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A message from the
Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education

July 13, 2020
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News from Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Contents:

  1. Additional Guidance on Fall Reopening Plans
  2. Picture of the Week: Summer School in Fall River
  3. Comprehensive Special Education Guidance for the 2020-21 School Year
  4. Bids Sought for Learning Management System
  5. Comment on Waiver Request Related to the MCAS Alternate Assessment
  6. DESE Resource Corner: Students with IEPs Ages 6-21 Edwin Report
  7. Autism Insurance Resource Center

1. Additional Guidance on Fall Reopening Plans:


On Friday, July 10, DESE sent districts additional guidance (download) and an FAQ (download) about fall reopening plans, which are due to DESE by Friday, July 31. The Department will provide a template this week. Districts are required to submit one reopening plan that will address health and safety requirements and different student learning models — in-person, hybrid, and remote learning. The plan must also describe how special populations will be effectively served within each of the models.
 
At this time, given the current low transmission rates of COVID-19 in the state, and pursuant to emergency regulations recently passed by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, DESE is asking districts and schools to prioritize in-person instruction. Specifically, we have asked districts to focus on assessing the feasibility of bringing back students in-person, and those feasibility studies should be taking place in districts now.
 
Commissioner Riley has requested that districts postpone any announcements about what reopening will look like in their district until early August. The Department and districts are still waiting for key information that will directly impact the best reopening model for each community. That information includes updates about financial resources that may be available, such as the possibility of a second federal stimulus package, and any change in local COVID-19 transmission rates.
 
The Department will continue to release FAQs with updates and covering additional topics as more details become available.

Picture of the Week:

Summer school is in session in many places, including Fall River’s Mary L. Fonseca Elementary School, where activities included designing a marble maze. (Photo courtesy of Fall River Public Schools)
paper plate with straws

3. Comprehensive Special Education Guidance for the 2020-21 School Year:


On Thursday, July 9, DESE released Comprehensive Special Education Guidance for the 2020-21 School Year (download), which supplements the Initial Fall School Reopening Guidance (download), released on Thursday, June 25. The document provides further information on supporting students with disabilities during the upcoming school year and will be useful for districts as they develop the special education portion of their reopening plan.

4. Bids Sought for Learning Management System:


The Department has posted an RFR for a learning management system aligned with the state curriculum frameworks and integrated with grade K-12 courses. The system would help districts offer remote learning by offering a service that districts and collaboratives could choose to purchase. Bids are due at noon on Wednesday, July 22.

5. Comment on Waiver Request Related to the MCAS Alternate Assessment:


The Department intends to seek an extension of its existing waiver from the federal requirement that no more than 1 percent of eligible students in Massachusetts take alternate assessments. During the 2018-2019 school year, 1.4 percent of eligible Massachusetts students took the MCAS-Alt. Anyone who would like to comment on DESE’s request for a waiver can submit their comments via email to mcas@doe.mass.edu until Saturday, August 15.

6. DESE Resource Corner:


Students with IEPs Ages 6-21 Edwin Report: The Department is pleased to announce the creation of a new special education Edwin report, entitled SP601: Students with IEPs Ages 6-21, that is now available to school districts. The new report allows users to customize a list of individual students ages 6-21 who have individualized education programs (IEPs). This list contains demographic information, special population data, and state assessment results data. Searches can be expanded across multiple years and narrowed by a wide range of search criteria related to student demographics and/or district and school information.
 
The SP601 report is available in Edwin Analytics in the DESE Security Portal. For any questions about this report, please contact the Office of Special Education and Planning and Policy Development at specialeducation@doe.mass.edu or by calling 781-338-3375.

7. Autism Insurance Resource Center:


The Autism Insurance Resource Center (AIRC) at UMass Medical School is a comprehensive resource for information related to insurance coverage for autism treatments. The center assists with both MassHealth and private insurance and provides information, referral, and technical assistance to families, educators, providers and employers. School personnel are welcome to contact the center for technical assistance on insurance-related issues or refer families directly.
 
The resources on the center’s website at https://massairc.org/ include a fact sheet library with translations in Spanish, Vietnamese, Portuguese, and Chinese. A special section of the site has COVID-19 information for families and providers and a fact sheet with links to comprehensive resources.
 
The center also hosts webinars and trainings on a variety of insurance-related topics and is happy to arrange specialized trainings for school district personnel or special education parent advisory councils (SEPACs). For more information, visit them online or call 774-455-4056.
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