Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS is pleased to announce the SY 2019—2020 dates for Talk with ADE, which serve as an opportunity for administrators across the state to receive a high level overview of current topics/trends in special education and to engage in meaningful dialogue with ADE staff.

Talk with ADE SY 2019—2020 Schedule

• Friday, November 8, 2019 (directly following the SEAA Meeting, 9:30—11:00 a.m.) • Friday, January 31, 2020 (directly following the SEAA Meeting, 9:30—11:00 a.m.) • Thursday, March 19, 2020 (AM, time TBD) • Friday, June 12, 2020 (AM, time TBD)

Talks with ADE are held in person at ADE and via WebEx broadcast for those who wish to participate remotely. Space is limited in person, so nearer the actual dates, ADE will send out the call for reservations in the room and provide the broadcast link.

Agendas will be sent the week of the Talks and are based on current issues such as data collection timelines, policy updates, PEA requirements, national hot topics, etc. that are generated based on input from the field, data received/observed by ADE, or via discussion in other forums. If you have a suggestion for a topic that is relevant statewide, feel free to send it to [email protected].

Thank you!

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

For your convenience, we have updated this year’s list.  If your school is planning to recruit for special education teachers out of state, whether in person or by sending flyers or job postings to particular universities, we hope this list will make that task a bit easier for you. This list is also be available on the AEEB job board site under the “Find a University Job Fair” icon. https://www.arizonaeducationjobs.com/guest/post.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT FY 2020 October 1 Data Collection

Public education agencies (PEAs) are required to verify the count of students participating in special education (SPED) on October 1, 2019. Verification will be completed via the web-based ESS October 1 Data Collection application, available through the ESS Portal via ADEConnect.

NEW this year is the addition of the Personnel data to the October 1 Data Collection application. The specific data collection requirements for the Personnel Report has not changed, only the location (previously collected through the ESS Annual Data application).

The October 1 Data Collection consists of three phases:

Phase I: Verification and Personnel (Training Registration Open) Phase II: Reconciliation Phase III: Non-Reconciliation (if applicable)

To review the complete October 1 Data Collection, please see the ESS Data Management FY 2020 Important Dates timeline.

Phase I: Verification

The ESS Census online application will open on Wednesday, October 2, 2019. PEAs must log in to the application to submit the October 1 census verification counts and personnel data. All technical assistance documents and FAQs will be available by accessing the “Help tab” on the home page of the ESS October 1 Data Collection application. Some of these documents will also be available on the ESS Data Management website in the October 1 Data Collection page.

Please note that October 1 is the count date, not a due date or deadline.

October 1 falls on a Tuesday this year. If October 1 is a non-session day for your PEA (i.e., fall break), be mindful of the following information. To ensure an accurate count, include students who were enrolled on the last day school was in session before October 1 as long as they are known to have continued in special education on the first day school was in session following October 1 (whether it be in your school in your PEA or another PEA). The PEA that should count the student is the PEA the student was enrolled in prior to October 1. For more information, please attend one of our trainings below.

 Training Opportunities

ESS Data Management will offer webinars and workshops throughout the October 1 Data Collection timeline, beginning with the Phase I. Please see the training flyer to begin registering via EMS today. In the winter and spring, we will follow up with training relevant to the reconciliation and non-reconciliation phases.

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

Special Education Administrators, please see this second opportunity to participation in an AzSAP Project Activity:

Opportunity for Participation in the Arizona Statewide Autism Project (AzSAP)

An Innovative Project in Cooperation with Arizona Department of Education, Exceptional Student Services, Early Childhood Education, & STAR® Autism Support

The Arizona Department of Education/Exceptional Student Services and Early Childhood Education Sections are pleased to announce a training opportunity designed to increase pre-K/elementary or secondary school teams’ capacity to work effectively with children with developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Each of the two-day trainings provides a background and a strong emphasis on evidence-based teaching strategies and practices for children with developmental disabilities, including ASD. Team members attending the training include special education teachers, general education teachers, related services providers, and paraprofessionals. An administrator is a required member/leader of the team but will attend a two-hour workshop/webinar instead of the two-day workshop.

