acuity 504 tm - msb acuity 504 manual will guide users through navigation of the system ... in...

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Revision Date 10/24/2014

TM

Acuity 504 User Guide

Administrators

504 Coordinators

Teachers

MSB™ Customer Care

800.810.4220

[email protected]

msb-services.com

Copyright © 2014 MSB™ All rights reserved

https://login.msb-services.com/



Table of Contents

MSB™ Mission Statement ..................................................................................................................... 7

Welcome to AcuityTM 504 ......................................................................................................................... 8

User Guide Information ........................................................................................................................ 8

Disable Pop-Up Blockers ....................................................................................................................... 8

MSB Registration and Login Information .................................................................................................. 9

New Users ................................................................................................................................................. 9

New User Registration .......................................................................................................................... 9

Create Profile ...................................................................................................................................... 10

Additional login information ............................................................................................................... 12

Existing Users .......................................................................................................................................... 13

Logging In ............................................................................................................................................ 13

Forgotten Password ............................................................................................................................ 13

Adding a New Account or Module ...................................................................................................... 13

Universal Functionality ........................................................................................................................... 16

Adding Information ............................................................................................................................. 16

Deleting Information ........................................................................................................................... 16

Edit/Preview/Print Forms ................................................................................................................... 17

Work Space Editing ............................................................................................................................. 18

Saving Data .......................................................................................................................................... 18

Spell Check .......................................................................................................................................... 19

Navigation of Acuity 504 ............................................................................................................................. 20

Launch Pad .............................................................................................................................................. 20

Navigation Bar/Buttons .......................................................................................................................... 20

Navigation Bar ..................................................................................................................................... 20



Navigation Buttons ............................................................................................................................. 20

Home ................................................................................................................................................... 21

Blank Forms ........................................................................................................................................ 21

Notifications ........................................................................................................................................ 23

Reminders .......................................................................................................................................... 25

Help .................................................................................................................................................... 27

Pathway .................................................................................................................................................. 28

Pathway Drop-downs .......................................................................................................................... 28

Action Icons ............................................................................................................................................. 29

Caseload Action Icons ............................................................................................................................. 29

Work Space Action Icons ........................................................................................................................ 29

Administrative Menu .............................................................................................................................. 30

User Management .................................................................................................................................. 32

User Details ......................................................................................................................................... 32

Approve Users ..................................................................................................................................... 35

Locked Users ....................................................................................................................................... 35

Caseload Management ........................................................................................................................... 36

504 Coordinators .................................................................................................................................... 36

Assign teacher(s) to a 504 Coordinator’s caseload ............................................................................. 36

Remove Teacher from a 504 Coordinator .......................................................................................... 38

Teachers .................................................................................................................................................. 39

Search Caseloads................................................................................................................................. 39

Assign Students to a Teacher .............................................................................................................. 40

Remove Student from a Teacher’s Caseload ...................................................................................... 42

Caseload Status ....................................................................................................................................... 43



Filter and Sort ...................................................................................................................................... 43

Access to Student Documentation...................................................................................................... 43

Edit School, Grade or Status for a Student ......................................................................................... 43

Global Advance Student Grades ......................................................................................................... 44

Review Student Reminders ................................................................................................................. 45

Caseload Reports .................................................................................................................................... 46

District Reports ................................................................................................................................... 46

Custom Reports - New ........................................................................................................................ 47

Custom Reports – Existing .................................................................................................................. 50

Student Management ............................................................................................................................. 51

Student Details ........................................................................................................................................ 51

Accessing Student Data ....................................................................................................................... 51

Add a Student...................................................................................................................................... 53

Delete a Student ................................................................................................................................. 54

Exit a Student ...................................................................................................................................... 54

Add Parent/Guardian .......................................................................................................................... 55

Edit Parent/Guardian Details .............................................................................................................. 55

Delete a Parent/Guardian ................................................................................................................... 56

Develop Student Team ........................................................................................................................ 57

Delete Student Team Member ........................................................................................................... 58

Evaluations .............................................................................................................................................. 59

Add a Student Evaluation .................................................................................................................... 59

Edit Student Evaluation ....................................................................................................................... 60

Delete Student Evaluation .................................................................................................................. 60

Meetings ................................................................................................................................................. 61



Add a Meeting ..................................................................................................................................... 61

Edit a Meeting ..................................................................................................................................... 61

Delete Meeting ................................................................................................................................... 62

Clone a Meeting .................................................................................................................................. 63

Add Meeting Team Members ............................................................................................................. 64

Delete Team Members ....................................................................................................................... 65

Add Records of Attempts to Attend ................................................................................................... 66

Plans ........................................................................................................................................................ 67

Add Plan .............................................................................................................................................. 67

Edit Plan Details .................................................................................................................................. 68

Delete a Plan ....................................................................................................................................... 68

Add Classroom Accommodations ....................................................................................................... 69

Delete Classroom Accommodations ................................................................................................... 69

Clone Plan ........................................................................................................................................... 70

Create an Archive ................................................................................................................................ 71

Review/Access Archives ...................................................................................................................... 72

Attach Documents .............................................................................................................................. 72

