Special Education Administrators,

Project EASEL, in partnership with ADE, would like to invite you to tune into the Exploring Strategies for Social Emotional Learning fall and spring professional learning series. We plan to share a variety of information and strategies that will support your understanding and implementation of assertiveness, self-efficacy, and self-regulation. 

Registration is required for each session. Please view the this flyer with details of upcoming sessions and registration links. Sessions will be held on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m.

Topics include:

Middle School Students Can Self-Regulate: Strategies for Supporting Self-Regulation

• September 20, 2022

Teaching Middle School Students to Persist Through Challenging Tasks Using Self-Efficacy

• October 11, 2022

Preparing for Postsecondary Success: Teaching High School Students to Self-Regulate

• November 8, 2022

Strengthening Confidence and Persistence: Strategies to Increase Self-Efficacy in High School Students

• January 10, 2023

Teaching Students Respectful Communication: Understanding Assertiveness

• February 21, 2023

Empowering Arizona with Social Emotional Learning

• April 4, 2023

On behalf of Project EASEL, we want to say, “welcome back to a new and exciting school year,” and we look forward to seeing you virtually this fall semester.

For more information or if you have any questions, please email Pattie Noonan.

Dear Educators and Therapists,

Are you overwhelmed by PD? Don’t have time for a 90-minute webinar? We got you! Please join the Arizona Department of Education/Exceptional Student Services/Assistive Technology Team for our fall series titled “Assistive Technology: Just One Thing (JOT).”

These fast, 30-minute sessions will showcase just one organizational or assistive technology tool or strategy that you can use in your classroom or teacher/therapist life. Are mornings or afternoons better for you? No worries; each JOT will be presented on Wednesdays at lunchtime and after school. Choose the time that works for you. The first sessions will take place on Wednesday, August 24, 2022, from 11:30 a.m.−12:00 p.m. and again from 3:00−3:30 p.m. The topic will be Get GO-ing with Graphic Organizers.

Register for 11:30 a.m.

Register for 3:00 p.m.

Focusing and organizing thoughts, ideas, and information in reading, writing, and math can be a real challenge for students. Join us at this JOT to learn about graphic organizers that may help struggling students to understand, remember, and apply information, and may help students to see connections, patterns, and relationships. We will explore how students can use a variety of these templates to organize their ideas with visual maps, diagrams, and pictures. Come, learn, and take away your favorite graphic organizer to use with your students the very next day. 

Register for these and future sessions.

If you have questions regarding this training, please email our AT inbox.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT      

Special Education Data Updates Webinar Wednesday, August 17th  

  The Exceptional Student Services Data Management team will be hosting the next Special Education Data Updates live webinar on Wednesday, August 17th from 2pm – 3pm. This session will cover a variety of data topics that will include (subject to change):  

• Reminders
  • Preparation for October 1 Data Collection
  • Data Management Toolkit available on website
  • IDEA Conference registration and Data Management session
  • Upcoming training for Proportionate Share obligations
• Trending topics
  • FY23 Data Reporting Updates Document
• Per Your Request
  • Overview of ASDB AzEDS Reporting and Vouchers vs Fee for Service
  • AzEDS Reporting for Private Day Schools and Residential Treatment Centers
  • Who to contact for MET questions.
  • Guidance in development for Secure Care incident reporting
• Top 3 Integrity Errors
• Q&A   

Registration is required to attend: Register for Special Education Data Updates webinar.  

   For questions, please contact ESS Data Management via email at [email protected].   

Special Education Directors,

ESS/Program Support and Monitoring (PSM) is proud to announce the release of the SY 2022–2023 Programmatic Monitoring Manual. This manual is a critical document for public education agencies (PEAs) participating in monitoring activities and can also be used by all PEAs to self-assess programmatic strengths and needs. 

ESS hopes this document assists PEAs in the review of systemic, programmatic needs within their entities.

For questions about the SY 2022—2023 Programmatic Monitoring Manual or programmatic monitoring in general, please contact your PEA’s assigned PSM specialist.

Special Education Directors,

Please see the following professional development opportunity jointly offered by ADE/ESS teams:

The Heart, Art, Craft, and Sciences of Reading/Writing for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities

The Exceptional Student Services Professional Learning and Sustainability, Special Populations, and Assistive Technology teams are partnering to offer a professional learning opportunity focused on a literacy strengths-based teaching and learning approach for students with low-incidence disabilities in grades K–12.

This day-and-a-half, in-person training will focus on the sciences of reading and writing, adapted to meet the complex needs of all students at Tier 1. The Assistive Technology team will also share tips, tricks, and tools on using technology to enhance reading and writing for all students. Educators will walk away with skills and strategies that can be implemented the next day. This literacy training is for all educators! Participants can earn 10.75 professional development credits for attending the training.

September 23, 2022

• 8:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m. (lunch provided)

September 24, 2022

• 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Materials

Participants will receive the book, Fundamentals of Literacy Instruction and Assessment, Second Edition.

Cost

The fee for the class is $40 (includes textbook and Friday lunch).

Location

Arizona Department of Education

100 N. 15th Avenue, Suite #300

Phoenix, AZ 85007

Please email Sandra Figueroa or email Christy Hegebush with any questions.  

