These are exciting times for TransACT customers. Every month, new features and content that create value are added to the website. TransACT has released the TransACT® IDEA 2004 Parent Notifications to address the new reauthorized Special Education legislation. Many districts and states have adopted these notifications to meet the new July 1 deadline, avoiding costly development and legal fees. In August, these notifications will be available in Arabic, Hmong, Spanish, Russian and Vietnamese. For details, click here.

We are committed to providing you with the greatest value for your educational dollar. Towards that end, we have developed a Comprehensive Subscription that will save you 30% over standard educational prices. The Comprehensive Subscription bundles the NCLB, IDEA and GenEd Parent Notifications, the EduPortal eLibrary, National Resources research collection and Premium Support.

Doing business with TransACT has never been easier thanks to the new online store. With just a few clicks, you can renew your subscription or add new services such as the ones above. In many cases, once you have completed a quick online store transaction, your newly added services are available (within the hour). To access our online store click here.

We delivered these innovations and hundreds of no-cost updates in the last quarter to continue our commitment to benefit our customers. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you in the years to come.

BREAKING NEWS - USDA PROTOTYPE FORMS
Supported in the TransACT® Free & Reduced-Price Meals (NSLP) Collection

TransACT® Free & Reduced-Price Meals (National School Lunch Program) forms will soon follow the 2005-06 “USDA Prototype” documents and reflect requirements from the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004. This improvement is a major strategy shift for TransACT and will better support our nationwide network of users. The USDA is fully aware of TransACT’s investment to make sure the TransACT documents and translations meet USDA requirements.

For more information about Free & Reduced-Price Meals (NSLP) forms, or additional information about the GenEd Parent Notifications, please contact Melissa Bergsing at (425) 977-2105.

Customizable NCLB and IDEA RoadMaps

TransACT® RoadMaps can now be easily customized to include district specific guidance to support local interpretation of federal program requirements. In addition to the federal requirement and authority displayed with each survey question, an authorized district program manager can include helpful information to clarify or identify operating procedures for district personnel.

Spanish Translation - New & Improved!

Customers that subscribe to the GenEd Parent Notifications (formerly the Translation Library) will be pleased to see a completely re-translated Spanish version posted to the site. Many of the documents had been revised annually and needed a full re-translation and editing to maintain a professional level of readability. We have started the same process with Russian and other languages will soon follow.

Website Enhancements

Several changes have been made to the TransACT website to better meet customer needs, including:

• Open and Closed Enrollment Options – Designated “Primary Contacts” now have the option to designate an open enrollment period, during which new or additional staff can register for access to documents without first contacting the primary contact.
• EduPortal Updates -
• Links to EduPortal documents can now be added to shared, public district websites using the document sharing tool. Users can directly access “linked” documents without EduPortal login.
• Authors can now quickly update existing EduPortal documents and retain the same file name. This enhancement eliminates the old process to delete and re-upload.
• Search Tool Tips have been added to help users narrow a search to quickly locate documents.
• Ability to Hide Documents – Districts may now request that certain documents within the NCLB, IDEA and GenED collections be hidden. Please contact TransACT to hide individual documents (if any) for your district.
• Enhanced RoadMap – The TransACT RoadMap now includes the IDEA RoadMap (see below) and RoadMap customization options (see article above).
• Server and System Upgrades - We have completed server upgrades for all systems, applications, database and the search engine to increase speed, reliability and scalability.

TransACT® IDEA 2004 RoadMap

• Are you looking for a way to help administrators and staff learn about the new expectations and procedures for the reauthorized IDEA?
• Are you ready to open the new school year with new and revised parent notices?

The IDEA 2004 RoadMap provides a convenient on-line strategy for learning about the new law and identifying changes in parent notification requirements.

The IDEA 2004 RoadMap delivers expert guidance for building and district office administrators and staff through:

• Easy “yes” or “no” survey questions
• Identification of “What’s New”
• Statutory requirements and guidance
• Summary reports
• Implementation suggestions
• Recommended forms and notices

The IDEA 2004 RoadMap is currently divided into the following 10 individual compliance areas, which allows the user to select the information most pertinent to their area of responsibility:

• IEP Meetings and Participation
• Discipline and Manifestation Determination
• Procedural Safeguards and Due Process Complaints
• Resolution Session and Mediation
• Highly Qualified Special Education Teacher
• Early Intervening Services
• Private School Consultation
• Initial Evaluation and Reevaluations
• Individualized Education Program (IEP)
• Early Intervention–Transition from Part C to Part B Services

The IDEA 2004 RoadMap allows subscribing districts to easily customize any series by inserting district procedures or guidance as additional assistance for their staff.

The IDEA 2004 RoadMap is included with a subscription to the IDEA Parent Notifications and is a convenient and cost-effective way to assure consistency and compliance with the new law throughout your district.

Dr. Forest Hertlein is the resident Federal Programs Manager at TransACT, who keeps his finger on the pulse of compliance issues. His expertise not only ensures that our services our relevant and accurate, but also allows us to provide you with briefings of the most pertinent issues facing schools.

IDEA 2004: Be Ready for the Changes

Now is the time to modify your special education operating procedures and update your parent notices to meet the new requirements of IDEA 2004, effective July 1, 2005. The TransACT IDEA 2004 Parent Notifications collection provides districts with a cost-effective strategy to be prepared to immediately inform parents and staff of new procedures and to obtain newly required agreements and consent.

Below are a few examples in which new IDEA requirements necessitate new or modified parent notices and, in most instances, require prior parent agreement or consent:

IEP Meeting Attendance: Full team member attendance at IEP meetings is no longer required if a team member’s area of curriculum or related service is not be modified or discussed. If a team member’s area of service is to be discussed or modified, that team member may be excused if prior consent is obtained.

Amending or Modifying the IEP: Making changes in the IEP after an annual IEP review meeting may be done, with parent agreement, during the year without the need to re-convene an IEP meeting.

Alternate Methods for Conducting Meetings: The district and parent may now agree to use innovative methods for conducting and participating in IEP and other meetings that do not require everyone to be in the same location. Such methods may include video conferences, conference calls, and other technology supported strategies at the discretion of the district and parental agreement.

These are just three of several new requirements of IDEA 2004. Other changes developed to reduce the demand on staff time and paperwork include the areas of reevaluation, IEP content, and frequency of providing procedural safeguard notices.

Jennifer Castle TransACT Customer Care Supervisor I enjoy enhancing the customer's experience with TransACT by providing clear, concise customer tutorials, delivering personalized training, and ensuring that each customer follows a path for successful implementation.

Birthplace: Seattle, Washington

Birthday: October 31 (Halloween!)

How long have you been with TransACT? 3½ years

What do you like most about TransACT? The customers and the people that work here.

Favorite school subject: Anthropology

Favorite thing(s) to do outside of work: I enjoy outdoor activities like mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking and backpacking. If the weather is not accommodating, I like to bake (I make excellent pies), read and go to yoga class. How many languages can you speak? 1 well (English), 1 moderately well (Japanese), and 2 not so well (Chinese & French). As a child, what did you want to be as a grown-up? A writer or a U.S. Foreign Service Officer

Favorite vacation spot: Bishop, CA

Favorite band or music: Classical, Trance, New Age and artists such as Patsy Kline, Louis Armstrong, Johnny Cash, etc.

Famous people with whom you’d like to have dinner (living or not): Madeleine Albright, Mark Twain and Galileo

Favorite quote: "Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses." - George Washington Carver