Technical Assistance — Documents

• Child Find Resources
  Provides resources about child find, including a child find factsheet and a sample child find poster that school districts may use. It also contains a model letter that school districts can use to reach out to parents or guardians of school age children who are not enrolled in school and are not homeschooled. Translated versions are also available at the link.

• Time-Out Room Log
  In the limited instances that time-out rooms are used, it is important to collect, review, and analyze the data about their use. Such data should be kept in the same manner that your school maintains restraint data. Each time that a time-out room is used, the school can use this form to collect information.

• Question and Answer Guide on the Implementation of Educational Services in the Home or Hospital
  This guide developed to assist and answer some of the questions associates with the Implementation of Educational Services in the Home or Hospital

• Restraint Data Instructions
  These instructions are for use with the Restraint Data Application that is now the method by which schools and districts will be reporting their restraint data to ESE.

• Guidelines for the Specialized Assessment of Students with Visual Impairments
  The Guidelines for the Specialized Assessment of Students with Visual Impairments have been prepared to ensure a common understanding of the purpose and complexity of conducting assessments of students with visual impairments, both for eligibility identification and for ongoing services. The document will assist IEP Teams in designing instruction and support to ensure access to the general curriculum and the life of the school. Various types of assessments are reviewed and sample assessments are provided for an initial or a three-year reevaluation. Additional resources are provided to help educators and related services providers meet the unique needs of students with visual impairments and to prepare them for employment and independent living.

• Guidance for Parent Advisory Councils
  This guidance document was designed to ensure that every special education parent advisory council operating in the state understands the capacity and potential that they have to collaborate with the school community to influence special education programs and policies in their district.

• IEP Process Guide
  The IEP Process guide was developed to lead the reader through the revised IEP process as well as suggest sound practices.

• Parent's Notice of Procedural Safeguards
  The Parent's Notice of Procedural Safeguards is designed to assist the parent in understanding the special education process, and the rights of parents when their child has been referred for or is receiving special education services.

• A Parent's Guide to Special Education
  Written collaboratively by the Federation for Children with Special Needs and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, "A Parent's Guide to Special Education" was developed to serve as a resource for parents and the organizations that serve them.

• Is Special Education the right Service?
  Along with statutory requirements and state regulations, this document offers guidance on how to ensure a responsive general education environment and guidelines to assist practitioners and parents in identifying students with disabilities.

• A Parent's Guide to Selecting A Special Education Advocate in Massachusetts
  Written collaboratively by the Federation for Children with Special Needs and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, "A Parent's Guide to Selecting A Special Education Advocate in Massachusetts" was developed to assist parents in choosing an advocate in the Special Education process when needed.

  The purpose of this document is to provide guidelines for the participation of students with disabilities in statewide tests and to familiarize educators and parents/guardians with available test accommodations.

Last Updated: November 22, 2021