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Early Childhood Special Education

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child stacking lego blocks
Early Childhood Special Education is a state and federally mandated program for children aged 3–5 who meet state eligibility criteria because they are experiencing developmental delays. School districts and other public agencies are responsible for locating, identifying, and evaluating eligible children and for offering a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Eligible children are entitled to a FAPE at no cost to the family with programming designed to help children meet challenging objectives alongside their typically developing peers. When a delay is suspected, or children are not meeting milestones, local school districts offer Child Find services, providing screening, and if needed, evaluation services to determine eligibility. ARS §15.771 is the section of the state regulations that defines preschool programs for children with disabilities. 

 

The Early Childhood Special Education unit offers technical assistance and professional development to early childhood administrators and practitioners across the state to support these efforts. Please access contact list below to connect with your Specialist. 

Visit our Early Childhood Special Education Events page for upcoming events and professional development opportunities. 

General Resources for:

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  • Parents

  • Educators

  • Administrators

 

Best Practices:

Preschool child

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  • Child Find

  • Kindergarten Transition

  • ECSE Unit Projects--Join us! (Summit information here)

 

Preschool Indicators:

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  • Preschool Environments—Indicator 6

  • Child Outcomes—Indicator 7

  • Preschool Transition—Indicator 12

 

 

 

Contact us if you have questions or needs regarding special education programs and services for preschool-aged children, use the following list to find your Early Childhood Program Specialist, or contact your Specialist from the list below. 

Early Childhood Special Education Staff

Name

Position

Phone

Email

Office Hours

Erika Argueta

Program Specialist

602-542-3160

[email protected]

Wed. 1:00–2:00 p.m.

Elizabeth Hamilton

Program Specialist

602-364-1948

[email protected]

Mon. & Wed. 3:00–4:00 p.m.

Tami Philips

Program Specialist

602-542-3183

[email protected]

Wed. 4:00–5:00 p.m.

Lenka Studnicka

Program Specialist

602-542-1137

[email protected]

Tues. & Thurs. 3:00–4:00 p.m.

Suzanne PerryDirector602-542-1113[email protected] 

 

 

Page revised 4/4/22

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From the Exceptional Student Services Blog

INTERNAL PD OPPORTUNITY: Math Virtual Professional Learning Opportunities Wed, May 25 2022 Professional Learning and Sustainability, Updates

Special Education Directors,

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

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT: NEW Special Education Data Dashboard Wed, May 18 2022 Data Management, Updates

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

NEW Special Education Data Dashboard

The NEW Special Education Data Dashboard (SEDD) opens on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 (today). The purpose of this application is to provide a one-stop shop for public education agencies (PEAs) to securely view their special education data as well as a redacted statewide view. By viewing relevant data in one place, PEAs can see how it all ties together and ultimately, how it all culminates into the indicators outlined in the State Performance Plan (SPP) / Annual Performance Report (APR).

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