Overview
During our audit, we also identified the issue below, which we believe warrants the Massachusetts Department of Correction’s (DOC’s) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE’s) attention.
Special Education services and evaluations are not being provided by local education agencies (LEAs) for incarcerated individuals (I/Is) who are under the age of 22 and are potentially eligible for special education services. According to Section 441.03(4) of DOC’s Inmate Training and Education Policy,
To assist in meeting the educational needs of inmates who require special placement because of physical, mental, emotional, or learning disabilities, and in compliance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department of Correction and DESE, the designated Site Supervisor or designee, shall advise inmates under the age of twenty-two (22) of their special education rights and complete the following necessary forms. The MOU can be found on the Division of Inmate Training and Education intranet page.
However, during our audit, we found that communications were initiated, and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was revised with DESE in 2023 regarding special education services, but the agreement was ultimately not signed by DESE. Therefore, DOC must rely on the executed 2006 MOU between DOC and the Massachusetts Department of Education.13 According to the 2006 MOU between the Massachusetts Department of Education and DOC,
[The Massachusetts Department of Education] shall direct school districts [LEAs] that, upon notification of assignment to an inmate, they shall:
(a) conduct an evaluation or reevaluation, as appropriate, to determine if the inmate is eligible for special education; or,
(b) provide or arrange for services according to the most recent [individualized education program (IEP)] pending the development and acceptance of a new IEP.
DOC stated that LEAs only gather information for DOC regarding I/Is’ most recent individualized education programs (IEPs) and do not provide evaluations or re-evaluations and do not arrange for special education services. Instead, DOC’s special education staff members use I/Is’ most recent IEP information provided by LEAs to deliver special education services to potentially eligible I/Is. Therefore, the executed 2006 MOU between the Massachusetts Department of Education and DOC is not being followed as documented.
Without a revised and executed MOU between DOC and DESE, there could be misinterpretations, disputes, and a lack of clarity regarding roles and responsibilities for each agency, which could negatively impact the education of I/Is who are eligible for special education services.
DOC management stated that they made efforts to sign a new MOU with DESE in 2023, but they were unsuccessful.
We encourage DOC and DESE to communicate, revise, and establish an updated MOU between the two agencies to assign appropriate responsibilities and procedures for I/Is in DOC’s custody who are potentially eligible for special education services.
| Date published: | December 19, 2025 |
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