Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS has received many questions regarding special education timelines during school closures associated with COVID-19. We recognize that, during this time, there may be challenges in meeting deadlines. Please see the this guidance document (Updated 4/1/20) that contains guidance on timelines, provided in good faith based on guidance from OSEP.

There are a few other resources that may be useful for you to review:

• The ADE delivered a COVID-19 webinar today to district and charter leaders, as well as education stakeholders. The webinar was hosted with the support of the AZ School Board Association. Participant size was limited, but the webinar was recorded and is available on ADE’s COVID-19 webpage. There is a short section on special education that is taken primarily from the OSEP Q & A document recently disseminated, but also contains a few pieces of information gained from the “Joint Webinar on COVID 19 and Students with Disabilities” held on March 13.
• The “Joint Webinar on COVID 19 and Students with Disabilities” was presented by Laurie VanderPloeg, OSEP Director, along with representatives from NASDSE, CASE, and the CCCSO. It is a review of the OSEP Q & A Document, including IDEA, Part C, and Section 504 students, and also contains a general question and answer section. The recording of the webinar is available in the link.
• The ADE provided information on “School Closures: Clarification and Guidance,” today. This information is also available on the ADE COVID 19 webpage and concretely outlines which schools and programs are and are not closed, per the Governor’s declaration. It also provides some general information about school closure.

Additionally, ADE/ESS is in the process of developing a COVID-19 ESS subpage that will be linked to the overall ADE COVID-19 page. It will contain special education-specific information, as well as an evolving Q & A document based on questions that are submitted to ADE and ESS. Please be patient as ESS receives questions, processes information, seeks guidance, and provides answers. This is a quickly-changing landscape of information and resources, and ESS is working closely with OSEP, national technical assistance groups, and state leadership to get the most accurate information to you.

Any questions can be sent to the [email protected]. Thank you all for your work during this time.

Special Education Directors,

In acknowledgement of the existing school closure, ADE and SEAA have decided to cancel the SEAA and Talk with ADE meetings originally scheduled for Friday, March 27, 2020. If these meetings are rescheduled, ADE will communicate the new date via the Special Education Director list serv.

The next regularly scheduled Talk with ADE meeting will be held on June 12, 2020.

ADE/ESS is pleased to announce that the State Board of Education has approved the new Mild/Moderate and Moderate/Severe Disabilities endorsements. The endorsements were developed with input from the ADE Certification Unit, Exceptional Student Services, superintendents, human resources directors, and special education directors in order to provide an additional pathway for certified and experienced general education teachers to teach special education.

Certified teachers may apply for either a provisional or a full endorsement in mild/moderate or moderate/severe disabilities special education. The provisional endorsement is valid for three years and is nonrenewable.

The requirements for the provisional special education endorsements are:

• A valid Arizona Standard Professional Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Grades, Secondary, or Special Education teaching certificate; and
• Verification of three years of full-time teaching experience in preschool through grade twelve; and
• Six semester hours of specified special education courses; and
• Verification of 15 clock hours of special education practicum, which may be embedded in the six semester hours of courses.

The requirements for the full special education endorsements are:

• A valid Arizona Standard Professional Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Grades, Secondary, or Special Education teaching certificate; and
• Verification of three years of full-time teaching experience in preschool through grade twelve; and
• Fifteen (15) semester hours of specified special education courses; and
• Verification of 45 clock hours of special education practicum, which may be embedded in the 15 semester hours of courses.

FAQs

Why were the Mild/Moderate and Moderate/Severe Disabilities endorsements adopted?

Under previous State Board rules, certified general education teachers were required to enroll in an alternative teacher preparation program in order to transition into a special education classroom. The additional costs and repetitious training involved in completing the additional program presented a barrier to certified general education teachers seeking a credential to teach special education. The new endorsements remove this barrier by allowing certified and experienced teachers to qualify to teach special education by completing targeted coursework needed to be in a special education classroom.

Will the new special education endorsements replace the Alternative or Standard Professional certificate in Mild/Moderate or Moderate/Severe Disabilities?

No. The new endorsements are an additional option to become certified in special education. Candidates may also apply for the Alternative or Standard Professional special education certificates.

I only have one year of teaching experience. Can I qualify for the new special education endorsements?

No. You must have three years of full-time teaching experience in PreK-12 to qualify for the endorsements. However, you may enroll in an alternative teacher preparation program to qualify for the Alternative Teaching certificate in special education. For further information, please download the Application for the Alternative Teaching Certificate.

