DESE News Headlines

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2023
03/24/2023		Notice of Public Comment on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Annual State Application. The deadline for submission of public comment is April 24, 2023.
03/24/2023		DESE's Special Education team is proud to announce the release of a newly updated IEP form. It is expected that schools and districts will begin using the new forms between fall 2023 and fall 2024.
02/10/2023		Register for the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind (MCB) annual conference: Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) Visions of Collaboration Conference on March 24, 2023.
01/13/2023		Save the date. Massachusetts Commission for the Blind (MCB) will host their annual conference: Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) Visions of Collaboration Conference on March 24, 2023.
01/05/2023		LEA Assignment Quick Reference Guide updated
2022
12/16/2022		Special Education Accountability and Assistance Webinar
12/07/2022		Survey on how collecting parental consent to bill Medicaid impacts school districts
11/22/2022		University of Massachusetts Boston, Vision Studies Graduate Program Webinar. Learn about the Vision Studies MEd program, graduate certificate programs, and career opportunities in Vison Education and Rehabilitation.
11/09/2022		MA DESE Indicator 12 Regional Meetings
11/04/2022		DESE/FCSN/Parent Meeting
10/31/2022		Are you a new Director of Special Education? Participate with a cohort of your peers in the DESE-sponsored Leadership Institute 2022-2023. Apply online.
10/21/2022		The Department in collaboration with state agencies that provide adult services to individuals with disabilities who reached age 22 between March 10, 2020, and September 1, 2023.
09/16/2022		Interdisciplinary District Decision-Making Teams Professional Development: Paving the Way for Reading Proficiency for All Students Including Those with Dyslexia Course.
09/16/2022		Upcoming Indicator 7 Data webinar: To support you in implementing these data collection changes, our external evaluators for Indicator 7 and SSIP.
09/09/2022		Are You an Experienced Director of Special Education? Participate with a cohort of your peers in the DESE-sponsored Leadership Institute 2022-2023. Apply online by September 12th.
09/07/2022		REGISTER NOW for the Early Childhood Coordinators Administrative Leadership Institute and Community of Practice for 2022-2023
09/02/2022		Reissued Mileage Reimbursement for Parents memo
08/25/2022		Effective Behavioral Intervention Programs Assistance
07/26/2022		Chapter 688 Referral Form has been updated and posted on the Chapter 688 Information and Referral Forms page
07/01/2022		All LEAs will be required to submit an updated Special Education Program Plan Statements (SEPPS) for FY23 which must be approved before your FY23 IDEA grants can be approved.
06/29/2022		DESE has converted the Draft Improved IEP Form (IEP 1 – IEP 8) to Word format, translated it into Chinese, Haitian-Creole, Portuguese, Spanish and Vietnamese and posted to the IEP Improvement Project website.
06/29/2022		MCAS-Alt Decision Making Tool Translation and Availability
06/13/2022		IDEA equitable services carry-over from FY21 FC 240/262: Action Required
06/09/2022		Draft IEP Form Feedback Survey
06/06/2022		Massachusetts Education Job Fair hosted by DESE and MASSHIRE, 15 June 2022 10AM-2PM. There are thousands of positions to fill at all experience levels in districts across the Commonwealth.
05/27/2022		Fiscal Year 2022 final grant payment windows. These final windows are for all grants regardless of whether they end 6/30/2022 or 8/31/2022. July is the final grant request window for FY22.
05/10/2022		Special Education Accountability and Assistance Webinar — Support for LEAs with a Determination of Needs Assistance (NA) or Needs Intervention (NI)
04/29/2022		IEP Improvement Project Update: DESE is excited to announce that a new draft IEP form is now available for initial public review.