Special Education Directors,

ADE ESS and Assessment are excited to announce a new professional learning opportunity for educators.

Empower Students to Use Universal Tools in the 2022 State Assessments Platform (Grades 3–8)

Wednesday, March 2, 2022, 4:00–5:30 p.m.

Digital tools are not just for assessment; they can help students to achieve success in the classroom and beyond. This school year, your learners will take Arizona’s Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) for the first time on the TestNav platform. AASA assesses the Arizona Standards adopted by the Arizona State Board of Education in 2016. At the Arizona Department of Education, we want to help you to empower your students to use the universal assessment tools that are embedded in the AASA platform so that they can readily showcase their knowledge and understanding.

Join us to learn more about the universal tools and accommodations that are available for the AASA for grades 3–8. You will also engage with instructional resources that you can use every day to provide rich learning for students as they familiarize themselves with digital tools that help them express their understanding. During the session, there will be guided, hands-on time with these universal tools and instructional resources.

Register in advance for this session. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Note: accommodations (e.g., ASL interpreting services) for participants in this webinar must be requested at least one week in advance of the webinar.

Please email Rob Hilliker with any questions.

Special Education Directors,

The following is a free professional learning opportunity available to you and your staff.

The Power of Strengths-Based IEPs with Carol Kosnitsky

Thursday, March 3, 2022, 3:30–4:30 p.m.

The dilemma: how do you write an appropriate IEP that provides both insights into the student’s disability and needs as well as the student’s strengths, interests, preferences, and personal accomplishments? It’s hard to look at many IEP requirements and not to think that the focus is on deficits. We can remain true to IEP requirements and incorporate all we have learned about the power of language, high expectations, growth mindsets, and Universal Design for Learning.  Rarely do these big ideas make their way into students’ IEPs, but you can change that! This session will explore some of the self-defeating and student-limiting practices common in IEP writing and provide alternative strengths-based models that can change our conversations, our expectations, and our IEPs.

Carol Kosnitsky is the nationally recognized and popular author of IEP Goals That Make a Difference: An Administrator’s Guide to Improving the Process (2018, LRP Publications). This book is used widely by teachers as well as administrators. As a distinguished special education consultant with more than 35 years in the field, Carol provides consultation and professional development services across the country, traveling from her home base in New England.

Her work focuses on improving outcomes for students with disabilities through increased access to the general education curriculum.

She is particularly sought after for her expertise regarding the development of relevant and measurable IEPs, the aligning of IEPs with the Common Core, and the collaboration between general and special education to improve education for all students. Ms. Kosnitsky was a special education director for 20 years in New Hampshire, served as President of the New Hampshire Association for Special Education Administrators, and developed the New Hampshire Academy for Special Education Directors.

Register in advance for this event.

If you are a special education teacher or related service provider, the presenter requests that you bring a current IEP with you to the training. Please be ready to examine your own IEP in relation to the content of the session and remember that all student information needs to remain confidential. This session is for training purposes and does not replace the technical assistance provided by the ADE.

Questions regarding this professional learning opportunity can be sent to the ESS Recruitment and Retention Inbox.

Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS, in partnership with the Neurosequential Model Network led by Dr. Bruce Perry, is pleased to announce two exciting training opportunities for Arizona’s schools: the Neurosequential Model in Education and the Neurosequential Model in Therapeutics training programs. This train-the-trainer, capacity-building process provides educators and therapists with a comprehensive introduction to key concepts related to the developmental impact of trauma on the brain as well as examples and practical application of these concepts in educational settings.

Please join us for a free informational session on March 3, 2022, from 12:00–1:00 p.m. to learn more about these professional learning opportunities. This session will review key information including training content and requirements. Admission into the training series will require attendance at the webinar (or viewing of the recorded webinar) and an application process. The cost of the training program is $250 per participant. These documents provide further information about each training program:

• Neurosequential Model in Therapeutics
• Neurosequential Model in Education

Please register for the informational session. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

If you have questions, please email Lauren Blocher.

ADE/ESS is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the Early Intervention and Early Childhood Summit entitled, We Are All in This Together: A Universal Design for Learning. This year’s sessions will include presentations on Pyramid Model, behavior and social skills, first responders, universal design for learning (UDL), Early Head Start, sensory processing, pediatric feeding, among many more!

This year’s virtual summit will take place February 24–25, 2022 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily, and the registration fee is $50. Discount rates are available for pre-service educators and families. Win prizes! Visit with exhibitors!

For more information, please visit the summit website. Registration is now open, for questions contact [email protected].

Special Education Stakeholders,

ADE/ESS is excited to share that Arizona’s 2022 IDEA Conference will be held in person from September 7–9, 2022 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix.

This year’s theme is Rise Up: Reimagining and Transforming Educational Practices. This cross-stakeholder event includes special education administrative staff, youth and young adults with disabilities, family members and caregivers, state agency staff, educators, service providers, and community members who share a commitment 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 social/emotional learning.

Please bookmark the IDEA Conference website for updates and registration information. Requests for proposals will also be disseminated shortly—please consider submitting presentations that represent your creative and research-based work.

