To ensure compliance with federal reporting and program requirements for the fiscal year 2020, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is collecting data for students enrolled on October 1, 2019. Reports will be prepared using enrollment data that has been submitted by Arizona school districts, charter schools, and other public education agencies (PEAs) via their respective student information systems to ADE and that has passed AzEDS Integrity.

Arizona school districts, charter schools, and other PEAs must have student-level enrollment and program data submitted by 5:00 p.m on Wednesday, January 15, 2020. Between now and January 15, PEAs are strongly encouraged to review and correct data submissions, using ADE program area staff for support.

Please read this letter for all of the information related to the October 1 enrollment collection and please direct questions to the associated contact in the letter.

The Arizona Department of Education, Exceptional Student Services (ADE/ESS), has received clarification, including feedback from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, regarding proportionate share services specific to preschool students. Clarification was sought on whether proportionate share services could be used for parentally private-placed students who are enrolled in a preschool program that is not a part of a district but is located within the boundaries of a school district.

Based upon this clarification it has brought about changes to AzEDS reporting to ensure that data is clean and appropriate based upon feedback. It has also led to evaluating and cleaning up other data metrics related to preschool students to align with cleaner data for consumption by business units at the department.

Please refer to the Proportionate Share Code Removal memo and the Tuition Payer Code memo that detail this information. For assistance with special education data submissions, please email ESS Data Management.

AzSAFE has reopened under a new application effective November 4, 2019, for special education discipline data collection. As Arizona transitions to a new standard for special education data only, AzSAFE has been renamed to ESS Discipline Data Collection. This information is required under Section 618 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Please see this memo for additional submission requirements and basic information on the changes. For questions pertaining to the new ESS Discipline Data Collection, please email ESS Data Management.

Dear Special Education Directors,

All school districts and charter schools are required to annually administer the State Performance Plan Indicator 8: Parent Involvement Survey. The survey is open now through May 31, 2020.

NEW!

• Districts will distribute login codes to parents of their Private Day/Tuitioned-out students.
• Students over 18 years-of-age will take the survey, unless a parent has retained IEP rights. The parent who has retained special education rights will complete the survey, not the student.
• Secure Care facilities will administer the survey.

Start today! Log into ADEConnect – ESS Portal – ESS Data Surveys – Parent Involvement Survey. If you don’t have access to the survey application, or need to add additional users who should have the right to use this information and administer the survey, contact your entity ADEConnect administrator and ask to be assigned the ESS Parent Survey User Role.

The survey application displays links to:

• Survey Instructions for PEAs
• Survey Instructions for Families
• Student lists with login codes (Use the 2020-Parent Involvement Survey FY’20 list)
• Current Progress Report
• Annual Question-by-Question Reports

Regularly visit www.azed.gov/specialeducation/parent-involvement-survey-admin for additional information.

• Survey News
• FAQ: Participation Tips, Survey Instructions
• Family Engagement Strategies

Becky Raabe, Survey Coordinator

[email protected]

(928) 637-1871

In response to a large number of questions from the field, ADE/ESS is issuing this Hot Topic regarding the FAPE obligation for children living in group homes. This Hot Topic has been put together in collaboration with the ADE Foster Care Liaison, Department of Child Services, and the State Attorney General’s Office. We hope this provides the necessary information to better assist those in the field working with this special population of children.

Special Education Directors,

The University of Arizona has been awarded $2.5M from the US Department of Education for two important projects.

The primary goal of the first project is to prepare teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs). This project will provide new applicants to the program with full tuition coverage and an opportunity to work closely with scholars from the rehabilitation counseling field. With adoption of the distance education model, all teacher candidates can complete the training program remotely.

If you know of a potential candidate who is considering becoming a TVI, this might be a perfect opportunity with financial support available. Questions can be directed to Sunggye Hong, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Special Education Unit Chair and Program Director of Visual Impairment Specialization at [email protected] and 520-621-0945.