Where can I find further information on how to qualify for the endorsement?

You may download the requirements for the new endorsements at the ADE Educator Certification web page.

Please email ADE/Certification with questions or contact them by phone at 602-542-4367.

SEAA MEETING and TALK WITH ADE March 27, 2020 SEAA Meeting, 8:30 AM – 9:20 AM Talk with ADE, 9:20 AM – 11:00 AM

There are two ways to attend the SEAA Meeting and the Talk with ADE: you can attend in person or join via webinar.

If you will attend the meeting in person: Email Bekah Arrowsmith by COB on March 25, 2020. (hard deadline)

The physical meeting location: Arizona Department of Education 1535 W Jefferson St Phoenix, AZ 85007 Room 311 Parking information

Space is limited to 40. If you do not RSVP and the room is at capacity, you can be asked to leave by order of the fire marshal.

If you will join the meetings via webinar: The meetings also will be available by Zoom, which allows for remote participation using your computer, telephone, or computer and telephone. There is also a very good Zoom app for your smart phone. The information to participate remotely is below. There is no need to register for webinar participation.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 459 650 473

One tap mobile +16699006833,,459650473# US (San Jose) +19294362866,,459650473# US (New York)

Dial by your location +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 929 436 2866 US (New York) Meeting ID: 459 650 473 Find your local number

Talk with ADE topics are still being developed. For questions, please email Bekah Arrowsmith.

Special Education Directors,

Beginning in the fiscal year 2021, the Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) will no longer be reporting student-level data through Arizona Education Data Standards (AzEDS)  and a variety of other applications. The reporting responsibility for the students on an institutional voucher will fall back on the originating district of residence (DOR) or the public education agency (PEA) responsible for implementing the individualized education program of the child. This should align with the home school district (HSD) that has approved the institutional voucher with ASDB. This shift in data reporting responsibility does not change how the ESS voucher process works. Please see this memo for additional guidance.

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

School District Special Education Directors,

Many questions have been received by Exceptional Student Services (ESS) regarding whether unused proportionate share funds can be reverted to other activities under the IDEA entitlement grant after a period of time. ESS has finally received feedback regarding how these funds can be flexible considering time frame and specific criteria. Although detailed requirements are still in development and should be disseminated in April 2020, this memo provides an overview of proportionate share flexibility.

For further questions, please contact ESS Program Management at [email protected].

Special Education Directors,

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), each state is required to collect the number of removals for students on an individualized education program (IEP). This information is required to submit to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and is also used in significant disproportionality testing. Exceptional Student Services (ESS) meets these requirements through the ESS Annual Data Collection process and the use of software for discipline data collection. This application was updated to the ESS Discipline Data Collection (DDC) tool when it was upgraded to new software platforms and integrated with other systems throughout the agency’s infrastructure. Based upon feedback from the field, ESS is working to finalize development on two bulk upload options for discipline data for students with disabilities. Further information can be found in this memo.

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

Special Education Directors,

ESS collects data each year through the Teacher Attrition Survey to make informed decisions about recruitment and retention efforts in Arizona. Participation in the survey is mandatory for all district and charter schools in Arizona.

The survey is now open and will close on May 8, 2020. Please see this letter for further details. Answers to frequently asked questions regarding the survey can be located at http://bit.ly/teacherattritionsurvey. For additional questions, please contact [email protected].

Thank you for completing the Teacher Attrition Survey.

Teaching Reading Effectively (TRE) Training for Administrators

 A new Teaching Reading Effectively (TRE) training is being offered for elementary school and district administrators (special education directors, principals, assistant principals, and superintendents). Teaching Reading Effectively (TRE) guides participants through current reading research and evidence-based practices that are necessary to develop a student’s early literacy skills and the elements of an effective literacy assessment system in order to improve K-3 reading instruction.

The entire five-day training is only $60.00.

The course will convene from 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on each the following days.

• February 29
• March 21
• March 28
• April 4
• April 18

Training will be held at the Arizona Department of Education, 3300 N. Central Ave, Phoenix AZ, 85012.

For more information and to register, please follow this link.

Special Education Directors,

Arizona has a unique opportunity to host a national hybrid conference: the Winter Hybrid Conference hosted by AZ CASE. The conference is coming up at the end of this month, February 26-27, 2020 at Black Canyon Conference Center. Participants can attend on-site or virtually, and registration is still open. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from special education experts from across the state!

For information, please visit the following link: https://www.casecec.org/case-hybrid-conference.