Calendar Management ........................................................................................................................... 74

District-No School Days Calendar ........................................................................................................... 74

School-No School Days Calendar ............................................................................................................ 75

Personal/School Calendar ....................................................................................................................... 77

Personal Calendar ............................................................................................................................... 77

School Calendar .................................................................................................................................. 77

District Management .............................................................................................................................. 78

District Information ................................................................................................................................. 78



Update District Information ................................................................................................................ 78

Add District Contact ............................................................................................................................ 78

Delete District Contact ........................................................................................................................ 78

Default Role Permissions ........................................................................................................................ 79

Edit Permissions by Role ..................................................................................................................... 79

Schools .................................................................................................................................................... 80

Add a School........................................................................................................................................ 80

Edit School Information ...................................................................................................................... 80

Delete a School ................................................................................................................................... 80

Notification Management ....................................................................................................................... 81

Notifications ............................................................................................................................................ 81

Add a Notification ............................................................................................................................... 81

Delete a Notification ........................................................................................................................... 81

Acknowledgment Report .................................................................................................................... 81

Group Management ................................................................................................................................ 82

Create a Group .................................................................................................................................... 82

Assign Members to Group .................................................................................................................. 83

Reminder Management .......................................................................................................................... 84

District Reminders ................................................................................................................................... 84

Add an Event ....................................................................................................................................... 84

Remove an Event ................................................................................................................................ 85

Glossary of Terms.................................................................................................................................... 86



MSB™ Mission Statement

MSB is committed to providing industry-leading solutions to empower educators to maximize their

time with the children they serve.



Welcome to AcuityTM 504

User Guide Information

Acuity 504 is a software database system designed to assist educators and administrators in the

management of 504 programs. The Acuity 504 manual will guide users through navigation of the system

as well as the steps to successful implementation in their district.

Terms that are bolded and italicized are defined in the Glossary of Terms.

Although this manual is a reference tool, it may not answer all of your questions. Remember that toll-

free technical support is available Monday through Friday, 7am-5pm (Eastern Time) to assist with your

questions. If you experience difficulties, please call our Customer Care team at 800.810.4220, email

Customer Care at [email protected] or use the Live Chat feature found in the upper right

corner of the program window.

Disable Pop-Up Blockers

Users will need to allow Pop-ups when working with the Acuity 504 program. Acuity 504 utilizes window

prompts in its printing and reporting functions, as well as to remind and notify users of events taking

place in their Acuity 504 account.

To ensure your browser will allow pop-ups Acuity 504, please follow the steps below for your indicated

browser:

In Google Chrome, click the Tools icon (square box in the upper right corner with three

horizontal lines)>Settings>Show Advanced Settings (blue link at the bottom)>Then under the

"Privacy" heading click on the Content Settings button>Scroll down to find the Pop-ups

section>Click on Manage Exceptions. Type login.msb-services.com as a "new hostname pattern"

in the box, leave the drop-down set to "Allow" and click "Done".

In Internet Explorer, click on Tools>Pop-up Blocker>Pop-up Blocker Settings. In "Address of the

website to allow:" enter login.msb-services.com and click on the add button.

In Firefox, click on Firefox Menu>Options>Options>Content. Click on the exceptions button. In

the field for the address of the website to allow, enter login.msb-services.com and click on the

add button.

In Safari on a Mac, click on the Safari menu to the upper left corner of your screen, hit

preferences, then the security tab and make sure the "block pop-up windows" option is not

checked under web content.

In Safari on an iPad, open the "Settings" menu on your Home screen. Tap the "Safari" tab on the

Settings page. The Safari preferences screen loads. Scroll down the page to the "Security"

section. Slide the "Block Pop-Ups" switch to the "Off" position. Press the "Home" button to

return to your Home screen.



MSB Registration and Login Information

All users must register before accessing the program for the first time. If you are an existing user of

AdoriTM or LumeaTM, proceed to the Existing Users section below.

New Users

New User Registration

1) Go to login.msb-services.com in your web browser

2) Click on the link: To Register Click here

http://www.msb-services.com/



Create Profile

3) Complete all required fields (with *) and click on

Note: Password must be a minimum of eight alpha-numeric characters with at least one letter and at

least one number.



4) Select the state for your account

5) Indicate the account name, town or district number you are requesting to join and then click

search

6) Choose the account name to display the available products and modules



7) Choose the module(s) you wish to access and then select

8) An email will be sent to your administrator for approval

9) You will receive an email once approval has been granted

Additional login information

1) Duplicate email addresses cannot be accepted

2) If you forget your password, select “Forgot Password” on the login page

3) Information collected during the registration process can be accessed by clicking on the “My

Profile” Navigation Button



Existing Users

Logging In

If you are already registered for your district’s account and you know the email address and password,

follow the steps below to access your account:


2) Type your email address and password

3) Click on LOGIN

Forgotten Password


2) Click on the “Forgot Password” link

3) Answer your security questions to log in

Adding a New Account or Module

If you are already registered for an MSB module and/or account, but need to access a new account or

module, you will not need to re-register. You will login to you current account and module using the

same email and password that you set up when you registered.

