IEP & Case Management Software

It is a good idea to back up your database at least once per week. Do this by selecting "Export Records", press the button "Select All" and then "Export". Save to your hard drive or a separate storage system like a Zip Drive.

For Mac Users - twice a week rebuild your desktop by restarting your computer while holding down the ctrl-option-open apple keys at the same time. Keep them held down until you get a dialogue box that says "Do you want to rebuild your desktop?" select "Okay".

1. You may have failed to click on a field.
2. When going to the Main Navigator the computer beeps to let the user know s/he is out of compliance on that student.

1. You have exceeded the maximum number of characters allowed for that field.
2. You have pressed Return to go to another line when no other line is available. Whenever you create a new line by pressing Return, you are typing information which will not be recognized by the printer. What you see is not always what you get on the printer. If you have and doubts use the Preview command under the S.E.S.P. menu.

You need to reduce the size of the page under the Page Setup/Print Setup after selecting the print button.

Be sure that your microphone is plugged into your computer and in the Control Panel your Sounds is up and under "sound out" your microphone is selected.

You did not fill all the data on the student while in the Student Profile. There are some fields you can only change while in the "Student Profile". i.e.. sex, student name, address, etc.

You have changed the names of the supporting files. NEVER CHANGE THE NAMES OF THE FILES OR REMOVE THE FILES FROM THE S.E.S.P. FOLDER. To correct this problem you will need to rename the files their previous names, exactly. These are the original names of the files:

Goals_Obj_Binder

Calendar

S.E.S.P._v[version#]_[district name]

Your system calendar and clock are not set correctly. Make sure they are correct. If they are not go into your control panel and make the necessary changes.

Your printer is not printing gray scales. This usually can be fixed by selecting "Gray Scales: in your Page/Print Setup. If it does not have it make sure you have the most current printer driver installed. Some older printers do not have gray scales, in this case it is suggested you switch printers.

You need to use the Preview button on the IEP Cover Page User Interface Form; not the Preview selection under the S.E.S.P. Menu.

The Additional Page button is an extra page which could be used for comments, or any other purpose not addressed in the other forms. You can access the Continued Page by going back to the Present Level of Performance Page and clicking the Continue button that you used previously.

Recovering damaged or corrupted files: 

If the SESP program becomes corrupt or damaged you will need to recover the program.  Power failure, hardware problems, or other factors can damage a program.  When the runtime application icon (blue diamond) discovers a damaged  file, a dialog box appears, telling the user to “...this file is damaged.  Perform the recovery."

 

1.  Find which file is damaged (nearly always it will be the "master_file"). 
2.  To recover the damaged file in the

• Macintosh OS, hold down option - open apple keys.
• Windows OS, hold down the control - shift keys.

3.  Hold down those keys and double click on the large blue diamond shaped application icon “SESP v?” Keep those keys held down the whole time (before and after) until you see the window labeled "open damaged file."
4.  Locate the “master_file” using the navigation window.
5.  Double click open the “master-file”.  This will initiate the recover sequence.

3.  Hold down those keys and double click on the large blue diamond shaped application icon “SESP v?” Keep those keys held down the whole time (before and after) until you see the window labeled "open damaged file."
4.  Locate the “master_file” using the navigation window.
5.  Double click open the “master-file”.  This will initiate the recover sequence.During the recovery process, the Runtime application:    - creates a new file    - renames any damaged file by adding "...Old"  to the end of the filename.  (for example, "master_file_old")  This file can be discarded later.    - gives the repaired file the original name 6. You will get a dialog box saying that the recovery was successful.  Click 'OK'
7. You will see the navigation window again, click 'Cancel'
8. Lastly SESP will ask you for your password, type: IEP 

If the program continues to experience unusual behavior in the recovered files, reinstall the SESP program and import the remaining files from the old program.  Verify that the student records have been imported into the new SESP program then throw away the old program.

