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(Instructor) Dustin (Tuesday, 04 March 2025 09:21)
Welcome to the discussion board for Supporting Students: Understanding Massachusetts' Updated IEP Form! To get our conversation started, here are a few discussion topics to guide your reflections:
What are your initial thoughts on the changes made to the Massachusetts IEP format?
Which specific updates do you think will most positively impact how special education services are delivered to students?
How do you envision using the updated IEP format in your own work with students who have disabilities?
In what ways do you think the increased focus on student strengths and family involvement can enhance the IEP process?
While participation in this discussion is not required, it provides an opportunity for us to stay connected and continue our conversation in between synchronous sessions. Since most of the course is asynchronous, this is a great place for deeper exploration and engagement with your peers.
Feel free to share your ideas, ask questions, and respond to your classmates' posts. Your contributions will help enrich the learning experience for everyone!
Kelly Boyle (Sunday, 16 March 2025 12:51)
Hi: I currently teach Preschool and most of my students are initial evaluations (with a few annual evaluations.) We've been using the new IEP since September and have had some training in the fall and winter. My first thoughts about the IEP are 1. It includes the "student's voice" 2. I like the way it is organized and hope the general education teachers can access the information more easily and 3. Change takes time for all stakeholders.
One of the things that I think is positive is identifying who is collecting the data on the student and how often. We need to have time to teach the concepts/skills to students and then measure their progress. Data doesn't have to been an overwhelming process. I've been in meeting where general education teachers will says "most of the time"/"often" the student demonstrates a skill. So I think identifying who/how often data is collected will be beneficial in making important decisions. Our district has implemented "data windows" which has been helpful.
One of the sections on the IEP that I think will be helpful for the child specific instructional assistants is under the Accommodations section. Identifying when/where to use the accommodations (presentation, setting, response, and/or timing) will be helpful in implementing accommodations consistently.
Most of my parents are attending an initial meeting, so they are often overwhelmed with the terminology and pace of the meeting. The annual meetings involve more parent participation as the teachers/related service providers have now known each other for one year. Sharing students' strengths are always a highlight during the meeting because most of the conversations are centered around the students' disability and how it impacts their learning. And, the goals being set are for one year. Most of the parents I have don't really question goals or service delivery grids. I often will pause during the meeting and ask if they have any questions or understand what is being proposed. I think it is important that they understand they can reconvene the Team, throughout the school year, if they have questions or concerns. So, I hope the new form will be more easily understood and use friendly for families.
(Instructor) Dustin (Tuesday, 18 March 2025 17:22)
Kelly Boyle, I would agree with your thoughts - the emphasis on the student's voice, clearer organization, and better data collection practices are all positive steps toward making the IEP process more meaningful and effective.
Research supports the importance of structured data collection in IEP implementation. According to Hosp, Hosp, & Howell (2016), clear and systematic progress monitoring leads to more effective instructional decisions and helps teams adjust interventions when needed. Your district’s “data windows” approach sounds like a great way to ensure consistency without making data collection overwhelming for educators. One possible strategy to further support general education teachers and instructional assistants in this process is to provide a simple data collection template tailored to different goal areas—this could make tracking progress more manageable and accessible.
It's great to hear how you've already started implementing the new IEP form in your district. I do find it gets easier the more you use it. One thing I have found is that it tends to be easier to build an IEP using the new form when the team is a developing this during an initial eligibility meeting or a re-evaluation eligibility meeting. I know Rae also has found this to be true with her teams; have others?
Your point about parent participation in initial vs. annual meetings is also important. Studies on parent engagement in special education (Fish, 2008) highlight that initial IEP meetings can feel overwhelming due to the amount of information presented. One strategy to ease this could be providing a brief, parent-friendly guide summarizing key sections of the IEP before the meeting, allowing families to familiarize themselves with terms and expectations beforehand. This could empower them to ask more informed questions and feel more involved in the process.
How has everyone's district been supporting staff in explaining the new form to families? Are there resources or strategies you’ve found particularly helpful in making meetings more accessible and parent-friendly?