Adding a New Account

To request access to a new account, follow the steps below:

1) Select the My Profile Navigation Button

2) Select

3) Select





4) Select the state for your account

5) Indicate the account name, town or district number you are requesting to join and then click

search

6) Choose the account name to display the available products and modules



7) Choose the module(s) you wish to access and then select



Adding a New Module to an Existing Account

To request access to a new module in an existing account, follow the steps below:

1) Select the My Profile Navigation Button

2) Select

3) Click on the [+] next to the desired account to display the available products and modules

4) Modules you have access to will say “Approved” next to them

5) If additional modules are available to you for that account, you can click on “Request Access”





Universal Functionality

You will notice consistent elements throughout Acuity 504 that will perform the same operation in

different contexts.

Adding Information

Users will have the ability to add information two ways:

1) QUICK TASKS - When you select a Quick Task from the Administrative View, AcuityAcuity 504 will

open a Work Space to complete that task.

2) ADMINISTRATIVE MENU - You can add or edit information in any of the sections of the

Administrative Menu. To add a record, click on the Action Icon to add a new record

for the section you are in. The Work Space will populate with related questions. Answer the

questions and click at the top of the Work Space when complete.

Deleting Information

If a user has sufficient permissions assigned in the system to do so, the user can delete information in in

the following way:

Action Icon –The delete action icon is present above the workspace only when a

user has the appropriate permissions assigned to delete records in the specific section where

the user is working. Clicking on the Delete [-] Action Icon will delete a records only for the

section of the Student Menu you are working in. In other cases (like meetings or notices),

clicking the Delete Action Icon will delete the specific record you are viewing at the time. In

every case, you will be prompted to confirm your intention to delete the records.



Edit/Preview/Print Forms

Users can select the Action Icon above the Work Space to display a list of forms. Some

forms in the list may be editable directly on the form. If so, an button is displayed next to the

form. Click on the button to open the editable form window.



Work Space Editing

Users have the option to utilize the Work Space scroll bar to edit all appropriate fields (see arrow on right), and/or utilize the Table of Contents to select a specific area to edit.

Saving Data

As you enter information into the fields, the button at the top of the Work Space will

change from gray to red as a reminder to save your data. Each time you press the “Save” button, the

data is saved to the server and the save button turns gray again.



Spell Check

When editing a large text field, a text edit window will open. This window includes spell checking. After

typing your text, simply click on the Spell Check button above the text box. This will open a dialog box

outlining the errors and providing suggested corrections.



Navigation of Acuity 504

Launch Pad

The Launch Pad is located at the top left of the screen in the Navigation Bar. It identifies which MSB

product you are logged in to. The launch pad also serves as a quick-link to the MSB websites by clicking

on the different product logos.

Navigation Bar/Buttons

Navigation Bar

The Navigation Bar is located at the top of the screen and allows you to access your account

information, review your Certification Level and the Navigation Buttons.

Navigation Buttons

The Navigation Buttons are the round, blue buttons located on the right side of the Navigation Bar at

the top of the screen. The Notifications button and the Reminders button will display in red if new

information is available.

My Profile

Displays the information provided during User Registration. Users have the ability to change their

security questions, email address, password, as well as request access to additional accounts and/or

MSB products.

Request Access

Under the My Profile Work Space, users can select the “My Accounts” button which will allow users to

request access to additional MSB products and/or accounts as well as review current access and security

rights.



Login Defaults

If a user has access to multiple accounts and products, the user can establish their defaults with their

My Profile window.

Home

Returns the user to the home screen

Blank Forms

Displays a list of blank forms in the account. Users can select the to display a list of forms in

that section.



Calendar

Displays personal/school calendar in the Work Space. You can switch between the personal

calendar and school calendar using the icons to the right above the calendar.

All events are color-coded to provide a quick, visual cue about the event.

The color coding is as follows:

Gray – No school days

Red – Items due (expiring Plans or evaluations)

Orange – Plan meetings

Pink – Personal appointments



Notifications

If MSB Customer Care or your district administration has submitted a Notification, the Notifications

Navigation Button will display in red to indicate that there is a new notifications to review. It is

intended to be used as a communication tool for announcements to the Acuity 504 community, state,

district, school and user level. Here is an overview of the types of notifications that are sent:

MSB Customer Care - Information about Acuity 504 updates or commonly asked questions from

users

District Administrators - District Administrators can send notifications to staff in the Acuity 504

program

Caseload Change - Caseload changes regarding students being added or removed

Navigation in Notifications

Navigation in Notifications occurs in three panes. The “New” pane displays all unread Notifications in

chronological order. The “Notification” pane displays the date, title and content to be read as well as

the sender. After the Notification has been acknowledged, it will move into the “History” pane.

Notifications in the “History” pane will remain for one year as a reference.



Reading a Notification

Clicking on the Notification in the “New” pane displays it in the “Notification” pane. Once you have

finished reading the Notification, click on the “Acknowledge” button to move the Notification to the

“History” pane.