ESS appreciates this opportunity to learn with each of you and looks forward to the year ahead. Please send questions to the IDEA Conference inbox.

The Exceptional Student Services Data Management team will be hosting our next Special Education Data Updates live webinar on Wednesday, February 16th from 2pm – 3pm. This session will cover a variety of data topics that will include:  

• Reminders 
• Trending topics 
• Topics requested by you 
• Q&A 

 Registration is required to attend: Register for Special Education Data Updates webinar.  

 For questions, please contact ESS Data Management via email at [email protected]. 

Special Education Directors,

ESS collects data each year through the Teacher Attrition Survey to make informed decisions about recruitment and retention efforts in Arizona. Participation in the survey is mandatory for all public education agencies in Arizona.

The survey is open and will close on May 4, 2022. Please see this memo for further details. Answers to frequently asked questions regarding the survey can be located online. For additional questions, please email the ESS Recruitment and Retention Inbox. 

Thank you for completing the Teacher Attrition Survey.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT   

New XML Schema released for ESS Discipline Data Collection and changes for FY22 incident entry

Due to upcoming changes to the FY22 ESS Discipline Data Collection (DDC) application, a new XML schema has been released for PEAs that wish to use the bulk upload option via an XML export from their Student Information System. Your student information system vendor will need to update your SIS to this new schema. ESS Data Management is distributing the NEW XML Schema to PEAs, and it is the PEA’s responsibility to deliver this new schema to their own Student Information System vendors. The XML schema can also be found on the Discipline Data webpage of the ESS Data Management website.

These are the changes you can expect to see when the ESS Discipline Data Collection application opens for entry in FY22.

Violations have been reduced to those relative to OSEP reporting, and the application will now allow multiple violations selected for one incident reported.

Certain actions will require a start and end date along with a numerical entry of equivalent in-session days removed (not hours removed per previous FY reporting).

Incidents with Expulsion actions will be expected to have an action end date of the end of the school year. Expulsions are defined as removals through the remainder of the school year; therefore, it is expected that the action end date be reported for these incidents as the last day of the school year.

A new Year End Data Certification page will be introduced and will take the place of No Data Certification. PEAs will be expected to enter a signature for all the data in the ESS DDC application, including the sites without incident.

The Year End Data Certification page can only be signed by a user with a NEW ADE CONNECT ROLE: ESS Discipline Data Collection: Signer. Read and Edit roles will be able to view this page in read-only mode.

It is expected your PEA assigns this role only to users authorized to sign off on your incident data for the year. Please contact your ADE Connect Entity Administrator to assign this role to your SPED Director or Superintendent (or equivalent position). It is the responsibility of the PEA to ensure this role is applied to the proper user. There will be no secondary authorization for this role from ADE.

The Year End Data Certification of Data page will display a list of schools your PEA is identified as the District of Residence for at least one student (General Education or SPED) attending that site (including tuition out sites). An incident count will show beside each site.

It is expected at the end of the year, the Signer will review the incidents entered in the application, counts of incidents on the certification page (including sites with zero incidents), enter their title, comments, and select the checkbox they have reviewed and certified the accuracy of the data. The signer will have the option to retract the signature should updates to the discipline data be required before the due date.

The ESS Discipline Data Collection application will open for FY22 incident entry on Monday, January 31, 2022.

Refer to this memo for additional details.

For any questions regarding these changes please feel free to contact [email protected].

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT 

Update to Integrity Rule for FY 2022: -40066

An update to an integrity rule for FY 2022 will be introduced into the integrity process on SPED data shortly. This rule is a continuation of our effort to further validate SPED reporting to ensure clean data for the state.   

A one-sheet integrity tool is available on our AzEDS SPED Reporting webpage for troubleshooting tips. It has been added to our SPED Integrity Rules Reference document and referenced on the FY 2022 ESS Data Reporting Updates document. 

Integrity Rule -40066

This rule will validate the submitted reference DescriptorID sent from your Student Information System matches the submitted SPED Least Restrictive Environment name. 

PEAs failing this rule will need to work with their Student Information System vendors to ensure the reference IDs (DescriptorID) sent matches the corresponding LRE (SPED Program) name.

Please contact [email protected] with any questions regarding this update.   

Special Education Directors,

The Arizona Department of Education encourages our public education agencies (PEAs) to register for the Arizona Educator Job Fair to recruit new employees to your school community.

• When: Saturday, February 26, 2022 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Where: Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel and Conference Center, 9495 W. Coyotes Blvd, Glendale, AZ 85305
• Registration: Click here to reserve your booth
• Registration Deadline: Thursday, February 10, 2022

Once registered, we encourage you to promote the job fair in your community to encourage attendance from prospective employees. A flyer and social media graphics (graphics option one and graphics option two) are available to share at your convenience! 

ADE’s Educator Recruitment and Retention Specialist, Carrie Brown, is available to support registration and ensure successful participation in our job fair. You can email Carrie directly. 

We look forward to seeing you at the February 26 Arizona Educator Job Fair!