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.