Registration for Arizona’s 2023 IDEA Conference: Creating Connections and Strengthening Systems is filling up quickly. To join us from August 21–23, 2023, at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix, please register on or before July 19, 2023.

Register for the 2023 IDEA Conference in the Arizona Professional Learning and Development System (APLD). The professional conference registration fee is $470 per person and can be paid by credit card, check, or purchase order. Interested participants must have an ADE Connect account to complete the registration. To learn more about registration, please visit the IDEA Conference Registration webpage.

Book your hotel room before it’s too late! Consider taking advantage of what may be the last year to book a room at this guaranteed low rate of $103/night (not including taxes) for the nights of the conference (Sunday–Tuesday nights). To make your reservation, go to the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort’s conference website or call the Reservations Center at 1-888-236-2427. The last day to book a hotel room at the conference rate is August 2, 2023.

Exciting Announcements
ADE/ESS is excited to announce the conference’s Premier Speakers, including Carol Kosnitsky, Mike Marotta, Michael Stoehr, and more. Please see the Premier Speakers conference flyer to learn about these speakers and additional national presenters. Visit the National Presenters page to learn more about all national speakers, including the keynote speakers, Haben Girma, Art Cernosia, and Mickey Rowe.

Please see the Evening Events flyer for more information about the film Hearts of Glass, activities for youths/young adults, parents, and family members, and Tuesday’s networking reception and raffle drawing.

ESS appreciates this opportunity to learn with each of you and looks forward to this year’s conference. Stay informed by visiting the IDEA Conference website for conference updates. Questions can be emailed to the IDEA Conference inbox. 
 

ADE/ESS is excited to announce keynote speakers for Arizona’s 2023 IDEA Conference: Creating Connections and Strengthening Systems. This year’s conference will be held from August 21–23, 2023, at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix. Please see the conference flyer to learn about Haben Girma, Art Cernosia, and Mickey Rowe. Additional national speakers and exciting conference events will be shared soon. 

Register for the 2023 IDEA Conference in the Arizona Professional Learning and Development System (APLD). The conference registration fee for professionals is $470 per person and can be paid by credit card, check, or purchase order. Interested participants must have an ADE Connect account to complete the registration. ADE/ESS is aware that PEAs may have approaching procurement deadlines related to the issuance of purchase orders, so please do not delay in registering for the conference. Registration is anticipated to fill quickly. 

To learn more about registration, including information about making a Save My Seat request and Frequently Asked Questions, please visit the IDEA Conference Registration webpage. 

ESS appreciates this opportunity to learn with each of you and looks forward to this year’s conference. Stay informed by visiting the IDEA Conference website for conference updates. Questions can be emailed to the IDEA Conference inbox. 

Special Education Stakeholders,

ADE/ESS is excited to share the Vendor/Exhibitor Application for Arizona’s 2023 IDEA Conference: Creating Connections and Strengthening Systems. This year’s conference will be held August 21–23, 2023 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix. 

A limited number of in-person tables will be available. Space is not guaranteed. Selections for tables will be based on agency priority.

If interested, please complete the Vendor/Exhibitor Application by Friday, May 19, 2023. 

For more information about the IDEA Conference, visit the IDEA Conference website. Questions about the conference can be sent to the IDEA Conference inbox.

In partnership with the Arizona Department of Health Services, Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Program, ADE/ESS is excited to be able to offer scholarships for Arizona youth and their families. Scholarships are available so that youth and young adults with disabilities and/or their family member/personal assistant can attend Arizona’s 2023 IDEA Conference: Creating Connections and Strengthening Systems.

This cross-stakeholder event is intended for special education administrative staff, youth and young adults with disabilities, family members and caregivers, state agency staff, educators, service providers, and community members committed to student success. The event will feature numerous 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. This year’s conference will be held from August 21–23, 2023, at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix.

Who can apply for a scholarship:
•    Youth/young adult between the ages of 14 and 26 who have a documented disability
•    Family members of a student with an IEP or 504 Plan 
•    Personal assistant who attends with a student or family member

Scholarships will cover the conference registration fee for each recipient as well as lodging and mileage for eligible recipients. Additional, important information is listed in the application.

A limited number of scholarships are available. Please complete the Youth and Family Scholarship application by June 30, 2023.

Please download the Youth and Family Scholarship flyer to promote this opportunity.

For more information about the IDEA Conference, visit the IDEA Conference website. Questions about the conference, registration, or the scholarship can be sent to the IDEA Conference inbox.

Nominations are now being accepted for this year’s Arizona Secondary Transition Services Awards!
 
On behalf of the Arizona Department of Education, Exceptional Student Services, and other partnering agencies, you are invited to submit your nominations for this year's Secondary Transition Services Awards, which will be presented at Arizona's 2023 IDEA Conference. 

Your nomination is important to recognize the secondary transition contributions and successes happening across Arizona.

 Nomination categories: 
 
1.    Youth/Young Adult: A youth or recently graduated young adult who has benefited from successful secondary transition services.
 