• It is a good idea to back up your database at least once a week.  To do this by selecting “Export Records”, press the button “Export to backup or Upgrade” and follow the directions provided in the dialog boxes.  When complete you will have a SESP data file on your desktop called 'SESP Data'.  We suggest saving this file to a floppy, CD, zip disk, memory stick, or even simply emailing it to yourself and not answering the email until you need the data file.
• Now if something ever happens to your SESP program, you can reinstall SESP and then import that data file.
• Anything that you care about on a computer you should backup.

 

PART 1 1.  Open the old version of SESP, go to the Student Profile and confirm that ALL records have a unique Student ID. * Records must have a Student ID prior to importing.
2.  Open the old version, while in the Main Navigator select "Export Records".
3. In the section (located in the lower right hand corner) “Export to Backup or Upgrade,” click “Export”-  This will automatically select ALL of the student records and walk you through saving the data file to the desktop. 
4.  Call your exported file "data" and save it to the DESKTOP.
5.  Now quit/exit the SESP program. 

PART 2
1.  Install and open the new SESP v__ (20__-__)  
2.  When you open the program for the first time, it will prompt you to register the program and set the preferences.
3.  After you have set the preferences, select "Import Records" located in the “Main navigator”.
4.  Use the Navigation Window to locate your exported file "data" which should be located on the desktop.
5.  Double click on the file and the records should be automatically imported. 

PART 3
1. Verify that the data had imported correctly by going to the Management List.
2. If okay then throw away the old SESP folder.

In many cases involving problems with printing when using a Hewlett Packard (HP) printer, and out-of-date printer driver can be at fault. A driver is a piece of software which allows your computer to "see" the printer over a network, or when connected to your computer. HP releases new drivers all the time, and it's good to keep up with their releases. For HP printer drivers, please see their driver page.

PC users note: When troubleshooting print drivers, you need to RESTART your machine after an UNINSTALL of the driver in question.

ISSUE: This affects users of HP Laser Jet Printers using PCL based drivers.

RESOLUTION: Switch to the Post Script PS based drivers for that Laser Jet Printer, or possibly use the HP Laser Jet 4 driver.

ISSUE: We have received reports that FileMaker Pro 5.5 and FileMaker Pro 5.0v3 will not launch when installed on some Dell or DTK machines running Windows 2000 and XP. When attempting to launch FileMaker Pro, either an hourglass appears and disappears, or the FileMaker Pro startup screen appears, but in both situations, the application does not complete the launch process.

This has been reported to happen with the integrated Yamaha Synthesizer driver, Riptide PCI Audio or a Creative SB Audio PCI driver.

RESOLUTION: Try the following solutions until one of them solves the issue:

1. Turn off the audio program. Launch FileMaker Pro/(SESP) to see if this solved issue.
2. Disable the midi option within the driver and properly shut down the machine, restart and test launch FileMaker Pro/(SESP).
3. Uninstall the sound driver, properly shut down the machine, restart and test launch FileMaker Pro/(SESP). For example; remove the Yamaha Sound Synth" software in the Add/Remove Programs for the computer

ISSUE: We have received reports of this when installing SESP on Windows 95 machines.
This DLL file is associated with the windows software Winsock. Sometimes it is not installed on Win. 95.
 
RESOLUTION: Download the software from Microsoft.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wuadmintools/s%5Fwunetworkingtools/w95sockets2/

When records are converted from one version of SESP to a more recent version, there may be some fields that the program is looking for that you did fill in on the previous version.  The most common problem can be easily corrected by going to the Communications Navigator.  Look under “Assessment Plan” and you will note that there are question marks next to the dates for “Sent” and “Received.”  Erase the ? in each of these fields and then change them both to N/A.  Also, mark whether the student is “Eligible,” “Not Eligible,” or “Pending.”  These corrections should remove the “Out of Compliance” warning.  If there are still problems reported in the Student Message Box, then you must have missing or incorrect IEP or Eval dates on the Student Profile.

