on rates.  Business managers need to ensure eligible providers, such as physical, occupational, and speech therapists, school psychologists and nurses have a proportionate amount of their salary or contracted service locally funded.

To view the report that contains the information the Department of Human Services uses in their rate calculation you visit the MDE’s Data Reports and Analytics page. To see data for salaries and contracted services, follow these steps:

  1. Select your district
  2. For Category, select “Special Education”
  3. For Report, select “Special Education Medical Assistance Report on Salaries, Contracted Services and FTE”

Here you can view your reported costs and FTE and verify that they are staying consistent from year to year, which will help your MA rates stay consistent as well.  You can also request the Service Minutes and Groups MA report for each provider from the billing coordinator to ensure you have enough time coded to local funds.

To learn more about SpEd Forms’ medical billing software, MA Forms, please visit our website.

Infrastructure Upgrade Complete

SpEd Forms has completed major server infrastructure upgrades to address performance issues identified mid-December 2019. The new infrastructure was configured over the holiday break and then all SpEd Forms sites were incrementally moved between January 2nd to January 19th.

The performance of the new infrastructure under load has been measured and analyzed under load and I am now pleased to report SpEd Forms is now faster than ever.

Yours sincerely,

Shane Dennis
SpEd Forms Inc.

PS – I would like to say a special thanks to Michael Buswell and Mark Oehrlein who worked over the holiday period to complete the infrastructure upgrade. Thank you Michael and Mark!