The Special Education Data Dashboard (SEDD) Certification opens today, July 22, 2024. Certification is due August 5, 2024, by 5:00 p.m. This is a requirement of all Public Education Agencies (PEAs), including those without qualifying data within the modules.

Please note: As of July 15, 2024, the data in SEDD is locked and cannot be edited. Visit School Finance’s Guidelines and Manuals web page for detailed guidance on requesting a prior-year data correction for student data.

Certification is accessible only to users with the ESS SEDD: LEA Signer role. Only local entity administrators can assign this role to an individual. For information on how to add an ADEConnect role, visit ADEConnect FAQs.

During this process, PEAs will certify the following:

1. Student Exit Data
   • This module displays exit data for Special Education (SPED) students based on specific exit codes, age ranges, and dates outlined in the SPED Exit Flow Chart.
2. Preschool Transition Data
   • Public School Districts with boundaries were required to enter data for students transitioning from the Arizona Early Intervention Program (AZEIP) to Part B. If not applicable, this module will be inactive.
3. Students Without Disabilities
   • This module captures data on students without disabilities with an expulsion (W3) exit code. During the review phase, PEAs indicated if such students received educational services during expulsion. If not applicable, this module will be inactive.
4. Discipline Data
   • This module displays discipline incidents for SPED students that resulted in removal from their educational environment.

Resources available to assist PEAs include:

• TA Manual: Special Education Data Dashboard
• FY 2024 SEDD Webinar
• FY2024 SEDD Presentation slides, 64–70

For additional information, please contact the ESS Data Management Inbox or call 602-542-3962.

Hello Educators,

Do your students doubt their abilities when they experience challenges? Do they understand how to put forth effort and make progress toward their goals? Self-efficacy instruction can increase students’ belief in themselves and can develop their ability to persist through learning challenges. 

The Arizona Department of Education/Exceptional Student Services, in collaboration with the University of Kansas Research Collaboration, is offering the College and Career Competencies Project, a free, one-year professional development series that includes:

• Free access to self-efficacy curricula at the primary, intermediate, and secondary levels with 25+ evidence-based instructional activities that teach 10 self-efficacy strategies.
• Virtual training across the school year to all staff, based on your PD calendar.
• Assessments to show student growth.
• Coaching support throughout the implementation process.

The College and Career Competencies Project is accepting 3 more schools (elementary, middle, or high) for the 2024–2025 school year!

To participate, have an administrator from your district complete the CCCs Project Interest Form, and schedule a 30-minute conference call about the project.

This professional learning experience will empower your students and enhance their learning journey. Act now to join!

View our self-efficacy infographic, which includes the definition of self-efficacy and student impacts resulting from instruction.

For any questions, email Pattie Noonan.

ESS/Program Support and Monitoring (PSM) is proud to announce the release of the SY 2024–2025 Programmatic Monitoring Manual. This manual is intended to assist public education agencies (PEAs) in participating in and preparing for programmatic monitoring activities. The format of the manual changed last school year for ease of printing and locating information. The forms associated with programmatic monitoring activities can be found on the PSM website under Differentiated Monitoring Activities and are no longer located within the manual. 

Please contact your PEA’s assigned specialist with questions.

ADE/ESS, in partnership with the Center for Technical Assistance in Excellence for Special Education (TAESE), is pleased to announce that Saturday Mornings with the NRCP is available to paraeducators, related service providers, teachers, and administrators working in Arizona public education agencies.

The two-hour, virtual sessions will be hosted by the National Resource Center for Paraeducators, Related Service Providers, and Interveners (NRCP) on the second Saturday of each month from August 2024 through July 2025. The sessions will be based on the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Core Competencies for Special Education Paraeducators and will include topics such as paraeducator roles and responsibilities and effective behavior management strategies. See flyer here.

Upcoming webinars will include the following topics:

August 10, 2024

Understanding the ABCs and Function of Behavior

September 14, 2024

Ethical Practices Within Paraeducator Roles

October 12, 2024

Challenging Behavior and De-escalation

November 9, 2024

Strategies for Paraeducators Working in Secondary Settings

Teacher and paraeducator teams are encouraged to sign up together. The $100 registration fee includes 12 live webinars and extended access to the recordings via a Canva site until August 2025. Those who register will receive information on how to access the recordings.

Register for Saturday Mornings with the NRCP.

The attached flyer includes additional information about the professional learning series. Please email Laura Lema with any questions.

The Exceptional Student Services (ESS) Data Management team is pleased to introduce Beginning of the Year ESS Data Management training for the 2024–2025 reporting year. We offer two options to attend: virtually or in person.

During this training, our team will provide updates on the annual IDEA 618 requirements, review reporting to AzEDS, and give an overview of ESS data applications and surveys. Please register for only one session.