Emailing a Question/Concern Regarding a Notification

You are able to generate an email to the sender of the Notification to address questions/concerns about

the Notification. Clicking on the “Questions” button will expand the window to type in your

question/concern. Notifications sent by Customer Care at MSB will be addressed by a Customer Care

Representative. Notifications generated at the District level will be addressed at the District level.



Reminders

If you have a student with an upcoming compliance due date, the Reminders window will

appear when you log in to Acuity 504. Districts can choose to have specific events as defaults for every

user. Recommended defaults Include: Plan Expiration, Plan Meeting, 3 Year Evaluation and Annual

Review Date. As a user, you can choose to customize your Reminders window by changing the settings.

In the Timeline Pane, you can choose to display student reminders by compliance date. In the Event

Type Pane, you can look at your Reminders in event groups (i.e. Plan Team Meeting). School districts

can identify default event types for staff. Additionally, you can customize Reminders to keep track of

students’ events on your caseload by following the steps below. When a user has a new reminder the

Reminders Navigation Button will display in red.



Customizing Reminders

When accessing Reminders for the first time the user must “Restore Defaults.” This is a one-time only

process that is required to get started.

1) In the Reminders window, click the “Settings” button

2) Select “Restore Defaults”

3) Close “Settings” window

4) Close Reminders window to refresh

If you wish to add more reminder events or extend the reminder timeframe for existing events, follow

these steps:

1) In the Reminders window, click the “Settings” icon

2) Click “Add Event” and choose an event from the drop-down menu

3) If you selected the correct event, click “Save”; If not, click “Remove”

4) Select number of days in advance that you wish to be notified for this event

a. You can extend the reminder timeframe on default events, but not reduce it

5) When finished adding events, close the Settings window



Help

The Help window displays resources to assist users with their learning and support.

You may email Customer Care directly by clicking on [email protected] near the bottom of the

help window.

mailto:[email protected]



Pathway

The Pathway is the gray bar located just below the Navigation Bar and identifies the “path” you have

taken to get to the current location in the program. Clicking on one of the arrow segments in the

Pathway will return you to the window named in that arrow.

Pathway Drop-downs

If the Pathway contains a small arrow inside a square , it is also a drop-down list selection tool.

Clicking on a Pathway drop-down menu will open a list allowing you to select an item in that section.



Action Icons

Action Icons are located above the Work Space Tabs as well as above the Caseload Column. They allow

users to complete functions such as add, delete, clone, amend, print, etc. Here is a break-down of all the

available Action Icons.

Caseload Action Icons

Classroom Management/Add a Student

Progress Reporting

Caseload Reports

Work Space Action Icons

Add Information

Delete Information

Editable Print/Preview

Clone an existing Meeting Notice

Allows users to attach documents that are stored on the user’s computer to

the student’s record in Acuity 504; Users can also review archives that have

been created for a particular student

Clone an existing Plan document



Administrative Menu

The Administrative Menu is a collection of tasks that users can perform to assist in managing the Acuity

504 database. These tasks are organized in “folder” system. By selecting a folder in the Administrative

Menu, the tasks in that folder are displayed.

Administrative View

Access/update all users’ roles, permissions, and types

Approve new user requests

Manage caseloads for 504 Coordinators and Teachers

Check and manage students’ caseload status

Run pre-defined District Reports or create Custom Reports



Manage events and timeframes for system reminders

Access and/or edit Student Demographics, Referrals,

Evaluations, Meetings and Plans for all students

Specify non-school days at the district or school level

Access Personal or specific School calendar

Update district contact information, school information and

default permissions by role

Manage and send notifications district-wide, to a specific user or a

specific group of users



User Management

Administrators can manage their users in the User Management folder.

User Details

1) Select “User Details” from the User Management folder

Status Types:

Account Locked

Offline

Online

Deactivated

2) Select next to appropriate name

3) Select appropriate Work Space Tab to update



Summary

The Summary tab provides an overview of users’ current roles and types, as well as the requirement for

Professional Oversight. Administrators also have the ability to reset a user’s password if needed.

Roles

View or Edit a user’s role



Permissions

View or Edit a user’s permissions in the program



Approve Users

1) Select “Approve Users” from the User Management folder in the Administrative Menu

2) Select appropriate role

3) Select Approve or Deny

NOTE: A confirmation email will be sent to the registering user

Locked Users

If a user has three failed login attempts, the user’s account will be locked. When this happens, the user

is presented with the opportunity to answer his/her security questions to unlock the account. If the

security questions are answered correctly, the user will be logged in. If the security questions are not

answered correctly, an Administrator can unlock the user’s account in User Details.

1) Select “User Details” from the User Management folder in the Administrative Menu

2) Locate User Name that has the image

3) Select “unlock user”

NOTE: If an administrator unlocks a user’s account, that user may still experience problems logging in

due to a forgotten password. In this case, the user’s password may be reset under the Summary tab in

User Details.



Caseload Management

Administrators have the ability to manage the 504 Coordinator’s Caseloads in the Caseload

Management folder.

