01/23/08 Recent improvements

The following changes were installed on SpEd Forms servers on 01/23/08.

Individual Services Plan (ISP)

1. An IEP can now easily be printed as an ISP. The user can simply select ISP as the plan type on the student's Edit Setup page or on the IEP Menu.

Evaluation Report

1. Several SpEd Forms Evaluation Report Test Templates have been updated.

IEP

1. An adaptations bank has been added to the 2007-08 Services and Modifications page. The drop down menus for "Adaptive Equipment", "Special Transportation", and "Program Modifications" sections all contain extensive lists of possible adaptations.

Administrators:

1. In the user profile, administrators can now select the "Admin menu" as their default view.

2. "Admin Student List" and "Admin Menu" have been added to the "Jump to" drop down menu's located on the student's form menu allowing for faster navigation throughout the program.

3. A super administrative preference has been added that will put the "Notice of Procedural Safeguards" language at the bottom of the Notice of Team Meeting (2007-08).

4. The spell check has been added to the Administrative Evaluation Report Templates section.

5. A super administrator preference has been added that will "Allow Text Mode" use in the Evaluation Reports. By default, users will only be able to select templates using DesignMode unless this preference is set by the super admin.

6. A super administrative preference has been added to allow administrators to hide the 2006-07 forms.

7. A new Custom Reports interface has been added to the administrative menu. The new Custom Reports interface helps administrators gain easier access to their data.

General program changes:

1. A spell check has been added to the narrative fields on the Spanish forms located throughout the program. When checking the Spanish narrative fields, once the spell check window is opened, it will be necessary to select "Espanol" from the drop down menu that appears. Any misspelled words and appropriate corrections will be displayed in Spanish.

2. A new SpEd Forms (non_MARSS) evaluation status has been added to identify students for which parents refused testing. These students would generally be recorded as "Not evaluated", but we have added the additional code because it may help districts collect useful information.

The following changes were installed on SpEd Forms servers on 01/04/08.

Evaluation Report:

1. The wording regarding "initial evaluation" has been removed from the eligibility section.

2. "Text Mode" will be disabled by default so all new templates will automatically be in DesignMode. "Text Mode" can be enabled in the administrative preferences.

3. A super admin preference to remove the reference to "Secondary Disability" from the signature page has been added.

4. Some districts would prefer that all of the team members be required to sign off and either agree or disagree with every evaluation. For this reason, a super admin preference to include all team members signatures, not just for SLD or Team overrides, has been added.

5. Several new test templates have been added and existing templates updated per current requirements.

6. We have increased the default vertical size of the Evaluation Report fields by 30% and added arrows that when clicked on, shrink and grow the text entry field in the Evaluation Report. In addition if the user does not have edit access, they are now not able to type into the text entry field.

Parent Consent/Objection Form:

1. A super admin preference to remove the "I agree with some proposals and object to the following (specify your objections)" language from the form has been added.

Proposed Notice of Educational Evaluation/Reevaluation Plan:

1. A super admin preference to remove the phrase "including any required medical services to determine a medically related disability" from this form has been implemented.

Authorization for Release of Information:

1. The district address will automatically populate the "can be stopped any time by sending…" section.

2. The current date will automatically populate the second date box in the "Created between" section. This date can be modified if needed but will potentially reduce the amount of data entry required on this page.

Referral Review and Assessment Determination:

1. An "Other" box has been added to the "Review of Learner's Performance" section of the form.

Administrative Changes:

1. New report called "Find Students Without History" that will allow administrators to locate students that do not have finalized IEP's by case manager, school or district.

2. An "Administrator Note Section" has been added to the Edit Setup page. These notes are only modifiable by administrators but can be viewed by teachers.

3. Two new reports have been added to the MA Forms reports menu, "Reimbursement by School" and "MA Workload Analysis". The "Services Current" report has been modified to include the information on the "Student Information Summary".

4. An alternate form for "Written Agreement for Not Attending an IEP Meeting" has been added to the program. The super administrator can select which of the forms appears.

5. Early Childhood referral form has been added to the form menu titled "Referral for Screening/Evaluation Birth to Age 3".