Register today!

Special Education Directors,

Please see the following information regarding an external professional development opportunity made available by the Arizona Deafblind Project:

Do you or someone you know work with a student with combined vision and hearing loss?

We are pleased to announce registration is now open for the Arizona Deafblind Project's Intervener Training Program. This training addresses the need for high-quality, evidence-based practices for anyone who serves children and youth with combined vision and hearing loss. 

Our flyer describes this training in more depth and includes a syllabus for this year’s Cohort. If you would like more information on the Open Hands, Open Access (OHOA) learning modules we utilize, check out this Introductory Video.

Thank you in advance for considering this training for yourself, your colleagues, and/or those you supervise. Please consider forwarding this information to others who may be interested. Here is the link for ONLINE REGISTRATION, which closes on August 26th. Our work begins together in September.  

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to any one of the Arizona Deafblind Project Staff. 

Megan Mogan, Deafblind Specialist 

Amy Trollop, Deafblind Specialist

Pat Jung, Deafblind Specialist

Lisa Yencarelli, Project Director

Special Education Directors,

Please see information about a external professional development opportunity:

Are you interested in improving individualized education programs (IEPs)? Are you looking for resources and strategies to help prepare educators to promote progress for students with disabilities? Join the PROGRESS Center for a free two-day virtual learning event, Prepping for PROGRESS! Adding New Tools to Your Backpack (Toolbox) for the Start of School on August 3-4, 2022. The event will focus on sharing information, resources, and lessons learned to support the development and implementation of high-quality educational programming for students with disabilities. ​Learn more about the event and register for sessions on the PROGRESS website!  

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT 

SEDD Certification begins tomorrow July 20th

Certification of final FY22 Special Education Data begins tomorrow July 20th, and is due by August 3rd. 

Requirements for certification in the Special Education Data Dashboard (SEDD) application include:

• Review of SPED Exit students who qualify for SPED exit as outlined in the SPED Exit Flow Chart.
  • Review of SPED Exiters was due 7/15, aligning with the close of FY22 AzEDS.
  • Any sites not reviewed will still require certification; a comment box is available on the certification page for any additional information.
• Preschool Transition: required for PEAs that provide special education and related services to preschoolers. Data entry involves information on students who transferred from Part C (Arizona Early Intervention Program) to Part B (PEA preschool program).
• Students without Disabilities: data entry is required for PEAs to identify whether or not educational services were provided to students without disabilities reported as long-term suspended or expelled in AzEDS.

Instructions for completion of the FY22 SEDD application are available on our ESS Data Management website.

ADEConnect Roles required for completion:

• ESS SEDD: LEA User
  • Allow for data entry into the application
• ESS SEDD: LEA Signer
  • Allow for data entry into the application and final certification

For any questions regarding this issue please feel free to contact [email protected].

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

New Integrity Rule -40086 – New SPED14 Exit Code for Preschool

A new Special Education integrity rule -40086, will be introduced into the integrity process on FY23 SPED data. This update is a continuation of our effort to ensure clean data for the state. A new one-sheet Integrity Tool is now available on our AzEDS SPED Reporting webpage for troubleshooting tips for Integrity Rule -40086.

This rule will validate when a SPED14 (No longer eligible for PS Special Education) exit code is reported, the enrollment exit is on the same date.

Note the SPED14 exit code will also need to align to the SPED Exit Validation Matrix to pass exit rule -40055.

Please contact [email protected] with any questions regarding this update.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

Special Education Data Dashboard Update:

Preschool Transition and Students without Disabilities Data Entry Now Open

Two new data entry components are added to the Special Education Data Dashboard (SEDD) as of today:

• Preschool Transition: required for PEAs that provide special education and related services to preschoolers. Data entry involves information on students who transferred from Part C (Arizona Early Intervention Program) to Part B (PEA preschool program).
• Students without Disabilities: data entry is required for PEAs to identify whether or not educational services were provided to students without disabilities reported as long-term suspended or expelled in AzEDS.

These data collection requirements are due by August 3, 2022, by 5:00 pm. If your PEA does not serve preschoolers and/or does not have any students without disabilities reported as long-term suspended or expelled, these components will not be accessible and are not applicable.

To access the SEDD application, please log into ADEConnect, navigate to the Exceptional Student Services Portal and select the Special Education Data Dashboard button under Data Collection & Reporting.

From the home page of the SEDD application, you can select this component through the “Data” menu option or click “Go” in one or more of the accessible boxes.

As a reminder, exit data will be extracted from AzEDS daily and displayed after processing federal business rules. This data is REVIEW only. Any changes to this data will need to be made through your Student Information System and uploaded/synced to AzEDS. You will have until July 15, 2022, by 5:00 pm to finalize your Exit data.

You can refer to the technical assistance documents under the “Help” menu option, which will take you to the SEDD website that contains the appropriate tools and resources.

If you did not attend the Special Education Data Updates (SEDU) webinar in April or May, feel free to review the recordings available on our website under Training Opportunities or on our YouTube Channel. Note the SEDD portion for the April session begins at 3:57, and the May session begins at 7:08.

Please direct any questions to [email protected].