You had done some sort of search that narrowed the number of students you were accessing.  You might, for example, have gone under “Find Student” and then hit a letter of the alphabet to find a particular student.  This limited the number of students available in the program.  To regain access to all of your students, either hit “Find Student” again and then press “BACK” to return where you were, or if you are on the “Student Profile,” just press the “Find All” button near the top of the page to access all of the students again.

The “New” and “Delete” buttons are the same as they were in the old program.  They are used to add or delete records, but you may not have access to these features if you are on a network version.  Most districts using the network version have designated administrators who can add or delete records.  The “Search” button enables you to look for students who meet a particular criteria or set of criteria.  Note: The field for “Name”  on the Search page lets you put in either a first or last name if you do not remember the student’s full name.  “Mark Student” allows you to tag specific students for any reason you choose.  Also note that you may now keep “Inactive” Students in the program as an alternative to deleting if desired.

Active vs Inactive
Designating a student as 'Active' allows easy access to that record.  The record is listed on the "Find Student" list.

Designating a sttudent as 'Inactive' puts the student record in the background.  It will not be part of the "Find Student" list.  To access the student records designated as 'Inactive,' select the "Find Student" button.  On top of the "Find Student" list click the blue link "Show Inactive."  this will display all the inactive students.  Click again and it will show all the 'Active' students.  Click the 'Find All" link will display both Active and Inactive records.

As an alternative to deleting a student, make them "Inactive".

Once you enter the current date, press the arrow and it will automatically enter the next date for you (one year on the annual review and three years on the triennial).  The blue “Over” button allows you to log when and why an IEP or Eval is over due. This logging feature does not excuse the late IEP or Eval from the Federal, State or LRE stand point; they must be completed BEFORE one year for an IEP and three years for a triennial.

You are entering data into fields in a huge database.  There are many different types of fields, depending on how they are used.  Here is a brief overview that may help you:

Open fields – anticipated to be different each time, so there is no pop-up menu

Editable fields with pop-up menus – two types:

(1) Used for items that do not have to be translated and change frequently or repeat often in the program (like due dates for IEPs) – The field will say “Edit” at the bottom so you can easily change what you want in the list or change the order of  things in the list using cut and paste. Simply click on the work “Edit” to access this feature.

(2) Used for items that do need to be translated – These fields already contain a list of the most frequently used items with Spanish translations.  You will see a dark button near the field which will allow you to add items to the field. If Spanish translations are needed, you will have to add these also. Then use the red X at the top of the box to close the list, and the items you added will be in the field.

Self-populating fields – used for items that may be repeated by persons within one district that may be different for staff in other districts – These fields provide an added convenience so you don’t have to enter the same data over and over.  Once you type it the first time, it will be added to the menu.  Examples of these fields are City and Zip on the Student Profile [Providers] and names of assessments on the Transition to Adult Life page.

Locked fields – cannot be changed – These fields are used most often for CASEMIS items which cannot be altered.  The fields for the California standards are also locked so that a user will not accidentally change or erase a standard.  Some fields appear to be locked because you are in the wrong place for data entry.  In most instances these are items that should only be entered on the Student Profile.

 

The Scripts/SESP Menu menu has been changed because there is a now a list of all of the navigators on the left side of the screen that works much faster than the old program.  You can still get to the Main Navigator on the Scripts menu, but the menu has been shortened so that shortcuts could be attached to all of the common functions.  Once you learn the shortcuts, it will be much faster for you to zoom in and out, get help, preview forms, etc.

If you click on a trash can it will remove the entire line of entries.  This saves you from having to click in each box on the line to delete each of the entries.

We are definitely still using it.  This form not only helps you check for accuracy and completeness of the data on the IEP, it also saves the district CASEMIS clerk a lot of time.  The MIS form is now a blue button on the right side of the IEP Navigator.  A number of people indicated that it was inconvenient to access it from the cover page of the IEP so it was moved to a more user friendly location.  Hopefully, more people will start using it now.