504 Coordinators

Assign teacher(s) to a 504 Coordinator’s caseload 1) Select the name of the 504 Coordinator in the “New Caseload” pane. The 504 Coordinator’s

existing caseload will display



2) Select the check box next to each appropriate 504 Coordinator in the Current Caseload window

3) You have two options when assigning teacher(s) to the new or 504 Coordinator

a. When selecting to Move, the teacher will be moved to the new 504

Coordinator and will no longer be available to the Previous 504 Coordinator

b. When selecting to Copy, the teacher will be added to the new 504

Coordinator while still remaining available to the Previous 504 Coordinator

By selecting either Move or Copy, the teacher is now part of the new 504 Coordinator’s caseload.



Remove Teacher from a 504 Coordinator

1) Select 504 Coordinator from drop-down in the Current Caseload window

2) Select the check box next to each teacher to remove

3) Select



Teachers

Administrators have the ability to manage their Teachers in the Caseload Management folder.

Search Caseloads

1) Select appropriate filters

2) In the Current Caseload pane, filter student list in one of four ways:

a.

b.

c.

d.



Assign Students to a Teacher

1) Locate student in the Current Caseload column (if cannot locate student use Search feature)

2) Locate teacher to assign student(s) to in the New Caseload column



3) Select the check box next to each appropriate student in the Current Caseload window

4) You have two options to assign student to the new Teacher:

a. When selecting to Move, the student will move to the New Teacher and

will no longer be available to the Previous Teacher

b. When selecting to Copy, the student will be added to the New Teacher

while still remaining available to the Previous Teacher

By selecting either Move or Copy, the student is now part of the new Teacher’s caseload.



Remove Student from a Teacher’s Caseload

1) Select Teacher from drop-down in the Current Caseload window

2) Select the check box next to each student to remove

3) Select



Caseload Status

The Caseload Status window allows Administrators and Team Leaders to view and change the following

information for all students in the district:

View Student Details and Plan

Change School, Grade, Teacher or Status for Students

Review Student Reminders and Student Progress Indicators (SPIs)

Filter and Sort

1) Select appropriate filters and sorting criteria

2) Select

Access to Student Documentation

Select the student’s name in blue to access Student Demographics. Select Plan Start and End Dates

to access Plan.

Edit School, Grade or Status for a Student

Click on “Edit” to the far right for the selected student. Editable fields will now contain a drop-down

menu.



Global Advance Student Grades

Grades may be advanced for all students globally one time per school year.

1) In the Caseload Status window, select

2) All students whose grades can be advanced will be checked by default. Uncheck any student

known to not be advancing

3) Select “All Students” or “504 Students” from the drop down

Note: “All students” will advance grades for non 504 students, including those in Adori and Lumea.

4) Select to advance the grades of all selected students

5) Select “Display students that cannot be advanced” to display a list of students that Acuity 504 is

not able to advance for the specified reasons



Review Student Reminders

In the Caseload Status window, some students may have a red flag or a red Student Progress Indicator

(SPI) to the left of the student’s name. The red flag indicates that the student has reminders for

upcoming events. The SPI indicates missing student data in the student’s record.

Select or the next to the student’s name to generate report of necessary reminders or missing

data.

Reminders Report

Student Progress Indicator (SPI) Report



Caseload Reports

Administrators and 504 Coordinators can run Caseload Reports from the Administrative Menu.

District Reports

1) Select “District Reports” from Caseload Reports menu

2) Select to choose a report

3) Select to export the report results as a PDF; Select to export the report results to

Excel



Custom Reports - New

1) Select “Custom Reports” from Administrative Menu; The Custom Reports Wizard will open

2) Click on to create a new Custom Report

3) Select next to the appropriate section to display the sub-sections

4) Check the box for the appropriate sub-section(s) to include all fields in that sub-section or select

next to the sub-section to display the individual fields

5) Select



6) To change the order of the fields in the report results, select a field and use the “Move Up” or

“Move Down” buttons, if desired

7) Select

8) Select the report filtering criteria. The check box to the left of each field indicates whether the

field will display in the report results. The options to the right allow you to filter your results to

display only those records that match the criteria you select. If multiple criteria are available for

a given field, you can select multiple options by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking on each

option. Some filters (like student name) allow you to type your filter criteria

9) Select the button to view your report; The report results window will open,

displaying the results based on the criteria you selected



10) You have two different options for exporting the report results. You can export to Adobe PDF or

Microsoft Excel. Exporting to Excel will allow you to further manipulate the data. It is

recommended that you export to Adobe PDF or Microsoft Excel to print the results as printing

directly from the report results window may not produce desirable results

To export the results to either Adobe PDF or Microsoft Excel, click on one of the icons in the

lower right corner of the report results window

11) Once you close the report results window, you can save your report for use in the future. You can name your report and then select “Save As”. Your report will be saved in the existing reports list



Custom Reports – Existing

Once you have saved one or more custom reports, you can run those reports again without creating

them from scratch. You can even modify an existing report if the criteria change.

1) Select “Custom Reports” from Administrative Menu; The Custom Reports Wizard will open

2) Open the drop-down list to select an existing report

Reports listed as “(Personal)” were created by you. Reports listed “(District-Wide)” were

created by a district administrator and shared with all users in the district.



Student Management

Administrators and 504 Coordinators can manage students in the Student Management folder in the

Administrative Menu.

