Family & Community Special Communities
Special Education

CSPD Training Project
Module One: The Massachusetts IEP Process

Introduction - Laws and Regulations

The goal of this unit is to help the IEP Team members become familiar with the laws and regulations and vocabulary that govern the IEP process. This unit should be presented in the following order:

1. The Word Bank Activity was developed to highlight the language and vocabulary surrounding Special Education. Participants may work in groups or individually to connect word and definition.

   		Word Bank Activity (a)
   		Word Bank Activity (b)
   		Word Bank Activity - answers

   
   
   
2. In the Laws and Regulations PowerPoint Presentation we specifically focused on six basic principles of the law:
   1. Parent and Student Participation
   2. Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
   3. Appropriate Evaluation
   4. Individualized Education Program (IEP)
   5. Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
   6. Procedural Safeguards

   The slides associated with these principles have been left blank. We suggest that you provide the participants an opportunity to discuss each topic with colleagues, and then record their understanding. In the PowerPoint talking points you will find presenter's information on each topic, available to make the discussion complete. The purpose of this presentation is to have the participants better understand the building blocks of special education.

3. This Law Activity | was developed so that participants can reflect on sections of the state special education regulations that they are familiar with and question those areas that they do not understand.

4. Resources: 603 CMR 28.00 Massachusetts Special Education Regulations