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The Draft Report is a draft of the Final Report to be issued by DESE to the Program. It is based on a review of the information gathered during the Discovery and Engagement Phases and specifically identifies findings of noncompliance. Within ten business days of receipt, the Program has the opportunity to respond to DESE regarding the factual accuracy of the Draft Report. The response must include supporting documentation that upholds any identified discrepancy. The Draft Report is only issued for Program Reviews and not Mid-Cycle Reviews.
After making any necessary edits to the Draft Report, DESE issues the Final Report. The Final Report includes findings organized under four specified compliance areas: (1) Policies and Procedures, (2) Staff, (3) Student, and (4) Buildings and Facilities. The findings explain the ratings or determinations by DESE about the implementation status of the compliance criteria reviewed within each area. The ratings indicate those criteria that were found by the monitoring team to be "Implemented," "Implemented Response Required," "Implementation in Progress," "Partially Implemented," or "Not Implemented". The Final Report will also list any area of noncompliance remedied through the pre-finding correction process. Upon issuance, the Final Report is made available to the public on the DESE website.
Certificates of Approval (Full Approval, Provisional Approval, and Probationary Approval) are issued to Approved Special Education Programs and Collaborative Approved Public Day Programs following each Program and Mid-Cycle Review based on the level of compliance with relevant review criteria. Additionally, a new Certificate of Approval may be issued as the result of changes made to the Program regarding Program configuration or as a result of Targeted Monitoring processes (described below) outside of the review cycle that results in the change of approval status due to new or additional findings of noncompliance. DESE utilizes the following three approval statuses:
For Approved Special Education Programs or Collaborative Approved Public Day Programs that substantially meet review requirements, DESE issues a Certificate of Full Approval. Full Approval will remain in effect for three school years and will expire on August 31st of the third school year. However, the Department may change the approval status at any point during this three-year period if circumstances arise that warrant such a change. Full Approval status is contingent upon continued compliance with the applicable requirements, including but not limited to 603 CMR 28.00 Massachusetts Special Education Regulations, 603 CMR 18.00 Program and Safety Standards for Approved Public or Private Day and Residential Special Education School Programs, and 603 CMR 46.00 Prevention of Physical Restraint and Requirements If Used regulations.
For Approved Special Education Programs or Collaborative Approved Public Day Programs that do not meet all requirements for Full Approval and the Program demonstrates the ability to implement the goals and objectives of each enrolled student's IEP, DESE may issue Provisional Approval effective for a period not to exceed six months. If provisional approval is granted, the Department indicates the specific conditions that must be met within the six-month Provisional Approval status. Once the applicable requirements are met by the Program, DESE may issue Full Approval Status for the Program for the remainder of the review cycle. DESE determines that the Program met the applicable requirements through various means, such as a review of staff records, student records, facility tours, classroom observations, staff interviews, or other means DESE deems appropriate.
At any time, DESE may place an Approved Special Education Program or Collaborative Approved Public Day Program on Probationary Approval if it becomes aware of conditions that compromise the Program's ability to provide a safe, healthy and appropriate educational environment. In such circumstances, DESE provides written notice of the Probationary Approval status, the circumstances that caused DESE to take such action, and the actions necessary to correct the problem. Refer to 603 CMR 28.09(4) for a detailed explanation of standards and procedures relating to Probationary Status.
When, in DESE's judgment, conditions at an Approved Special Education Program or Collaborative Approved Public Day Program threaten the health or safety of the students in the Program, acceptance of any additional eligible students (intake) may be prohibited and DESE will establish a time not to exceed 14 days within which the Program must correct the identified issues.
If DESE determines conditions at an Approved Special Education Program or Collaborative Approved Public Day Program compromise the Program's ability to provide an appropriate education but do not threaten the health and safety of the students, DESE can establish a deadline of up to 90 days by which the Program must correct the identified issues. As part of this process, DESE determines if it is necessary to close student intake during this period. DESE will not close intake for more than 60 days in any 12-month period without a full review of the approval status of the Approved Special Education Program or Collaborative Approved Public Day Program.
