Special Education Blog

INTERNAL PD INFO: Reminder! March 31 Deadline for 2024 IDEA Conference Call for Proposals—Act Now!

  • Thu, Mar 14 2024  •
    • IDEA Conference
    • Updates

ADE/ESS is requesting proposals that represent your creative and research-based work. The conference will feature over 75 professional learning opportunities, including IDEA legal issues, instructional practices, national trends and hot topics, special education compliance, preschool and secondary transition, and content for related service providers. Make your mark at the 2024 IDEA conference; submit your proposal now!

ESS Recruitment & Retention Info: Recruiting at CEC for You!

  • Thu, Mar 14 2024  •
    • Professional Learning and Sustainability
    • Updates

The ADE/ESS Recruitment and Retention team is staffing a recruitment booth at the Council for Exceptional Children's (CEC) annual convention this week as part of our recruiting efforts on behalf of all Arizona PEAs. Each year, CEC draws thousands of preservice special education students, teachers, and related service providers. 

INTERNAL PD INFO: Arizona's 2024 IDEA Conference: Secondary Transition Service Award Nominations & Student Artwork Display Opportunities!

  • Tue, Mar 12 2024  •
    • IDEA Conference
    • Updates

The Arizona Department of Education, Exceptional Student Services, is thrilled to share exciting opportunities for conference attendees during Arizona's 2024 IDEA Conference: Expect, Engage, Achieve. Nominate someone today for their tremendous contributions to secondary transition services or share the artistic talents of students in person September 4–6, 2024, at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Multi-Tier Behavior Supports (MTBS) Year 1

  • Fri, Mar 8 2024  •
    • Updates

Are you concerned about the current rate of suspensions and expulsions at your school or district? Do you feel students are losing valuable class time due to disruptions and other behavior problems? Are teachers struggling to be successful with classroom management? Are administrators spending too much time dealing with discipline issues?  If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you might find the solution in Multi-Tier Behavior Supports.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT: Special Education Data Updates Webinar: Wednesday, March 20, 2024

  • Tue, Mar 5 2024  •
    • Data Management
    • Updates

The Exceptional Student Services Data Management team will host the next live Special Education Data Updates webinar on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm.

SPED DATA UPDATE: Parent Involvement Survey Opens March 1, 2024

  • Thu, Feb 29 2024  •
    • Parent Involvement Survey
    • Updates

All school districts, charter schools, secure care facilities, and the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (ASDB) are required to annually administer the State Performance Plan Indicator 8 Parent Involvement Survey to parents of students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The survey will open on March 1 via ADEConnect Data Surveys.

DATA UPDATE: Discipline Data Reporting Memo

  • Wed, Feb 28 2024

Pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 618, Public Education Agencies (PEAs) must report discipline information.

ESS October 1 Data Collection—Phase III: Non-Reconciliation Webinar

  • Wed, Feb 28 2024  •
    • Data Management
    • Updates

The Exceptional Student Services Data Management team is happy to announce an upcoming October 1 Data Collection—Phase III: Non-Reconciliation training. Phase III is only for the PEAs that could not match the number of SPED students submitted in Phase I with the number of SPED students in AzEDS during Phase II. PEAs will receive an email if they qualify for Phase III on March 4, 2024.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT: Discipline Data Reporting Memo

  • Tue, Feb 27 2024  •
    • Data Management
    • Updates

Pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 618, Public Education Agencies (PEAs) must report discipline information. The Arizona Department of Education requires that PEAs submit student discipline information to Arizona Education Data Standards (AzEDS). Specifically, PEAs must submit discipline data that resulted in the removal of the student with a disability from their regular educational environment into AzEDS through their Student Information System (SIS).

Please review the attached memo for more information and let us know if you have any questions.

EXTERNAL PD INFO: Free Professional Learning to Support Arizona Paraeducators!

  • Fri, Feb 16 2024  •
    • Training
    • Updates

The Center for Technical Assistance in Excellence for Special Education (TAESE), in partnership with ADE/ESS, is pleased to offer Saturday Mornings with the NRCP for free to all paraeducators, teachers, and administrators working in Arizona public education agencies.