2.    Community Member: An individual (employee, manager, owner of a community business, etc.) who provides exemplary support for students and/or young adults with disabilities to enhance community-based experiences and opportunities.
 
3.    Educator: A Public Education Agency or Secure Care school certified staff, classified staff, support staff member, related service provider, or administrator who provides remarkable secondary transition services.

For each nomination, you must provide basic demographic information about the candidate’s background, strengths, and his or her outstanding participation in the secondary transition process.

We encourage you to nominate multiple individuals across all categories. Please do not nominate programs or groups for any of the award categories, as we wish to recognize people for their individual efforts.
                
All nominations submitted on or before Wednesday, May 31, 2023, will be considered. Award winners will be selected and notified in June.
 
If you have any questions, please email the IDEA Conference inbox. 

Please download our Secondary Transition Services Awards Flyer.
 

Arizona’s 2023 IDEA Conference: Creating Connections and Strengthening Systems, will be held in person from August 21–23, 2023 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix.

ADE/ESS is requesting proposals that represent your creative and research-based work. The conference will feature numerous 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. 

Session proposals are due Wednesday, March 22, 2023. See the Call for Papers guidelines for information on how to submit. 

ESS appreciates this opportunity to learn with each of you. Questions can be sent to the IDEA Conference inbox.

ADE/ESS is excited to share that Arizona’s 2023 IDEA Conference will be held in person from August 21–23, 2023, at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix.

This year’s theme is Creating Connections and Strengthening Systems. This cross-stakeholder event is intended for special education administrative staff, youth and young adults with disabilities, family members and caregivers, state agency staff, educators, service providers, and community members committed to student success. The event 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.

ADE/ESS is pleased to request proposals for this year’s conference. Please consider submitting presentations that represent your creative and research-based work. See the 2023 IDEA Conference Call for Papers guidelines for information on how to submit. Session proposals are due March 15, 2023.

ESS appreciates this opportunity to learn with each of you and looks forward to the year ahead. Stay informed by visiting the IDEA Conference website for conference updates, including registration information. Questions can be emailed to the IDEA Conference inbox.

Arizona’s 2022 IDEA Conference, Rise Up: Reimagining and Transforming Educational Practices, is only a few months away. We hope to see you September 7–9, 2022 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix.

ADE/ESS is excited to announce the conference’s Premier and National Speakers, including Carol Kosnitsky, Dr. Erik Carter, Dr. Phil Strain, and Sarah Ward. Please see the conference flyer to learn more about these speakers, additional national presenters, and other exciting conference events.

Registration for the 2022 IDEA Conference is still open. Register for the 2022 IDEA Conference in the Event Management System (EMS). To learn more about registration and see Frequently Asked Questions, please visit the IDEA Conference Registration webpage.

Please bookmark the IDEA Conference website and check for updates throughout the summer. Questions about the conference or registration can be sent to the IDEA Conference inbox.

ADE/ESS is excited to share the Vendor/Exhibitor Application for Arizona’s 2022 IDEA Conference, Rise Up: Reimagining and Transforming Educational Practices. This year’s conference will be held in person from September 7–9, 2022 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix.

Due to reduced capacity at this year’s conference, a limited number of in-person tables will be available. To accommodate this, a virtual option has been added to allow for more opportunities to share your information with conference attendees. Space is not guaranteed. Selections for in-person tables and the virtual option will be based on agency priority.

If interested, please complete the Vendor/Exhibitor Application by Monday, June 20, 2022.

Please bookmark the IDEA Conference website for updates throughout the summer. Questions about the conference can be sent to the IDEA Conference inbox.

Arizona’s 2022 IDEA Conference, Rise Up: Reimagining and Transforming Educational Practices, will feature over 75 learning opportunities that will address IDEA legal issues, instructional practices, national trends and hot topics, special education compliance, preschool and secondary transition, and social/emotional learning. This year’s conference will be held in person from September 7–9, 2022 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix.

In partnership with Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs, ADE/ESS is excited to be able to once again offer free registration for Arizona youth and their families. 

Who can apply for free registration for the 2022 IDEA Conference:

• Youth/Young adults between the ages of 14 and 26 years who have a documented disability
• Family members of a student with an IEP or 504 Plan
• Personal assistants who attend with a student or family member

Special Notes:

• Scholarships cover registration, lodging, and mileage (upon request, for applicants who live 51 miles or more from the JW Marriott Desert Ridge).  
• Scholarship recipients are responsible for the cost of food not provided by the conference.
• To ensure that scholarship funding is fairly distributed, the number of scholarships offered per family may be limited.
• If requests for scholarships exceed available funding, applicants will be placed on a waiting list.

A limited number of free registrations are available. Please complete the Youth, Young Adults, and Families Scholarship application by June 30, 2022. See the attached flyer for more information about this scholarship opportunity.

For more information about the IDEA Conference, including keynote speakers, please visit the IDEA Conference website. Questions about the conference, registration, or the scholarship can be sent to the IDEA Conference inbox.