Student Details

Accessing Student Data

1) Select Student Details in the Student Management menu

2) Search for a Student by typing all or part of the student’s last name in the drop-down box.

When the full name appears, choose it from the list



3) The student’s demographic information will populate the Student Details Work Space



Add a Student

A student can be entered into Acuity 504 as an active or a referral student.


2) In the Student Information tab, click on the Action Icon

3) In the Work Space, enter the information required to create the student record

4) Select when done



Delete a Student

Only students that are added in error or for practice should be removed from the database. Students

with a history in Acuity 504 should be exited, not deleted, from the database.


2) Search for Student by typing all or part of the student’s last name in the drop-down box. When

the full name appears, choose it from the list

3) In the Student Information tab, select the Action Icon

4) Confirm deletion by selecting

Exit a Student

Students who leave the district for any reason need to be exited from the Acuity 504 program. Exiting allows the Acuity 504 program to change the student’s status from “active” or “referral” to “inactive” and allows Acuity 504 to maintain the student’s documentation for historical purposes.

1) In the Table of Contents in the Student Information tab, click

2) Enter the appropriate exit information in the Work Space

3) Select when complete

NOTE: Saving exit information will change the student’s status from “Active” “Referral” to “Inactive” automatically.



Add Parent/Guardian


2) Select the “Parent Information” Work Space Tab

3) Select the Action Icon above the Work Space

4) Enter appropriate information


Edit Parent/Guardian Details



3) Edit all appropriate fields




Delete a Parent/Guardian



3) Select Action Icon

4) Select Parent/Guardian to delete

5) Select to confirm deletion



Develop Student Team

Add New Teacher


2) Select Student Team Work Space Tab


4) In the Student Provider Type drop down, teacher is the default selection.




Delete Student Team Member

1) In the “Student Team” tab, click on the Action Icon above the Work Space

2) Select the appropriate team member to delete




Evaluations

Add a Student Evaluation

1) Click on Student Management

2) Select “Evaluations” from the Student Menu

3) Search for Student






Edit Student Evaluation



3) Search for a student using the Student Search box above the Work Space

4) Select appropriate Evaluation from the Pathway

5) Enter appropriate data in the Work Space


Delete Student Evaluation




4) Select appropriate Evaluation from the Pathway

5) Select the Action Icon




Meetings

Add a Meeting


2) Select “Meetings” from the Student Menu

3) Search for Student




Edit a Meeting




4) Select appropriate Meeting from the Pathway

5) Enter appropriate data in the Work Space




Delete Meeting






6) Confirm deletion



Clone a Meeting

NOTE: Meeting Cloning is an optional feature and may not be available in all accounts.










Add Meeting Team Members

NOTE: Acuity 504 automatically adds default Team Members to meetings. These Team Members include Administrator, Parents, Regular Education Teacher and 504 Coordinator.

1) Select Team Members Work Space Tab




5) Enter appropriate information in the Work Space




Delete Team Members

NOTE: Deleting a team member from a meeting does not remove that person a member of the student’s provider team, as defined in Student Details

1) Select “Team Members” Work Space Tab


3) Select member to delete

4) Confirm deletion



Add Records of Attempts to Attend

1) Under the “Meetings” section of the Student Management menu, select the “Record of

Attempts” tab

2) In the Work Space, select or the Action Icon





Plans

Add Plan


2) Select “Plans” from the Student Menu




NOTE: A Meeting must be created prior to creating a Plan. Once the user selects the Meeting Date,

Acuity 504 will automatically generate the Start and End Dates of the Plan.




Edit Plan Details




4) The newest Plan will load by default. To choose an older Plan, select it from the drop-down

menu in the Pathway

5) You have the option to utilize the Work Space to enter data or select the Editable Print Preview

Action Icon


Delete a Plan




4) Make sure you are in the Plan Details tab





Add Classroom Accommodations

1) Select the “Classroom Accommodations” Work Space Tab

2) Select the Action Icon in the Work Space

3) Enter all appropriate information by clicking in each of the available text boxes

4) When you have entered all appropriate information hit Apply below the text box

5) To finalize your information select on the next page.

6) Repeat steps 2-5 when adding more accommodations

Delete Classroom Accommodations

1) Select the Action Icon to remove an accommodation

2) Click Ok to confirm deletion



Clone Plan

Plan cloning should be used to create an exact copy of a Plan with new start and end dates. It is

important to note the benefits and cautions of cloning a Plan given that it is a legal and binding

document for the district.

Cloning DOES carry over demographic, evaluation and accommodations information.

All areas of the Plan must be reviewed by the 504 Coordinator to ensure that it aligns with the student’s

current present level of accommodations.

NOTE: Acuity 504 requires that a meeting date be entered before the creation of a Plan.

1) Select Plans from Student Management Folder

2) The previous Plan will display in the Work Space. Select the Action Icon

3) Enter appropriate information:




Create an Archive

Archiving stores a copy of the Plan in the database in its current form. Districts may use archiving at any

time during the Plan process to preserve a snapshot of the document on a certain date.