Within two school days of receipt of notice from DESE placing Approved Special Education Program or Collaborative Approved Public Day Program on Probationary Approval, the Program must provide notification to the parents of all enrolled Massachusetts students, all Massachusetts school districts with enrolled students, and officials of Massachusetts human service agencies or agencies of other states with responsibility for any students at the Program. Notification must state that the Program has been assigned probationary status, that intake is closed, if applicable, and the reasons for such status.
At the end of the time period for corrective action or when the issue giving rise to probationary status is resolved, whichever is sooner, DESE may reinstate the full approval status of the Approved Special Education Program or Collaborative Approved Public Day Program, change the approval status to provisional, or withdraw approval. The Department will provide written notification of its action to the Program. Within one month of receipt of a written request for reconsideration of any DESE action in relation to probationary status, DESE will consider the request and make a formal written response. At its discretion, DESE may hold a hearing on the facts, make site visits, or issue an alternative remedy.
DESE gives public notice on its website when it has determined that an Approved Special Education Program or Collaborative Approved Public Day Program must be placed on Probationary Approval.
DESE must make a finding for any confirmed area of noncompliance. The Program and DESE will identify the appropriate corrective action, following either the Program Review or Mid-Cycle Review, to verify 100% regulatory compliance of all identified findings, based on the following factors: (1) child-specific noncompliance; (2) systemic noncompliance; and (3) policy, procedure, and practice noncompliance.
Verification of resolution of noncompliance may require DESE to review additional data or information. Evidence of correction may include, but is not limited to:
In addition, all Programs must submit a written assurance signed by the executive director and the chairperson of the Board of Directors regarding their commitment to implementing any identified corrective actions. This commitment includes making DESE's findings available to staff, parent advisory groups, and the general public as well as following the ordered dates of progress report completion.
The Program has twenty (20) business days to submit the proposed corrective action plan (CAP). Within one week following the issuance of a Program Review Final Report that includes findings of noncompliance, the review chairperson contacts the Program to discuss the Program's proposed CAP to DESE. The purpose of the proposed CAP is for the Program to identify actions it plans to take to correct each finding of noncompliance and describe how it intends to maintain compliance over time. During the technical assistance meeting, DESE reviews the components of the proposed CAP and required elements for the Program to provide.
Upon receipt of the proposed CAP, DESE reviews and approves it if it includes all of the required elements. If it does not, DESE either partially approves or disapproves the proposed CAP and then issues the CAP with improvement requirements specified by DESE.
For all areas of noncompliance, Programs are required to complete Progress Reports to demonstrate effective resolution of noncompliance identified by DESE as soon as possible but in no case later than one year from the issuance of DESE's Report. Programs describe and provide evidence to DESE indicating what they have done to remedy noncompliance. DESE requests that this information is comprehensive, detailing dates, roles and responsibilities, tracking mechanisms and a clear understanding of the root cause of noncompliance to confirm noncompliance is addressed systemically. If an area of noncompliance is not fully resolved by one of the scheduled submission dates, DESE will review and note what has been corrected, identify the areas of improvement sustained, while providing additional expectations for full resolution. If needed, DESE will provide additional structured guidance. This process is iterative between the Program and DESE until all areas of noncompliance have been approved as corrected.
Unannounced visits may include a tour of the facility, classroom observations, record reviews, staff interviews, and documentation review based on required elements of the Progress Reports. The collected data are reviewed by DESE and discussed in a debrief meeting with DESE leadership. Finally, if applicable and appropriate, DESE sends a letter to the Program within 60 days of the unannounced visit to describe any required additional information/visits, action-steps, and/or change in Program approval.
Upon receipt of any letter from DESE that identifies noncompliance, the Program must respond to DESE with any corrective action required to bring those areas into compliance with state or federal requirements. In some instances, DESE may have found certain requirements to be fully "Implemented" but made a specific comment on the Program's implementation methods that also may require a response from the Program. Programs must demonstrate effective resolution of noncompliance identified by DESE as soon as possible but no later than one year after DESE's Program Review Final Report issuance.
Last Updated: May 20, 2025