ECATS Tips
ECATS Tip - Addendums
You will need to enter all addendums into ECATS as you do them.
The system will allow you to select addendum on the IEP form and you will type or copy/paste the entire non-ECATS IEP including the changes you made into the ECATS form.
Don't forget you will need to have data entered in the assessment summary section that was used for present levels in the IEP for entering non-ECATS IEPs.
Once you have an ECATS IEP, you can create an addendum by selecting addendum. All other parts of the IEP will fill in the pages. Make the necessary changes and on the last tab you will select the areas where changes were made.
Addendums without meetings are still permitted.
Consult with a Program Specialist for approval.
Contact the parent for permission to make changes to the IEP without holding a meeting.
Use the NRMPS Addendum without meeting form for documentation: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k1t73UENrHOH-P2fhNYwire79y5wK-VrapXNcSfZ7no/edit?usp=sharing
In ECATS, after you enter in the addendum IEP, select the required team members on the IEP and Prior Written Notice and then click excused for each team member. On the Prior Written Notice you will need to be clear that the parent gave permission for an addendum without a meeting and why it occurred.
Addendums without meetings should be for minor changes only (i.e. adding a state test that was accidentally left off).
Invitations and excusal forms are NOT required for an addendum without meeting.
ECATS Tip - Assessment Summary
Remember - The Assessment Summary Section of the forms is not part of the form. You must select the assessments you entered in this section on other parts of the forms.
Assessments that are more than 3 years old do not show up as available to use on most of the forms. Do not enter a date in the date section. Add the date in the Assessment section with the name of the assessment.
Remember in the Assessment Summary Section the box to the left of the assessments you entered in is to delete items. There is no warning once you select this. If you click enter or save & continue it will delete everything you entered. Be careful!
The data that you type in will only show up on the Reevaluation and the Prior Written Notice if you select them for use. On all other forms only the name of the assessments will appear when they are selected for use.
When you are working on an IEP, remember to enter in the Assessment Summary Section the data you will be using for the present level. This includes transition assessments, local data/interventions, observations, etc.
When you are working on a Referral you will need to enter all available data that you have in the Assessment Summary section - when you use this data the system will help you determine what you are missing for the suspected areas of disability.
Once you have added data is in the system and you are working on a Reevaluation you will need to add any new data you have to the Assessment Summary section and select all the data relevant to the reevaluation process to determine if more testing is needed.
On an Eligibility form you will need to be sure that all information for the suspected disabilities are added to the Assessment Summary section.
On the Prior Written Notice you will need to select all data that the team used in the meeting in the sources of relevant information section.
ECATS Tip - Consent
After you create a Final Consent for Evaluation or a Consent for Services form, you will need to enter the parent response and date for each. Return to the Consent tab in EC Process and enter the date and response in each section. Also the signed documents (for initial placement only) will need to be scanned and uploaded into the documents section of the student file.
If a parent is revoking consent, create a new Consent for Services form for them to sign as revoking consent. Remember to go back and enter the date signed and select revoked consent on the drop down bar. This will give the student a clear check mark indicating that he/she is no longer EC.
ECATS Tip - IEP Accommodations Page
Accommodations do not have to be an exact match...just remember that whatever a student receives on a state test must also be given in the classroom. However, the student can receive more accommodations in the classroom than what are provided on the state tests.
Remember to use the Implementation Specification green tab at the bottom of the page to add the details for each accommodation. Copy/paste is a quick way to enter repeated information.
ECATS Tip - IEP Present Level
Think of the present level as a pyramid.
ECATS Tip - Team
Remember to add all of the student's general education teachers to the student's Team in ECATS each semester to they have access to the student's IEP.
If you go to the EC Process link and it gives you a message that you don't have access, be sure that you have added yourself as case manager or as a team member.
If parents are missing from the team, remember to go to the parents tab to add any missing parents/guardians.
ECATS Tip - Uploading External Documents
For now, only upload signed consent forms for initial placements - consent for evaluations and consent for services.
Scan the signed form and save it to your computer - if your minutes are in Google Docs, download them and save to your computer.
Go to the documents section in ECATS and select the upload external document green button at the top.
Select "choose file" on the left and it opens to documents saved on your computer
Select the document from your computer that you need and click upload
It will appear among the ECATs created documents on that screen.
ECATS Basics
November 21, 2019
ECATS presentation at EC Conference.pdfSteps for General Education Teachers to follow in order to access IEPs in ECATS
ECATS Tips - General Education Teachers
EC Case Managers need to add all General Education teachers of the student each semester to the IEP team tab, this gives the teacher access to view forms. Note: They will still need to sign the Notification to General Education Teacher form each semester or each time the IEP has been changed.
Autism Tip Sheet for ECATS
AUTipSheetECATS.pdfHomebound Tip Sheet for ECATS
ECATS TipSheet.Homebound.pdfRevocation of Consent Tip Sheet for ECATS
ECATS TipSheet Revocation of Consent.pdf