2) Select

3) Select next to the appropriate document

4) When archiving is complete you will receive the following message



5) Select in the Archives window to see updates

Review/Access Archives


2) Users can complete the following when accessing Archives:

a. Provide Notes for each Archive

b. View/Print

Attach Documents

The Attach feature allows users to upload files that are saved on the user’s computer to the student’s

file in Acuity 504. These files could range from Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, Adobe PDF files,

pictures, etc.


2) Select in the Attachments section



3) Select

4) Locate document in computer to attach and select

Select

5) Close window

6) Select to review attachment and add notes if necessary



Calendar Management

Administrators and 504 Coordinators can manage District and School No-School Days calendars from the

Calendar Management folder in the Administrative Menu.

District-No School Days Calendar

1) Click on each date in the appropriate month that school is not in session for the entire district

2) Select reason for school not in session




School-No School Days Calendar

1) Select the appropriate school from the School drop-down menu

2) Click on each date in the appropriate month that school is not in session for that school



3) Select reason for school not in session


NOTE: The District - No School Days Calendar overrules settings in the School – No School Days Calendar.

If a day is set as a non-school day in the district calendar, it cannot be made a school day in the school

calendar. In this case, the non-school day must be removed from the district calendar and then the

appropriate choices made for each school on that day.



Personal/School Calendar

The Personal and School Calendars populate events scheduled throughout the Acuity 504 database such

as Annual Review Date, Plan Meetings, Students’ birthdays, etc. The Personal Calendar would typically

display events for students in a particular Teacher’s caseload. For administrators and 504 Coordinators,

the Personal Calendar is just a place to manually record appointments.

Personal Calendar

1) Select to view Personal Calendar events

2) To add a Personal Event double-click on date

3) Enter appropriate information to schedule event

School Calendar

1) Select to view the calendar for a specific school

2) Choose the school from the School drop-down menu

3) To add an Event to School Calendar double-click on a date

4) Enter appropriate information to schedule event



District Management

Administrators and 504 Coordinators can add and manage their district contact information, schools,

and default role permissions by selecting District Management from the Administrative Menu.

District Information

The district information section allows you to enter contact information for key district personnel.

Update District Information

Add District Contact

1) Choose “District Information” in the Table of Contents

2) Select Action Icon to add personnel

3) Enter appropriate information in the provided fields


5) Information can be edited in the Work Space by choosing the position in the Table of Contents

Delete District Contact


2) Select appropriate contact to delete

3) Select to confirm



Default Role Permissions

Administrators and 504 Coordinators can set a master list of default permissions for each role. These

defaults are used when editing an individual user’s permissions and the “Reset to Defaults” button is

used.

Edit Permissions by Role 1) Select “Role” from drop-down

2) Select appropriate permissions from the grid and the check boxes below it

3) Select “Apply changes to all current users with selected role” to update the selected permissions for all users that have associated role


5) Select to reset the role back to Acuity 504 Default

Permissions

NOTE: To make adjustments to permissions for a specific user, proceed to the User Management/

User Details section.



Schools

The Schools list in District Management is the list of schools available in the Schools drop down in

Student Details.

Add a School




Edit School Information

1) Select “Edit” in the appropriate school row

2) Make modifications where necessary

3) Select to save changes

Delete a School

1) Select “Delete” in the appropriate school row

2) Select “OK” to confirm deletion



Notification Management

Administrators can add and manage notifications by selecting Notifications from the Administrative

Menu.

Notifications

Add a Notification

1) Select “Notifications” from the Administrative Menu


3) Enter appropriate data under Notification Details


Delete a Notification

1) Select Notification from “Current Notifications” pane

2) Select button to delete

3) Click “OK” to confirm

Acknowledgment Report

1) Select Notification from “Current Notifications” pane

2) Select

3) Review Results



Group Management

Administrators can create and manage groups for the purpose of defining a specific audience for

Notifications.

Create a Group

1) Select Group Management from the Administrative Menu

2) Select “Groups” Work Space Tab


4) Enter “Title”




Assign Members to Group

1) Select “Group Management” from the Administrative Menu

2) Select “Members” Work Space Tab

3) Select title from “Group:” drop-down

4) Choose a staff member from the Available Users pane to add to the group

5) Select to copy the user to the group

6) Repeat steps 4 and 5 to assign additional users to the group




Reminder Management

Administrators can add and manage district reminders by selecting Reminder Management from the

Administrative Menu.

District Reminders

The District Reminders window displays the current reminders set up for the district.

Add an Event

1) Select button

2) Select appropriate event from drop-down



3) Select appropriate timeline from drop-down

4) Select to complete

Remove an Event

Select button next to appropriate event to delete.

NOTE: there is no confirmation when removing an event from the list. If an item is removed from the

list in error, it can simply be added again by clicking on the Add Event button.



Glossary of Terms

Action Icons:

Action Icons are located above the Work Space Tabs as well as above the Caseload Column. They allow

users to complete functions such as add, delete, clone, amend and print.

Active Student:

An active student has been identified as a 504 student.

Add Student:

The Action Icon for adding a student is located on the upper right-hand side of the gray status bar. Once

you have clicked on this icon, follow “Add a Student” guide.

