AcceliPLAN, the new Austin ISD Special Education Individualized Education Program (IEP) software system, has been an ongoing problem for Special Education teachers since it was introduced at the start of the 20-21 school year. Due to “bugs” in the program, IEPs have not been able to be appropriately developed or finalized. Because of this, a significant number of Special Education students have had incomplete and/or expired IEPs for some time this school year. This is a violation of federal law and a disservice to our students' education.
Being a Special Education teacher in Austin ISD during the COVID pandemic has brought unique and challenging circumstances that have stretched us thin. We love what we do, we care deeply for our students, and we just need our IEP software system to work. Instead, we are experiencing a heightened level of anxiety due to this new program.
We have been forced to spend 10+ hours creating each IEP within the system, 2-3 times longer than ever before. We have experienced hundreds of bugs and other issues in the system since it started in August. Every day we have to check to see if a “bug” has been fixed overnight. Fixes often lead to a host of new issues in the system. We’ve been trained by the district to put in Help tickets for each new issue encountered. These tickets are consistently not responded to within 48 hours and are often not responded to at all, causing us to have to submit multiple tickets to the Accelify Help Desk.
To add to the list of problems with the new system, IEP Amendments have not been an option in the new system which means we are forced to hold formal ARD meetings for minor changes. Not only is this extremely time consuming for both parents and teachers, it is also a legal violation of IDEA.
Prior to this school year, the IEP software system, SEEDS, was successfully implemented. SEEDS was used by teachers for 20+ years, was extremely user friendly, and ensured compliance. Neither of which can be said of the new system.
We have reported the issues daily, weekly, and monthly to our district leadership, along with the hundreds of help tickets, with no adequate action from district Special Education leaders to make this better for us or our students.
The purpose of this petition is to raise awareness of the pervasive issues to Superintendent Elizalde and other district leaders, and to request an end to AcceliPLAN.
We encourage teachers and administrators to sign this petition. We encourage you to share this with anyone that has struggled with AcceliPLAN. Please share your experiences in the comments below.
Updates
March 5, 2021
The sheer number of people backing this campaign is proof that the constant technical failures we face are not just in my head. I am exhausted by the state of this software and the lack of response from the district. This momentum is the only thing keeping me going while we fight for the tools our students deserve.
Reached 100 supporters
March 5, 2021
55 Comments
A better alternative would be ESPED, which is a universal system, very easy to navigate and is easy to send/share forms with other districts when students transfer, etc. This system is used by the majoirty of Texas school districts and SpEd departments.
This program continues to be a problem and we have had little to no direction from the district. We were told "there is no direct way to complete progress reports". WHAT???
As a gen Ed teacher, I can no longer look up my students’ accommodations for either SPED or 504. The new Accelify system is clunky and not user friendly for any staff member.
As a parent of a student missing and iep for over a year, anything that can be done to alleviate the pressure on sped teachers and stop wasting their time is needed now!
As a related service provider, I support these students and the other team members with the concerns that with all the bugs that haven’t seemed to be resolved with 6 months of use, we have been out of compliance through no fault of our own, which presents legal questions.
One of the most archaic programs I have ever used and I use a lot of cloud based programs. What is with the time to save? Unbelievable!! It is so cumbersome to use. Why is it not set up like a spread sheet in Google where every move is recorded in the back ground many may not like Google but the software engineers there could sure help out whatever is goin on with this software's designers. I hate to complain but this program needs to be shot and buried.
ICYMI - the company that owns Accelify, Frontline Education, has another product, Special Services. They use it in Ohio schools at least.
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AcceliPLAN, the new Austin ISD Special Education Individualized Education Program (IEP) software system, has been an ongoing problem for Special Education teachers since it was introduced at the start of the 20-21 school year. Due to “bugs” in the program, IEPs have not been able to be appropriately developed or finalized. Because of this, a significant number of Special Education students have had incomplete and/or expired IEPs for some time this school year. This is a violation of federal law and a disservice to our students' education.
Being a Special Education teacher in Austin ISD during the COVID pandemic has brought unique and challenging circumstances that have stretched us thin. We love what we do, we care deeply for our students, and we just need our IEP software system to work. Instead, we are experiencing a heightened level of anxiety due to this new program.
We have been forced to spend 10+ hours creating each IEP within the system, 2-3 times longer than ever before. We have experienced hundreds of bugs and other issues in the system since it started in August. Every day we have to check to see if a “bug” has been fixed overnight. Fixes often lead to a host of new issues in the system. We’ve been trained by the district to put in Help tickets for each new issue encountered. These tickets are consistently not responded to within 48 hours and are often not responded to at all, causing us to have to submit multiple tickets to the Accelify Help Desk.
To add to the list of problems with the new system, IEP Amendments have not been an option in the new system which means we are forced to hold formal ARD meetings for minor changes. Not only is this extremely time consuming for both parents and teachers, it is also a legal violation of IDEA.
Prior to this school year, the IEP software system, SEEDS, was successfully implemented. SEEDS was used by teachers for 20+ years, was extremely user friendly, and ensured compliance. Neither of which can be said of the new system.
We have reported the issues daily, weekly, and monthly to our district leadership, along with the hundreds of help tickets, with no adequate action from district Special Education leaders to make this better for us or our students.
The purpose of this petition is to raise awareness of the pervasive issues to Superintendent Elizalde and other district leaders, and to request an end to AcceliPLAN.
We encourage teachers and administrators to sign this petition. We encourage you to share this with anyone that has struggled with AcceliPLAN. Please share your experiences in the comments below.
Updates
March 5, 2021
The sheer number of people backing this campaign is proof that the constant technical failures we face are not just in my head. I am exhausted by the state of this software and the lack of response from the district. This momentum is the only thing keeping me going while we fight for the tools our students deserve.
Reached 100 supporters
March 5, 2021
55 Comments
I have had my workload increase by 66% —all of it being paperwork— I am looking for jobs outside of AISD— and I have told new teachers not to work here. I have actually lost colleagues due to this horrible black hole of software.
A better alternative would be ESPED, which is a universal system, very easy to navigate and is easy to send/share forms with other districts when students transfer, etc. This system is used by the majoirty of Texas school districts and SpEd departments.
This program continues to be a problem and we have had little to no direction from the district. We were told "there is no direct way to complete progress reports". WHAT???
As a gen Ed teacher, I can no longer look up my students’ accommodations for either SPED or 504. The new Accelify system is clunky and not user friendly for any staff member.
As a parent of a student missing and iep for over a year, anything that can be done to alleviate the pressure on sped teachers and stop wasting their time is needed now!
As a related service provider, I support these students and the other team members with the concerns that with all the bugs that haven’t seemed to be resolved with 6 months of use, we have been out of compliance through no fault of our own, which presents legal questions.
One of the most archaic programs I have ever used and I use a lot of cloud based programs. What is with the time to save? Unbelievable!! It is so cumbersome to use. Why is it not set up like a spread sheet in Google where every move is recorded in the back ground many may not like Google but the software engineers there could sure help out whatever is goin on with this software's designers. I hate to complain but this program needs to be shot and buried.
ICYMI - the company that owns Accelify, Frontline Education, has another product, Special Services. They use it in Ohio schools at least.
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I have had my workload increase by 66% —all of it being paperwork— I am looking for jobs outside of AISD— and I have told new teachers not to work here. I have actually lost colleagues due to this horrible black hole of software.