Special Education Directors,

As part of our ongoing recruitment efforts on behalf of Arizona’s public schools, ADE/ESS compiles and updates a list of education career fairs happening at educator preparation programs across the country.

If your school is planning to recruit for special education teachers from out of the state, we hope this list will make that task a bit easier for you. Review the Education Careers Fair Calendar to support your recruitment efforts this spring. The list is also available on the Arizona Education Employment Board website on the “Employer” page under the “Find a University Job Fair” icon.

If you have questions, please email Kim Rice or email Julie Lenza, ESS Recruitment and Retention Specialists.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

MEMBERSHIP AND ACCOUNTABILITY RULES ADDED TO OCTOBER 1 PROCESSING

Please be aware the Exceptional Student Services October 1 processing will be updated today to include integrity rules for Membership and Accountability. This will result in any SPED student receiving services over October 1 failing Membership or Accountability rules to be excluded from your October 1 count. Many existing SPED integrity rules rely on Membership and Accountability rules to ensure clean data.

If there are any students receiving services over October 1 missing from your SPED07 report you should review your INTEG15 report and resolve all State SPED, FED SPED, Membership, and Accountability errors. These rules are indicated as SPED, FED SPED, and ADM on the INTEG15 report.

Troubleshooting questions for Membership and Accountability rules should be referred to School Finance. Please open a ticket using the help link at the top right of your ADE Connect homepage to request assistance with a Membership or Accountability rule.

The SPED73 report in the AzEDS Portal has been updated to reflect the SPED07 report and will provide feedback on all students served over October 1 with a Y or N indicator for October 1 FED SPED status. Students indicated with an N will provide feedback as to why the student is not included in the October 1 count. 

Phase II of the ESS October 1 Data Collection will end on January 18, 2022. Please ensure all students are passing SPED, Membership, and Accountability rules through the deadline to ensure reconciliation.

For any questions this update, please contact us at [email protected].

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

ODC Phase II Deadline Extended – January 18, 2022

The October 1 Data Collection (ODC) application Phase II due date has been extended from December 15, 2021 to the NEW due date of January 18, 2022 by 5pm.

The ODC application is located within the Exceptional Student Services Portal in ADEConnect. Please ensure any user needing access to this report has the ADEConnect role of: ESS October 1 Data Collection: LEA User or LEA Signer.

The SPED07 report is located under the ‘Reports’ tab within the ESS ODC application. This report displays a list of students ages 3-21 identified in AzEDS as receiving special education services over the October 1 child count date as of the most recent integrity run.

It is expected that each PEA will ensure their count on the SPED07 report matches the verification count submitted in Phase I to reconcile their SPED October 1 Count for FY22. SPED integrity errors will prevent students from appearing on your SPED07 report.

To assist in the reconciliation process, please review the steps outlined in the October 1 Data Collection Manual – Phase II. The manual, training videos, and case study video are available on the ESS Data Management October 1 Data Collection Page. 

Since the closing of the ODC Phase I: Personnel & Verification Count on November 17, 2021, the verification count submitted by your PEA has been locked. If the submitted verification count was incorrect your PEA will be unable to reconcile, please continue to monitor your SPED07 report to ensure the data is correct for students served over October 1. If applicable, your PEA will be contacted to complete Phase III: Non-Reconciliation opening on April 13, 2022.

If you have any questions, please direct them to [email protected].

The FY22 ARP-IDEA Consolidated-Entitlement Grant is now available in the Grants Management Enterprise (GME) system. The ARP-IDEA Consolidated Grant must be submitted as a new funding application. The code assigned to ARP IDEA Basic and ARP IDEA Preschool should fall within the codes of the federal project for IDEA Funds.

The IDEA Consolidated-Entitlement funding application allocations will be updated soon and require a budget revision to bring the remaining balance to $0.00 for the IDEA Preschool and IDEA Basic grants.

The ESS Program Management team held a webinar on October 12, 2021, to discuss the impact of additional IDEA funds and the opportunity for some public education agencies (PEAs) to reduce the Maintenance of Effort compliance thresholds for fiscal year 2021–2022. Under 34 C.F.R § 300.205, an eligible PEA may take up to 50% of the increase in IDEA Basic funds from FY21 to FY22 and reduce its state and local (M & O) spending on SPED200 programs if the PEA tracks how it plans to use the freed-up funds to carry out activities under the ESEA. The slide deck and Zoom recording of the webinar are available on the ESS Program Management website.

ESS Program Management has published an updated allocations workbook that includes a tab for your public education agency to review the eligibility to take this MOE reduction. PEAs that did not receive Meets Requirements for the FFY19 PEA Determinations or were flagged for Significant Disproportionality in FFY19 are not eligible to take this reduction. PEAs that wish to take a MOE Reduction of any amount under 34 C.F.R § 300.205 must e-mail the ESS Program Management inbox by December 17, 2021.

Please contact ESS Program Management if you have any questions.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

SPED07 Report Now Available

The SPED07 report is now available within the October 1 Data Collection (ODC) application for Phase II: Reconciliation. 

The SPED07 report displays a list of students ages 3-21 identified in AzEDS as receiving special education services over the October 1 child count date as of the most recent integrity run.  

It is expected that each PEA will ensure their verification count submitted in Phase I matches the count on the SPED07 report to reconcile their SPED October 1 Count for FY22.

To assist in the reconciliation process, please review the steps outlined in the October 1 Data Collection Manual – Phase II. The manual, training videos, and case study video are available on the ESS Data Management October 1 Data Collection Page. 