The primary goal of the second project is to prepare educational interpreters. This project is an undergraduate program that will provide new applicants to the program with money for tuition. Undergraduate students must have finished ASL 1 - 6 and have at least 56 general education units completed.

If you know of a potential candidate who is considering becoming an educational interpreter, this is an excellent opportunity with financial support available.  Questions can be directed to Dr. Cindy Volk at [email protected].

Special Education Directors, please see the following professional development opportunity offered by the ADE Early Childhood Education Unit.

Teaching Reading Effectively Training

This TRE course will guide participants through current 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.

This training is an excellent use of Preschool Development funds to increase teacher capacity in the instruction of early literacy.

Target Audience: Preschool Teachers, K-3 Teachers, K-5 Special Education Teachers, K-8 Administrators and Reading Interventionists, Literacy Specialists and Coaches

Participants must attend all 5 registered days of this training to receive credit (32.5 hours). Partial credit is not given.

This course is the pre-requisite to Teaching Reading Effectively: Trainer of Trainers. Participants who take the TRE and earn an 80% on the post-test can take the trainer of trainers (TOT) course, which certifies him/her to lead TRE trainings at his/her school/district.

Check-in begins at 8:00 a.m.

Workshop: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. each day

This training is being provided FREE of charge by the ADE Early Childhood Education Unit.

Upcoming Training Cohorts:

Tucson

• • • Registration closes: Friday, Oct. 25 @ 12 pm (noon)
    • Training Dates: 10/30, 11/14, 11/21, 12/5, & 12/12

Page

• • • Registration closes: Wednesday, Oct. 30 @ 12 pm (noon)
    • Training Dates: 11/2, 11/9, 11/23, 12/7 & 12/14

Yuma

• • • Registration closes Monday, Nov. 4 @ 12 pm (noon)
    • Training Dates: 11/7, 11/14, 11/21, 12/5 & 12/12

Special Education Administrators,

In response to numerous questions from the field, ADE/ESS is providing guidance regarding eligibility determination requirements for students with a specific learning disability (SLD).  It is important to remember all public education agencies (PEA) are required to have local governing board-approved policies and procedures regarding SLD. We hope this guidance assists PEAs and families alike. If you have additional questions, please contact your assigned program specialist.

Alert to Special Education Directors and Program Administrators: Specific Learning Disability Eligibility

Special Education Administrators,

To address the shortage of qualified special education teachers and better serve Arizona’s special needs students, the Department has drafted a proposal which would provide for a Mild/Moderate and a Moderate/Severe Disabilities endorsement.  If approved by the Board, the proposed endorsements would provide for an additional option for certified and experienced general education teachers to complete targeted training leading to a qualification to teach special education.

The Department is proposing that the Mild/Moderate Disabilities endorsement require the following:

• A valid Standard Professional Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Grades, Secondary, or Moderate/Severe teaching certificate.
• Verification of three years of full-time teaching in PreK-Grade 12.
• Eighteen semester hours of special education courses to include: methods for teaching reading and mathematics to students with disabilities, behavior management for students with disabilities, special education law, special education assessment and individualized education program planning, and language development and disorders.
• A passing score on the National Evaluation Series (NES) Special Education exam.

The Department is proposing that the Moderate/Severe Disabilities endorsement require the following:

• A valid Standard Professional Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Grades, or Secondary teaching certificate.
• Verification of three years of full-time teaching in PreK-Grade 12.
• Twenty-one semester hours of special education courses which include the same courses required for the Mild/Moderate Disabilities Endorsement and the following: methods for teaching students with severe disabilities and adaptive communication including language development and disorders.
• A passing score on the AEPA Special Education: Severely and Profoundly Disabled exam.

We are requesting your feedback on the special education endorsement proposal by completing a brief survey.

The link to the brief survey is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V8X85N7

Please review and provide feedback by the end of the day on October 25, 2019.

Contact the Certification office at (602) 542-4367 or email [email protected] if you have any questions.