Updates

Please see the Programmatic Monitoring Alert regarding necessary changes to programmatic monitoring of the preschool transition process, developed in response to findings issued by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the resulting corrective action assigned to ADE/ESS. These updates are directly related to the transition of children from Early Intervention (Part C) to School Age (Part B).

Teach Camp is a year-long support system that includes professional learning specifically designed for beginning special education teachers. The goal of Teach Camp is to increase retention of special educators by providing our newest special education teachers with the tools they need to survive and thrive during their first years in the classroom.

ADE/ESS is pleased to request proposals for Arizona’s 2021 IDEA Conference, Renewal: Resilience to Results.This year’s conference will be held via an on-line platform, and will feature over 75 professional learning opportunities addressing legal issues, special education compliance, preschool and secondary transition, social/emotional learning, and new this year, a content strand for related service providers.

Please join us on Monday, June 7 from 1:00 p.m.–2:15 p.m. for “Demystifying ESS Programmatic Monitoring,” a collaborative presentation between ADE/ESS and the Arizona Association of School Psychologists (AASP).Together, leaders from ESS Program Supporting and Monitoring and AASP will provide clarification on some commonly misunderstood evaluation topics and share some tricks of the trade. This content is geared for evaluators and authors of evaluations, but all practitioners can benefit.

A new integrity rule for FY 2021 will be introduced into the integrity process on SPED data shortly. This new rule is a continuation of our effort to further validate SPED reporting to ensure clean data for the state. Integrity Rule -10134 This rule will validate any students enrolled at an Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) to have a corresponding SPED Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) reported.

Special Education Directors,Please share the following message about upcoming math professional learning with general and special education teachers who teach mathematics. June Math Office HoursThe ADE Math Team has scheduled office hours to allow educators to meet together to network, problem-solve, and develop solutions to allow all Arizona teachers and students to continue to feel supported and to be successful.Grade-band meetings are provided for all math teachers, including special education teachers! These grade-band meetings will include opportunities for networking, problem solving, and sharing different implementation models. Office hours are one hour long with an additional 30 minutes at the end for a Q & A session. Participants can earn one hour of professional development credit for each session attended.

ADE/ESS is pleased to announce additional training opportunities for Arizona’s schools with The Neurosequential Model Network led by Dr. Bruce Perry. The trainings will assist schools in dealing with trauma and its effects on students. There are two training programs available to schools.

Please see the following stakeholder communication opportunity from the Arizona Response to Sexual Violence & Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Collaborative:The Arizona Response to Sexual Violence & Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Collaborative recently released, Preventing Sexual Abuse in Arizona Schools: Suggested Protocols for Students with Intellectual, Developmental and Other Disabilities.

ADE/ESS is so excited to announce that the 2021 IDEA Conference is scheduled for September 13—15, 2021:September 13 and 14, 8:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.September 15, 8:00 a.m. –12:00 p.m.

The opening of the ESS Special Education Program Approval System for the 2021–2022 school year will open on May 17, 2021. ESS plans to have all ED-P programs that wish to operate for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 reviewed and approved by the end of June. Failure to apply to the application may cause integrity failures for public education agencies (PEAs) toward the end of the upcoming school year, which may affect state payments.