The Phase II Reconciliation process is due Wednesday, December 15, 2021 by 5:00pm. 

To better align with federal reporting requirements, the age groupings have been updated on the SPED07 report. Students aged 3-5 and attending preschool will appear under the ‘Ages 3-5 (Preschool Only)’ section and students age 5 and above who are in Kindergarten or UE will appear under the ‘Ages 6-21 (Age 5 KG Included)’ section.  

For any questions related to the SPED07 report, please contact us at [email protected].  

Special Education Directors,

Please see below the free professional learning opportunity that is available to you and your staff.

From Barriers to Belonging: Supporting Inclusion for Students with Disabilities

with Eric Carter

Thursday, December 2 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Students learn best and flourish most when assured of their belonging. Yet too many schools still struggle to become places of widespread and meaningful inclusion for children and youth with disabilities. In his presentation, Dr. Carter will share a powerful framework for reflecting upon and fostering belonging within our schools and classrooms. Together, we will explore the implications of this work on the ways we welcome, support, educate, and embrace students with disabilities.

Register in advance for this event.

Erik Carter, PhD, is Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Special Education at Vanderbilt University. His research and teaching focus on strategies for promoting full participation, belonging, and valued roles in school, work, community, and congregational settings for children and adults with intellectual disability, autism, and multiple disabilities. Prior to receiving his doctorate, Dr. Carter worked as a high school teacher and transition specialist. He has published widely in the areas of educational and transition services for children and youth with disabilities, including more than 250 articles and chapters as well as seven books. 

Questions regarding this professional learning opportunity can be sent to the ESS Recruitment and Retention inbox.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT  

New Integrity Rule for FY 2022: -10138 

A new integrity rule for FY 2022 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.    

A new one-sheet Integrity Tool is available on our AzEDS SPED Reporting webpage for troubleshooting tips. It has been added to our SPED Integrity Rules Reference document and referenced on the FY 2022 ESS Data Reporting Updates document.  

Integrity Rule -10138 

This rule will validate any students enrolled at an approved Private Day School to have a corresponding SPED Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) reported for all dates of the enrollment.  

This rule is being enforced in support by ARS § 15-765(D). 

This rule will fail if all dates of the Private Day School enrollment do not have a corresponding SPED LRE reported. 

A list of approved Private Day Schools can be found on the Private Special Education Schools webpage. 

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

Please share the following details about upcoming professional learning opportunities for general and special education teachers who teach mathematics.

Count Me In! Exploring Adding and Subtracting Integers 

Wednesday, December 1, 2021 from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Register in advance for Count Me In! Exploring Adding and Subtracting Integers.

In this free webinar, we will explore multiple representations to build conceptual understanding for the addition and subtraction of integers. We will apply and extend previous understandings of operations with whole numbers to create zero-sum pairs.  Additionally, we will demonstrate how to develop grit and creative problem-solving with accessible low-floor/high-ceiling tasks. 

Count Me In! Exploring Multiplying and Dividing Integers

Wednesday, December 8, 2021 from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Register in advance for Count Me In! Exploring Multiplying and Dividing Integers.

In this free webinar, we will explore multiple representations to build conceptual understanding for the multiplication and division of integers. We will demonstrate how to develop grit and creative problem-solving with accessible low-floor/high-ceiling tasks. 

Attendance at both sessions is not required but recommended. A computer or tablet with the ability to access Google slides is not required but is strongly recommended to enable full participation in the session. Participants can earn 1.5 hours of professional development credit per session. 

Count Me In! Practice Session for Exploring Integers

Thursday, December 9, 2021 from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Register in advance for Count Me In! Practice Session for Exploring Integers.

Come to this session to refine your understanding of working with integers. Attendance at any prior “Count Me In! Integers” session is required to attend this practice session.  A computer or tablet with the ability to access Google slides is not required but is strongly recommended to enable full participation in the session. Participants can earn 1.5 hours of professional development credit for this session.

Note: Accommodations must be requested at least one week in advance of each webinar. 

Please email Rob Hilliker with any questions.

Dear Special Education Directors,

The Arizona Department of Education Assistive Technology team continues our 2021 AT National Presenter Series with Beth Poss.  

About

Beth Poss is a speech/language pathologist, educational and technology consultant, accessibility advocate, and former assistant principal. She is currently the Director of Educational Programs for LessonPix. Beth is passionate about designing educational environments that support all students in accessing a rigorous curriculum and meeting educational outcomes. Areas of special interest include Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), Coaching to Build Educational Success, the Use of Technology in Early Childhood, Designing Inclusive Learning Environments, Supporting Social-Emotional Learning to Promote Academic Success, and Culturally Responsive Teaching. She is one of the authors of Inclusive Learning 365: EdTech Strategies for Every Day of the Year.

December 7, 2021 3:30–5:00 p.m. (Arizona time)

An Eye on Visuals: Strategies to Support All Learners by Beth Poss

Visual supports are critical in meeting the needs of learners with disabilities. This 90-minute session will explore the benefits of using visuals to improve social-emotional, behavioral, learning, and communication skills in school-aged learners. We will examine best practices in using a range of visual supports, including first/then boards, visual schedules, token economies, and social stories. Learn about both high tech and low tech visual supports, including printed materials; hands-on, kinesthetic materials; and digital tools. Participants will learn specific strategies for integrating visual supports into the therapy room and the classroom as well as ideas to support families’ home routines. The first 60 people to register and attend will receive a very special holiday gift! 

Register for An Eye on Visuals

Questions regarding this professional learning opportunity can be sent to [email protected].