Administrative Menu:

The Administrative Menu is the window where the Administrative Tasks are displayed.

Archive Plan:

Archiving a Plan stores a copy of the Plan in the database in its current form. Districts may use archiving

at any time during the Plan process to preserve a snapshot of the document on a certain date.

Caseload Column:

The Caseload Column is the window where the Student List is displayed.

Caseload Filter:

The “caseload filter” function is located above the Caseload Column and allows you to filter your student

list in several ways depending on your current task. The student list can be filtered alphabetically, by

School or by Grade.

Create Reports:

To create reports (queries) in Acuity 504, teachers must click on the third Action Icon in the upper left-

hand corner of the gray status bar just above their caseload filter; Administrators and 504 Coordinators

will click on Caseload Reports in the Administrative Window.

Editable Print/Preview:

Editable Print/Preview allows users to fill in the fields of Acuity 504 directly on the forms. Data entered

in these form fields will save directly to the database. The Editable Print/Preview Action Icon is located

in the upper right-hand corner of the gray status bar. Editable Print/Preview also generates forms for

viewing, downloading and printing.

Home Screen:

The Home Screen consists of the Calendar View and the Student List.



Inactive Student:

An inactive student has been dismissed from the district. However, Acuity 504 retains historical

information on inactive students.

Launch Pad:

The Launch Pad is located at the top left of the screen in the Navigation Bar. The Launch Pad serves as a

quick-link to the MSB websites by clicking on the different product logos.

My Profile:

Displays the information provided during Login Registration. Users have the ability to change their

security questions, password, default view, as well as, request access to additional accounts and/or MSB

products.

Navigation Bar:

The Navigation Bar is located at the top of the screen and allows you to access your account information

and the Navigation Buttons.

Navigation Buttons:

Green icons located on the right side of the Navigation Bar at the top of the screen.

My Profile: Displays the information provided during Login Registration. Users have the ability

to change their security questions as well as request access to additional accounts and/or MSB

products.

Home: Returns you to the home screen.

Blank Forms: Displays a list of blank forms in the account that may be printed individually or in

groups of selected forms.

Notification: Opens Notifications window.

Reminder Flag: Opens Reminders window.

Help: Opens available user guides.

Pathway:

The Pathway is located above the Action Icons and identifies the “path” taken to get to the current

location in the program.

Pathway Drop-downs:

The Pathway is also a navigation tool. Clicking on a section of the Pathway will open a drop-down menu

allowing you to select a different area in that section.



Personal Calendar:

The Home Screen calendar can be populated by that user to contain personal calendar events viewed

only by the user. To view the personal calendar, select the personal calendar icon in the upper right-

hand corner of the Home Screen.

Quick Tasks:

Once a student has been chosen from the student list, the Quick Task pane allows the user to choose a

task and go directly there in Acuity 504. Districts can choose default Quick Tasks. Users can also

customize their Quick Tasks according to their role in the system by clicking on the “Settings” button in

the Quick Tasks pane.

Reminder Flag:

The Student Reminder Flag is located in the Caseload Column to the right of the student’s name. If a

student has a Reminder Flag, it means they have an event coming up and this will be listed in the

Reminders Window.

Reminder Flag Report:

Clicking on the Student Reminder Flag will open a Student Reminder Report indicating where the

student is missing information.

School Calendar:

The Home Screen calendar is populated by staff with administrative rights for school events. Most of

these events will be Plan related (Annual Review Date and 3 Year Review Dates). To view the school

calendar, select the “School Calendar Icon” in the upper right-hand corner of the Home Screen.

Search Tool:

The search tool is an administrative function in the Administrative Menu allowing searches for students

in the system.

Student List:

The Student List for Teachers is contained in the Caseload Column on the left side of the screen in Acuity

504. The Student List can be displayed and sorted in several ways using drop-down menus at the top.

The Student List can display active, referral or inactive students.

Student Menu:

The Student Menu is the list of areas that appears under a student’s name when it is selected. The

student’s name and Student Menu are defined by the orange background that appears when the

student is selected.

Student Progress Indicators (SPI):

Student Progress Indicators are the colored orbs to the left of some student’s names in the Caseload

Column. A red SPI indicates that there is missing information for that student in the system. As you

navigate through Acuity 504, you will notice the lettering of some tabs may be red. This is an indicator



that there is missing information in this tab. In the tab, the missing information fields will also be

highlighted in red. An orange orb with a dark red center indicates that there is missing Medicaid

information.

Student Progress Indicator (SPI) Report:

Clicking on a SPI will open a Student Progress Indicator Report indicating where the student is missing

information.

Student Team:

The Student Team is created in the Student Details window. All teachers added to the Student Team

have access to the student’s records and can perform tasks as identified by each teacher’s access level.

Table of Contents:

The Table of Contents is in the Plan section of Acuity 504. The buttons in the Table of Contents identify

the sections of the tab to allow you to navigate through the tab efficiently.

Work Space:

The Work Space is the large area to the right of the Caseload Column and below the Work Space Tabs.

Work Space Tabs:

The Work Space Tabs are located above the Work Space and allow the user to navigate through the

Work Space.