DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT       

Special Education Data Updates Webinar Wednesday, January 11th 

   The Exceptional Student Services Data Management team will be hosting the next Special Education Data Updates live webinar on Wednesday, January 11th from 2pm – 3pm. This session will cover a variety of data topics that will include (subject to change):

• Reminders 

• October 1 Data Collection Phase II
• October 1 Data Collection Phase III
• Important Dates Document
• Discipline in AzEDS

• Trending topics 

• October 1 Data Collection Phase II
• Homebound/ Home-based/ Homeschooled
• Preschool LRE
• Review of AzEDS SPED Portal Reports
• Review Acronyms Document

• Topics Not in Scope

• Vouchers Data Management

• 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,

Please see the following memo regarding preschool outcomes data in AzEDS for fiscal year 2024. In order to streamline the preschool outcome data collection process, the data collection and processing for these submissions will move into one single student accountability system (AzEDS) moving forward. The ESS Early Childhood Special Education and Operations teams will provide targeted technical assistance for this data collection process in March 2023.

If you have any additional technical questions, please email ESS Operations.

Special Education Directors,

Please see the following memo regarding the reporting of discipline data. This communication includes a reminder of discipline data submission elements and a new requirement to submit information for children reassigned to an alternative education program as an alternative to suspension or expulsion or placed into an alternative to a suspension program beginning in fiscal year 2024. This additional reporting requirement was developed in response to feedback provided to Arizona from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and is designed to ensure that all eligible children with disabilities are served appropriately and equitably.

If you have any questions regarding this requirement, please email ESS Operations.

Special Education Directors,

The ADE/ESS Assistive Technology (AT) team is excited to announce the next 2022–23 national presenter, Mike Marotta, ATP. Mike’s workshop is designed for special educators and related service providers.

“Explore and Identify Google Tools That Can Be Incorporated Into Educational Experiences”

Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Time: 8:00 a.m.−3:30 p.m.

Fee: $21 (breakfast and lunch included)

Where: Sunnyside Unified School District

Address: 2238 East Ginter Road, Tucson, AZ 85706

About Mike Marotta

Mike Marotta, ATP, is the owner of Inclusive Technology Solutions, LLC. Mike has been in the field of Assistive Technology for almost 30 years. His experience revolves around a vast array of accommodations for persons with disabilities and their family/support members. Mike is the Director of the Richard West Assistive Technology Advocacy Center @ Disability Rights New Jersey, is the Founder @EdcampAccessNJ @EdcampAccessInt Co-mod #atchat Wed 8PM ET @BookCreatorApp Ambassador, and is a Raspberry Pi Certified Educator
Mike believes that networking and information-sharing are essential for the successful evaluation, consideration, implementation, and application of technology to support individuals of all abilities.

Workshop Description:

From Chrome apps and extensions to Google tools, Google can support all learners in your classroom. This full-day, in-person workshop will focus on exploring Google tools and identifying ways to incorporate these powerful tools into educational experiences. We will explore the feature match process to ensure a clear rationale for using built-in Chrome OS accessibility features, G Suite tools, and third-party Chrome apps and extensions. You will explore tools to assist students in the areas of reading, writing, and math, as well as with executive functioning skills that include time management, organization, task completion, and focus, to effectively meet the needs of every learner in all environments (classroom, transition, community). 

Register for “Explore and Identify Google Tools That Can Be Incorporated Into Educational Experiences”

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

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

Discipline Data Submissions

Please review the following memo which outlines upcoming changes to discipline data submissions in FY24.

Memorandum of Discipline Data Submissions.

Beginning in the next fiscal year, ESS will require Public Education Agencies (PEAs) to report any instance in which a PEA removes a child with a disability from his/her educational placement for disciplinary purposes into AzEDS via their Student Information System.

NOTE: SPED discipline incidents will still be collected in the ESS Discipline Data Collection application for FY23.  Any discipline data submitted to AzEDS for FY23 will be used for testing purposes only and will not be used for ESS data collections.

For any questions related to special education discipline data submissions, please contact ESS Data Management.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT 

Exceptional Student Services (ESS) Portal information icon added for select applications

To aid Public Education Agencies in their interaction with ESS applications, a new information icon is available for select applications in the ESS portal. Selecting the information icon will produce a pop-up window with more information about the application, roles required to access, contact information, and website links for more training or information.

The blue information icon can be found to the left of the application button if available for that application. Additional applications will have information icons added in the coming weeks.

