Keeping Pace
Special Education Update
September 30, 2014
Congratulations!
What a great start to a new year! Thank you for the extra efforts to get our students up and running smoothly this fall.
IEP at a GLANCE
Communication
EdPlan Updates!
PCG is continuing to add updates to EasyIEP in EdPlan. These will continue to be applied throughout the year as they fine tune the system to best meet our needs.
Current changes include:
1. MET changes*
2. "Save and Continue"...this will now move you right to the next page of your IEP, and not back to the main menu. This will help in expediting IEP prep...hooray for streamlining!
3. Eligibility warning... Will warn you if upcoming eligibility will expire in 120 days. This should help with not missing your re-eval dates!
* I will email a copy of the changes to you this week. Please take a look and make sure you understand and are familiar with the changes.
MEDICAID Billing and Trainings
We are in a unique situation as a county.... For the first time, our Medicaid check from the state to the GISD has been held, and districts will not be paid until the check arrives.
The state concern: In monitoring our percentage of services billed from year to year, they have identified a discernible drop. Though county student count may be down, our percentage of billed services overall is down in comparison to years past.
We submit our Actual Cost Report for Special Education each year, and Medicaid receives a very similar document showing our eligibility rate in county. This, in conjunction with "Random Moment of Time Study" percents (this is why these are important - time spent working with students increases the percent), and a few other items, derives a dollar amount to be paid to the county. Montrose, in turn, is paid based on our percentage of county Medicaid.
EVERY LOG COUNTS...EVERY MONTHLY SUMMARY COUNTS.
On the main menu of EdPlan under documents, there is a Medicaid Billing tab. If you click on that tab, it has a complete menu of help topics to answer your questions. As well, please refer to the email on the many Web Ex trainings available this year. You are welcome to participate in as many as you choose.
NEW! Staff are able to log services on inactive students now as well! A tip sheet will follow in an email.
Medicaid Billing for September Due!
Please RSVP when you finish your billing. Thank you!
Deadline for billing from last school year was June 11, 2014. Emails have been sent for outstanding billing for 2013-14. Please complete by Oct 3, and forward your Medicaid Logging Service Report to Cassy by noon on Friday, Oct. 3 (This report runs overnight after requested, so you may need to request by Thursday.)
Friday, Oct 3, 2014, 12:00 PM
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RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Special Note: Amendments
If you are amending an IEP, please remember to go into the PLAAFP and adjust it to reflect the amended change. Then go into the section you are amending, and make the correction. Finally, remember that a parent contact is required.
NEW! EasyFax and Smart Scan
A new feature in EdPlan will now allow secretaries to assign a bar code to certain pages of the IEP, and upload them in Documents. Just a note, as you may see these in reviewing documents for students in EdPlan.
Primarily, this feature will be used for IEP signature pages, P.T. scrips, Medicaid "One-Time Consent" pages, etc. This will be an especially useful tool for audit purposes, documentation for out-of-state students, and keeping these critical documents attached to a student file in EdPlan.
Great stuff! As this becomes implemented, keep an eye out for these documents to appear in the Documents tab for your students.
EdPlan 504 Menu
New! Coming soon to EdPlan.... a new tab titled EdPlan 504 Menu.
PCG has now added 504 Plan capabilities into EdPlan. We recently experienced a merge of databases linking Synergy and EdPlan. You can now see all general education students in an EasyIEP student search. As the systems sync nightly, updates are imported to EdPlan, keeping the two databases current and consistent. As we continue to move forward with increasingly consistent formats, student transitions between 504 Plans and special education should include a smoother transition of information. As case managers, you may not necessarily have access to manipulate anything in this tab, but good to know what it is about!
Measurable Goals!
There is a renewed focus on writing measurable goals by the state, and our GISD Special Education Compliance Director, Steve Polega, has conveyed great information on helping districts excel at this before a monitoring situation occurs.
The extremely abridged version: The performance criteria and evaluation schedule need to be embedded in the actual goal, even if you are still listing it below in the appropriate boxes.
It seems redundant...however, while PCG explores options for updates in EdPlan format, it would behoove us to make sure we take the initiative to improve our goals. The regulation says "measurable goal", and the boxes we currently employ below are not actually part of the goal statement.
As well, how to write the goal as "measurable" actually takes a bit of thought! I am sending a PowerPoint presentation, and an accompanying document to you from Steve Polega that gives quite a comprehensive explanation, and a few samples to review. Take some time with this, and we will be scheduling a few Q/A sessions for you to participate in if you would like a chance to discuss and clarify. Keep an eye out for those coming events!
Teacher Consultant Status Update
Cassandra Wright
Email: cwright@montroseschools.org
Website: montroseschools.org
Location: 303 Ray St. Montrose, MI 48457
Phone: (810) 591-8886