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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?
Nina (Sunday, 23 March 2025 13:32)
Hi Everyone,
What are your initial thoughts on the changes made to the Massachusetts IEP format?
This is only my second year working in a Therapeutic Intervention Program. I previously worked in general education for over 2 decades. That being said, my only exposure to the IEP process was completing academic update forms sent by Special Ed Liaisons and attending IEP meetings. But it's a positive change according to my colleagues.
Which specific updates do you think will most positively impact how special education services are delivered to students?
I think student and family voice will most positively impact how special education services are delivered to students because assistance is highly nuanced with a fine tooth comb. Also, feeling that someone is listening, that you are truly being heard, is very powerful.
How do you envision using the updated IEP format in your own work with students who have disabilities?
I can focus on best practices (eg. accommodations and modifications) which can be further refined and tailored for each student.
In what ways do you think the increased focus on student strengths and family involvement can enhance the IEP process?
The increased focus on student strengths and family involvement can enhance the IEP process because it is powerful lens. The emphasis is building upon a hearty preexisting foundation instead of a place of want, need, or deficiency.
(Instructor) Rae (Tuesday, 25 March 2025 17:05)
Nina, your perspective on the new Massachusetts IEP format is insightful, especially given your transition from general education to a Therapeutic Intervention Program! What an exciting move from general education to a therapeutic program!
The emphasis of the new IEP form on student and family voice aligns with research on effective IEP development. Studies suggest that when families and students are actively engaged in the process, there is greater buy-in, improved goal alignment, and better student outcomes (Fish, 2008). It is very empowering, as you said.
One way to further strengthen this involvement is by using structured tools, like pre-meeting family input forms or student-led IEP meetings. We shared some tools for gaining the student's vision, and you will find additional resources to enhance family participation within the course resources.
Your mention of focusing on best practices in accommodations and modifications is also critical. The updated IEP format's explicit categorization of accommodations by setting (presentation, response, timing, and environment) helps ensure consistency in implementation. Research suggests that clearly defining how accommodations are applied increases their effectiveness (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2001). This can be shared within the IEP by being specific in our language. For example, instead of preferential seating, we can be more specific by saying seating close to instruction or seating near peer models of expectations.
Has anyone noticed a shift in how accommodations (and modifications) are discussed in meetings?
Finally, your point about shifting from a deficit mindset to a strengths-based approach is crucial. This aligns with Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which emphasizes leveraging student strengths to create accessible learning opportunities (Meyer, Rose, & Gordon, 2014). This shift influences goal development and student progress. I'm hoping this means that more schools are focused on UDL trainings for teachers.
Amy Warren-Dufour (Monday, 31 March 2025 19:59)
Hello,
I, like Kelly, am a preschool teacher and participate in a high percentage of initial IEP meetings (many of which are transition meetings from Early Intervention) as well as annual meetings.
What are your initial thoughts on the changes made to the Massachusetts IEP format?
Initially, when it was first introduced, I think a lot of us thought it was going to be a lot more work based on the sheer amount of pages contained in the IEP. Once we started using the new form and discovered that many of those pages don't apply to our younger students it seemed more manageable. I also think it is a lot more user friendly in terms of reading as well as being able to locate information quickly.
Which specific updates do you think will most positively impact how special education services are delivered to students?
I agree that listing who is responsible for each part is extremely helpful- for educators and families. I also like that the form isn't redundant- with the same information in multiple places. It appears to be a much more "user friendly" document.
How do you envision using the updated IEP format in your own work with students who have disabilities?
My district began using the new form at the beginning of this school year. After working our way through a few meetings, we discovered that modifying our Meeting Summary form would be beneficial. Now, it mirrors the IEP form. Parents receive the meeting notes on this form via email shortly after the meeting, and can compare it to the proposed IEP they receive later. I think it helps families see how the conversation that takes place during the meeting makes it into the IEP.
In what ways do you think the increased focus on student strengths and family involvement can enhance the IEP process?
I think it helps the meeting have a more positive note- because you aren't just discussing the areas in which a child struggles. And families have a bigger role in the process, because they are sharing with us the things their child enjoys doing that we may not have known.
In addition, I have seen the IEP from a parent point of view. Many years ago, when my child was being evaluated, the initial IEP contained pages and pages of a report that listed all of the areas in which my child was low average or below average. As a parent, it was heartbreaking to read. Once we changed schools, the IEP got "cleaned up" a bit, with that information being removed and a new, concise document being generated. This year, I just recently received the updated IEP in the new format. I found it easier to read- and I was able to locate all of the items I wanted to be sure were included. In addition, I loved that my child's thoughts and contributions were included. Someone took the time to ask- what are YOUR long term goals? Where do YOU see yourself in the next year? five years? long term plans? It just seemed more reflective of my child.
Dustin (Instructor) (Tuesday, 01 April 2025 17:04)
Amy, your perspective as both an educator and a parent is incredibly valuable. We really appreciate you sharing this with us! Your experience receiving an IEP for your child highlights exactly why the shift toward student strengths and family voice is so important. It’s a huge step forward to move away from a document that feels like a list of deficits to one that truly represents the whole child. I have also found how excited the whole team is to hear the student's voice when we share their goals for themselves.
It’s great to hear that your district adapted its Meeting Summary form to align with the new IEP structure—this is a fantastic way to increase clarity for families and ensure a smoother transition from discussion to documentation. Thanks for bringing this up! I created a meeting summary form for the schools I work with that I will share with everyone as well if you would all find this to be helpful!
It sounds like the new format has been a positive change for districts and families. I would agree that at first it did feel like a great undertaking, but I would also agree that now having developed many of them, I find that the format is much more student-, family- and district-friendly.
Have you noticed any differences in how parents engage with the process now that it’s more user-friendly?