SPED GUIDANCE: Special Education Timelines and COVID-19 and Other Resources

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.