For any questions regarding this new feature, please feel free to contact [email protected].

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT 

Upcoming change for Fiscal Year 2024 - Special Education Disabilities allowed for Preschool Programs for Students with Disabilities.

An update to allowable special education (SPED) disabilities for preschool programs will be introduced in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. This update is a continuation of our effort to further validate SPED reporting and ensure accurate data for the state.

Updates to integrity rules and validation matrices will take effect on 7/1/23 to allow all SPED disabilities to be reported for preschool programs except EDP. 

While disability codes DD, HI, PSD, SLI, and VI are only recognized for purposes of calculating Average Daily Membership (ADM), it does not restrict reporting other disability categories beyond those five codes for children with disabilities in preschool programs.

Integrity rules -40035 and -40029 validate the Concurrent Need and Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Code Eligibility Matrix, and the Concurrent PEA and Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Code Eligibility Matrix. Both matrices will be updated for this change closer to the start of FY24 and published on our ESS Data Management website.                                                               

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

Special Education Directors,

The Alternate Assessment Advisory Committee has developed a new resource for ALL parents and families, A Parent Guide to Understanding Arizona’s Statewide Assessments. From a parent’s perspective, this is information that is necessary and helpful in understanding Statewide Assessments. The document has also been translated into Spanish.

Schools can:

• Post or link this resource on their Assessment webpage
• Share this document (either electronically or printed) with their families during Individual Education Program (IEP) meetings
• Include this document in presentations on Curriculum Nights or when Statewide Testing kicks off in Spring

The English version resource document and the Spanish version resource document are available, but are also available on the Assessment website.

For questions, please contact the Testing Inbox.

Special Education Directors,

Please share the following math professional learning opportunities with general and special education teachers who teach mathematics.

Virtual Professional Learning Opportunities:

The following virtual sessions are being offered via Zoom and are free to attend. Click the session link to view the session description and to pre-register.

Count Me In! Exploring Adding and Subtracting Integers - Thursday, January 12, from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Formative Assessment in Mathematics with Desmos (Grades 9–12) - Thursday, January 19, from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Count Me In! Exploring Multiplying and Dividing Integers - Monday, January 30, from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Take a D.I.P. into Esti-Mysteries (Grades K–6) - Wednesday, February 1, from 4:00–5:00 p.m.

Take a D.I.P. into Graphing Stories (Grades 6–12) - Thursday, February 2, from 4:00–5:00 p.m.

Empower Students to Use Universal Tools Through Instructional Routines - Wednesday, February 8, 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Introduction to Fluency with Whole Numbers (Grades K–6) - Choose one of the following dates:

Monday, March 27, from 3:30–5:00 p.m. - Register in advance for Introduction to Fluency with Whole Numbers (Grades K–6) on March 27

Wednesday, May 3, from 3:30–5:00 p.m. - Register in advance for Introduction to Fluency with Whole Numbers (Grades K–6) on May 3

Count Me In! Algebra Tiles Part 1: Exploration of Algebraic Expressions - Thursday, March 30, from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Take a D.I.P. into Open Middle (Elementary Grades K–5) - Wednesday, April 12, from 4:00–5:00 p.m.

Take a D.I.P into Open Middle (Secondary Grades 6–12) - Thursday, April 13, from 4:00–5:00 p.m.

Literacy and Math Intertwined: Using Poetry to Engage All Learners - Monday, April 17, from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Count Me In! Algebra Tiles Part 2: Exploration of Substitution and Solving Equations - Monday, April 24, from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Count Me In! Algebra Tiles Part 3: Multiplying Binomials and Dividing Quadratic Equations - Tuesday, May 2, from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Count Me In! Algebra Tiles Part 4: Factoring Quadratic Expressions - Wednesday, May 10, from 3:30.–5:00 p.m.

Note: Accommodations must be requested at least one week in advance of each webinar. These sessions will not be recorded. A computer or tablet is not required but is strongly recommended to enable full participation in each session.

Share the Spring 2023 ADE/ESS Math Professional Learning Offerings flyer.

Please email Jenifer Fernandez or email Rob Hilliker with any questions.

Special Education Directors,

The Arizona Education Job Fair & Career Expo will take place on February 4, 2023, from 8:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Conference Center.

The Job Fair and Career Expo is an excellent opportunity for you to recruit new employees to your school community.

Register for the Job Fair and Career Expo!

The registration deadline is December 5, 2022.

Email the Educator Recruitment and Retention fair inbox for more information.