Spell check is activated once you select the dictionary for the program.  Go to the top of the page under the “Edit” menu to “Spelling,” and then to “Select Dictionaries.”  Choose the “User” dictionary [user.upr] and then hit “Open.”  You now have a dictionary which will spell check your work. You can now go under “Edit,” “Spelling,” to “Edit User Dictionary” and add words or acronyms which you use frequently and which are not normally found in dictionaries.  Now when you hit the “Check Spelling” button anywhere in the program you will have a chance to allow the program to “Learn” words and add them to the dictionary. This only needs to be done once and the program will remember.

Sorry, the program allows both focusing and focusing because both are acceptable spellings in the user dictionary.  Although we agree that focusing is the preferred spelling and used most often in California, both are actually correct.  There are probably other words with more than one acceptable spelling in the dictionary.  You will just need to watch out for these.

Yes, if you want to print more than one page at a time, there is a menu at the top of the “Print” page that allows you to choose between current record, records being browsed, and blank record showing fields.  The default is current record which means only the one on the screen.  The danger of choosing “records being browsed” is that you could print all the g/o pages in the entire program.  If you want to use this feature you must first go to the Student Profile and use the Search feature to limit the number of records being browsed.  In most cases, you would use the “Next IEP date” to limit the search to only those students with an IEP due right away.

You have probably used spaces [space bar] to move your text.  When you do this, it will not print the way you see it on the screen. You will need to use the ‘tab’ to indent.  If you tab over your columns will all line up. To tab put your curser where you want to tab [Mac users: hold down ‘option’ key while pressing the ‘tab’ key]; [Windows users: hold down ‘ctrl’ key while pressing the ‘tab’ key.

Hold down the control key and press tab 

Printing problems are usually a result of a problem in communication between your printer, you computer, and File Maker Pro (the base program for SESP).  This is often because you do not have the latest printer driver for you printer.  Try downloading a new printer driver from the web.  If this doesn’t work, you can fix this problem manually.  Double click in the box where you have a problem; put the cursor in front of the sentence that is presenting the problem.  Hold down the ‘control’ key and press tab.  This will move the text over so it does not print on top of the words from the program.

No, you aren’t doing anything wrong.  The problem is that FileMaker pro (the basis of the SESP program) is actually a database program, not a word processor.  We need a database to get the features we want like filling in the student’s name, birthdate, IEP date, etc. on every page.  The trade off is that when we try to get it to work as a word processor for reports, we sometimes encounter problems.  The solution is to go back into the report to the place where the pages didn’t split correctly and enter a couple of carriage returns to force a different page split. If you have already tried this, simply copy & paste the text into a Word document and print from MS Word.

The program does not actually translate from English to Spanish on the spot.  All of the goals and fields in the program have been translated and put into the Spanish form.  Therefore, any goal or field from a popup menu that you enter through the program will appear on the Spanish form exactly the way it was originally on the English.  Or, if you use the G/O Binder to develop your goals, that will translate into Spanish. If you add something to the English form, you need to go to the Spanish form and add it there as well.

The program saves information continuously so in case of a system failure you would lose very little, if any, data. To be more specific, the program actually saves when you put your curser from one field into the next.  It is very important that you fully exit the program before shutting down your computer or the system may crash, and data can be lost.  Do not leave your SESP program open all the time; close it when you are finished using it. People using the stand alone version of SESP frequently minimize it during the day and could forget to exit properly before shutting down. 

If you are on the network, it is a good idea to exit the program when you are not working on it.  This frees up student records for the other users.  If you are “resting” on file, you may deny others access to it.  Always “rest” on the Main Navigator and make sure that your curser is not in a field.  In most instances you will get a warning that the network will shut down.  If this happens, go immediately to the Main Navigator.  Some networks are set up to time you out after a certain number of hours so it’s best to exit when you are not working.