1. Virtual Training via Zoom: Thursday, August 22, 2024, 9:00–11:00 a.m.
2. In-person training: Thursday, August 22, 2024, 1:00–3:00 p.m.

100 N 15th Ave. Phoenix AZ 85007

Please email ESS Data Management with any questions. 

We look forward to seeing you!

Under Section 616 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004, State Education Agencies are required to make a determination for all Public Education Agencies (PEAs) on the PEA's performance in the implementation of special education. Each PEA's federal fiscal year (FFY) 2022 determination is now available for review through ADE Connect and posted on the ADE/ESS website.

Please visit Arizona's PEA Determinations Website for information on the notification letter, scoring criteria, and public results.

For questions regarding PEA Determinations, please email theESS Operations Inbox.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

FY24 Parentally Placed Private School Student Survey (PPPSS) required by all Public School Districts only (charter schools are excluded), due on August 14th, 2024.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 requires that each public education agency (PEA) maintain its records and provide to the State information related to parentally placed private elementary and secondary school students covered under §§ 300.130 through 300.144.

The application opened on May 15th, 2024 and will close for submissions on August 14th, 2024.

• A PEA’s Entity Administrator must assign the role of “ESS Data Surveys: User” at the district level in ADEConnect to the individual who will submit this survey.
• Instructions: Parentally Placed Private School Students
• FAQs: Parentally Placed Private School Students

Once the role is assigned, please log in to ADEConnect, navigate to the Exceptional Student Services Portal (ESS), and select the ESS Data Surveys application.

From there, click on the blue hyperlinked text “FY24 Parentally Placed Private School Students Survey” to start the survey. When the survey has been completed, the application will display a webpage with the message, “Thank you for submitting.”

Please direct any questions to the ESS Data Management inbox.

Registration for the 2024–2025 Special Education New Director Symposium (SENDS) is closing soon, so please be sure to register if you are beginning your first or second year as a special education director.

The purpose of this professional learning opportunity is to prepare new special education directors for the practical operation of a special education system. Topics covered in SENDS include compliance and legal requirements, fiscal issues, assessment, general supervision, and ADE supports and resources. New special education directors serving Arizona public education agencies (PEAs) in their first or second year of being a special education director (including any previous positions) in the fall of 2024 are eligible to attend SENDS.

The $150 registration fee for SENDS includes:

• Registration for the in-person kick-off session on Day 1 (September 4, 2024) of the IDEA Conference* (with an option to pay to attend Days 2 and/or 3 of the conference).
• Four virtual follow-up sessions scheduled throughout the 2024–25 school year  (November 7, December 5, January 16, and February 13 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.).
• A one-year membership to the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and CEC’s Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) special interest division.

Registration is open until July 19, 2024.

*Information regarding travel reimbursement from eligible PEAs will be provided once registration is completed.

Register for the Special Education New Director Symposium (SENDS) training!

If you have questions about SENDS, please email the ESS Recruitment and Retention Inbox.

ADE/ESS is excited to announce keynote speakers for Arizona’s 2024 IDEA Conference: Expect, Engage, Achieve. This year’s conference will be held from September 4–6, 2024, at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix. Please see the conference flyer to learn about Valerie C. Williams, Erik Carter, Perry Zirkel, and Pamela Schuller. Additional national speakers and exciting conference events will be shared soon.

Register for the 2024 IDEA Conference in the Arizona Professional Learning and Development System (APLD). The conference registration fee for professionals is $575 per person and can be paid by credit card, check, or purchase order. Please visit the IDEA Conference Registration web page to learn more about registration options, lodging, and frequently asked questions.

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 updates, including announcements about premier speakers and conference schedules. Questions can be emailed to the IDEA Conference inbox.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT 

INVITATION: ESS Data Management Office Hours for Special Education Data Dashboard

The ESS Data Management Team is pleased to offer virtual Office Hours to our Public Education Agencies (PEAs) to further assist in meeting the Special Education Data Dashboard (SEDD) data requirements.

Office Hours will be scheduled for one-hour increments and facilitated by a Specialist via Microsoft Teams. To schedule an Office Hours session, please visit our scheduling webpage. Sessions will be available until July 10, 2024, on a first-come, first-served basis. Only one session is available per PEA.

After scheduling a session, you will receive an email confirmation and a calendar invite containing the link to join the session at your meeting time. Please make sure you can access Microsoft Teams before your scheduled session.

If you did not attend the live webinar or an in-person SEDD training, reviewing the SEDD Webinar recording is a prerequisite for Office Hours attendees to ensure a productive session. 

These sessions are intended to assist our PEAs in meeting the data requirements of the SEDD application. Please direct any other ESS data-related questions to the ESS Data Management Inbox.

We look forward to meeting with you.