New IEP Format and Transition Planning

UPDATED! In the 2024-25 school year, the revised IEP is moving from aspirational to operational for all students with disabilities. We have links to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Documents in the post below.

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The current Individualized Education Plan (IEP) forms and IEP Process Guide have not be updated since the early days of the 21st century (or 2001 if you like firm dates) and are based on late-1900s systems for special education programming. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) ‘s IEP Improvement Project has been working since 2014 to design, pilot and roll out a revised IEP form and process for students with disabilities in Massachusetts.

The new IEP forms are more structured with grids and checklists along with spaces for narratives. The flow of the document is redesigned to increase collaboration among team members so students with disabilities have meaningful access to the curriculum frameworks and life of the school. The new IEP Form centers the students vision, identifies language acquisition issues for English learners in the student profile and intentionally addresses transition planning for all age groups. Curious educators can join DESE staff on a guided tour of the current format here.

Trainings and Orientation to the Improved IEP

Federation for Children with Special Needs
Free workshops for special education families and community members.

Collaborative for Educational Services
Support for the new IEP including asynchronous training, a toolkit and an IEP Hotline (fee based)

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Training of Trainers Resources
Resources for planning local trainings from DESE.

Updates from DESE

The revised IEP Form and related documents are available at the DESE Individualized Education Program (IEP) Forms landing page. The new forms include (but not limited to) data sheets, meeting invitations in multiple languages, consent forms, educational environment/placements and more resources. Many of the new resources are available in multiple languages with variations for different grade levels.

DESE has created an electronic Massachusetts Referral, Evaluation, and Eligibility Determination Guide. A printable copy of the is linked within the electronic version or the PDF is available here.

Tips for Educators

Teachers, administrators and paraprofessionals will see a new format, possibly a different IEP electronic platform and a transition period while students in the district may have two different versions of the IEP forms circulating.

Existing IEPs will not have to be rewritten until the next re-evaluation or if the team decides to transition to the new format sooner. There is no change to the eligibility of students, the types of disability categories, accommodations, modifications or the services provided under the IEP.

Potential Action Items for Educators

• Drafting individual/team SMART goals for the Educator Evaluation Plan related to the knowledge, professional skills and procedural integration of the new IEP form and resources into professional practice
• Documenting impact on workload, service delivery or procedural timelines
• Confirming district/school timeline for the changeover
• Leading or participating in technical training* offered during the school day
• Requesting training and professional learning** offered outside the school day or school year
  • DESE Train-the-Trainer Facilitation Guides are available here www.doe.mass.edu/sped/ImproveIEP/default.html.
• Local association leaders engaging in discussions on release time or changes to daily assignments to accommodate working with parents/guardians on transitioning the new format
• Preparing, reviewing and sharing information with the district special education advisory council, English learner advisory councils, school site councils and other local stakeholder groups
• Identifying areas where district procedures may need to be updated, including points of contact for directing emerging questions and concerns from parents, educators and related service providers.
• Let us know what else we should add to this list!

*Trainings may include technical assistance/skills related to using the new electronic systems, overviews of the new format and documents as well as district procedures for team meetings, progress reports and/or procedural compliance.

** Training and professional learning should be available and accessible to special education and general education educators, including paraprofessionals who work in instructional settings with students.

Prior Updates

Updates, templates and forms will be posted to the DESE IEP Improvement Project landing page. DESE anticipates additional versions for different grade levels to be available for full implementation in districts.

Take a peek at the new format here and check for updates from DESE here. Your questions may already have answers in the IEP Improvement Project: Frequently Asked Questions. Connecticut has also recently transitioned to a new IEP format.

Future updates on the IEP Improvement project are included in the Special Education Leaders meeting materials. The March 24, 2023 recording of the meeting walks through all the sections of the new format, the transition planning and potential funding resources.

After nearly 10 years of work with stakeholders, the revised IEP format is getting ready to go live for all districts in Fall 2023. It is expected that all other DESE guidance, resources and other templates will be updated to align with the revised IEP format as part of the project.

DESE initially intended to develop an online unified IEP system that would be available to districts. All signs indicate that this project is delayed or shelved entirely. Districts will need to update their systems and ensure third party IEP management vendors can accommodate the revised IEP format. DESE is working with software vendors to review the business rules for the new IEP format.

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