Each of the trainings is supported by scheduled on-site coaching visits during the remainder of the school year to support implementation.

Training dates for STAR® Pre-K-Elementary: November 6-7, 2019

Training dates for Links® Secondary: October 21-22, 2019

Application/request for participation deadline: September 24, 2019

*Please note that submitting an application/request for participation does not guarantee acceptance.

Please contact Bekah Anderson if you have any questions or you may submit the application/request for participation directly to [email protected].

Special Education Administrators,

Registration is now open for Program Support & Monitoring File Review training. Come and take advantage of this free half-day training! Join ADE/ESS in reviewing a mock file. You will learn how to use the FY 2019-2020 ESS Monitoring Guide Steps and the student file form as well as gain understanding about compliance versus best practice.

Register now through the EMS registration system.

• Tucson- December 10, 2019
• Phoenix- October 22, 2019
• Flagstaff- April 20, 2020

Please contact your program specialist with questions.

Under Section 616 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA), States are required to make a determination for all public education agencies (PEAs) of their performance on identified special education criteria. The Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2017 determinations have been posted to the PEA Determinations section of the ESS website. Additionally, PEA Determinations can be accessed through the ESS PEA Determination application under ADEConnect. Please contact your PEA’s entity administrator for ADEConnect to access this application. Your PEA Determination is final unless your agency appeals by October 4, 2019.

A written appeal may be filed if the PEA has documentation that shows the data used to issue the Determination are inaccurate. If the PEA submitted inaccurate data and did not correct the data when given the opportunity by the Arizona Department of Education/Exceptional Student Services (ADE/ESS), then the Determination level will not be changed, regardless of the appeal.

Use the PEA Determination Appeal Form found on the PEA Determinations website. Upon receipt of the appeal, the ADE/ESS will review and provide a written response within 30 days. If the appeal is granted, the ADE/ESS will issue a final determination within 30 days of the written response.

For questions regarding PEA Determinations, please contact the ESS Operations unit using the ESS Operations inbox.

As part of our ongoing professional learning efforts, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), Exceptional Student Services (ESS), is in the process of compiling feedback for all educators in mathematics. The intent of the survey is to gather information that will support our future work in providing timely and relevant professional development to educators across Arizona.

This survey is intended for general education teachers, special education teachers, and math coaches/specialists/interventionists. Please forward the survey link and encourage your colleagues to respond to ensure a robust statewide sample.

Please take a few minutes to respond to one of the following surveys: Math General Education Teacher Survey Special Education Teacher Survey Math Coach/Specialist/Interventionist Survey

For more information about this survey or any math professional learning questions, please email Eboney McKinney or email Jenifer Hutchinson, ADE’s Math Program Specialists.

We appreciate your feedback.

The monitoring manual that will be used by the Arizona Department of Education, Exceptional Student Services (ADE/ESS), throughout school year 2019-2020 is available on the Program Support and Monitoring web page. The monitoring system is designed to ensure public education agencies’ (PEA) compliance with State and Federal requirements for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 2006 (IDEA) and the Arizona Revised Statutes and to support PEA analysis of student outcomes. Although ADE/ESS uses a six-year cycle for monitoring, we continue to implement a yearly review of each PEA’s data related to special education. Compliance and results indicator data, PEA Determinations, and annual site visit data are all reviewed annually by the assigned program specialist in collaboration with the PEA director.

Regardless of where your PEA is in the monitoring cycle, I urge you to begin to evaluate your special education program against the indicators in the monitoring guide. You are free to forward the link to this guide so that your staff is aware of the requirements for each of the major components in special education. They are also available on the Arizona Department of Education web page. If you have any questions, please contact your program specialist. Contact information can be found on the Program Support and Monitoring web page under “Contact Us.”