DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

New Integrity Rule -51002 – Student Home and Mailing address required

A new Data Quality Validation integrity rule -51002 will be introduced into the integrity process on FY22 Enrollment data shortly. This update is a continuation of our effort to ensure clean data for the state. A new one-sheet Integrity Tool is now available on our AzEDS SPED Reporting webpage for troubleshooting tips for Integrity Rule -51002.

It is expected for each site enrollment reported by your LEA, both a Home and Mailing address be reported. This will provide ESS with the ability to ensure that special education services can continue if educational programs are disrupted by a change of boundaries based on residence changes. Student site enrollments missing Home, Mailing, or both addresses will fail rule -51002. Student addresses are submitted at the site level. If your LEA is reporting the student at multiple sites, both a home and mailing address for the student must be reported for each site. This will allow both addresses to remain intact during the school site level deduplication process.

This new Data Quality Validation integrity category is now available on your INTEG15 report under the Integrity Category dropdown. Selecting only this category will show any students failing this rule for your LEA.

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

Special Education Directors,

Please share this announcement with your staff.

Assistive Technology (AT) National Presenter Series 

The ADE/ESS Assistive Technology team is kicking off our 2021 AT National Presenter Series with Chris Bugaj. Chris is offering 3 separate presentations, attend one or attend all!

Christopher R. Bugaj, MA, CCC‐SLP, is a founding member of the Assistive Technology Team for Loudoun County Public Schools. Chris co-hosts the Talking with Tech podcast, and has hosted The A.T. TIPSCAST, a multi‐award winning podcast featuring strategies to design educational experiences.

Designing Educational Experiences for All!

10/19/2021 4:00–5:15 p.m. (Arizona time)

This session will allow participants to take the opportunity to mesh contemporary educational principles such as Universal Design for Learning, the Growth Mindset, Project-Based Learning, the Maker Movement, the Least Restrictive Option, and the use of technology to transform practices to empower students of all abilities to take charge of their own learning.

Registration link:

Register for the Designing Educational Experiences for All! session

Feature Presentation! Necessary Considerations for Technology Implementation

10/20/2021 4:00–5:15 p.m.  (Arizona time)

What’s the point of technology in educational design? What features of technology can be used to design educational experiences that work for every learner? Participants will explore a wide variety of necessary features presented by different technologies that can be used as universal supports for learners in inclusive learning environments. Leave with practical ideas for how to consider, select, and implement contemporary technologies for instructional experiences. 

Registration link: 

Register for the Necessary Considerations for Technology Implementation session

Seven Up! 7 Ways to Boost Your AAC Implementation

10/21/2021 4:00–5:15 p.m. (Arizona time)

Teaching core vocabulary and using partner-augmented input/aided language stimulation are practices more widely implemented now than ever before. This session will focus on seven additional factors that can be used to boost the language acquisition process.

Registration link:

Register for the 7 Ways to Boost Your AAC Implementation session 

Count Me In! Developing Fluency with Whole Numbers 

Choose one of the following dates: 

Wednesday, September 29, 2021 from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Register in advance for the session on September 29.

Tuesday, October 5, 2021 from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Register in advance for the session on October 5.

What does it mean to be fluent in mathematics? In this webinar, we will examine the key components of fluency and make connections across mathematics standards that specify fluency as the intended end-of-year outcome in each grade level from K–6. Additionally, we will explore instructional routines, strategies, and games that will help all students develop flexibility to solve contextual and mathematical problems involving whole numbers.

Note: Accommodations must be requested at least one week in advance of each webinar. 

Please email Rob Hilliker with any questions.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

Reporting of Primary/Secondary Needs in AzEDS

This notice serves as a reminder that the most accurate disability representation should be reported for all students with disabilities throughout the school year.

When reporting needs (disability categories) to AzEDS for students, all eligible needs listed on a student’s IEP should be reported for all special education placements in Arizona. If a student has only one need, that need is reported as the primary need. For students with multiple needs, only one can be reported as the primary need and the other need(s) would be reported as secondary. The primary need is defined as the one that most adversely affects the student’s ability to access the general curriculum.

Accurate disability representation is required for statistical analysis, fulfilling data requests, state funding, data visualizations/dashboards, and making data-driven decisions.

For questions please contact [email protected].

Special Education Directors,

At their annual state conference, the Arizona Association of School Psychologists (AASP) recognizes an outstanding school psychologist and administrator (principal or director) of the year, and they encourage your district or charter to nominate someone who provides excellent support and advocacy for students with disabilities in our state. Nomination forms can be located on the AASP website and should be submitted to Jamie Timmerman and Cathy Herring at AASP. Additional information is included in this flyer. It is recommended to submit at least three letters of support with each nomination. Nominations open on September 1, 2021 and close on September 30, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. The awards ceremony will be held Friday, November 5, 2021 in the morning at Desert Willow Conference Center. 

Please email Jamie Timmerman, AASP Past-President, with any additional questions.

Special Education Directors,

Please share the following message about upcoming math professional learning with general and special education teachers who teach mathematics.

September Math Office Hours

The ADE Math Team has scheduled office hours to allow educators to meet together to network, problem-solve, and develop solutions to allow all Arizona teachers and students to continue to feel supported and to be successful.

Grade-band meetings are provided for all math teachers, including special education teachers! These grade-band meetings will include opportunities for networking, problem solving, and sharing different implementation models. Office hours are one hour long with an additional 30 minutes at the end for a Q & A session.  Participants can earn one hour of professional development credit for each session attended.

Elementary Math Office Hours (Grades K–5)

Monday, September 20, 2021 from 3:30–4:30 p.m. with Q & A from 4:30–5:00 p.m.

Register in advance for the Grades K–5 meeting.

 Middle School Math Office Hours (Grades 5–8)

Tuesday, September 21, 2021 from 3:30–4:30 p.m. with Q & A from 4:30–5:00 p.m.

Register in advance for the Grades 5–8 meeting.

High School Math Office Hours (Grades 8–12)

Wednesday, September 22, 2021 from 3:30–4:30 p.m. with Q & A from 4:30–5:00 p.m.

Register in advance for the Grades 8–12 meeting.

Note: accommodations must be requested at least one week in advance of each webinar.

Please email Jenifer Fernandez or email Rob Hilliker with any questions.

September 13 and 14, 8:00 a.m.– 4:00 p.m.

September 15, 8:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

ADE/ESS is excited to share updated information for our  3-day virtual event which will feature over 75 professional learning opportunities addressing legal issues, special education compliance, preschool and secondary transition, social/emotional learning, and new this year, a content strand for school-based OTs, PTs, and SLPs featuring Michelle Bradshaw, Chris Bugaj, Michelle Curcio, Lisa DeWitt, Irma Gomez, Jessica Hartrich, Amy Hill, Rebecca Lopez, Mike Marotta, Jeff Meeks, Fe Murray, Beth Poss, Linda Rudd, Judith Schoonover, Sarah Ward and Elisa Wern.

Topics presented by national and local experts in the related service providers’ strand will include working at the top of the license, OT/PT/SLP co-treatment, service delivery, executive function, ergonomics, using visual supports in therapy, working with translators, Medicaid school-based claiming, and effective collaboration with teachers. School-based therapists may attend sessions in the special education administration, secondary transition, or RSP strands all 3 days of the conference for one low registration fee. 

Register for the IDEA Conference.

Information about conference keynotes can be found on the conference webpage, which will continue to be updated throughout the summer.

Questions about the conference or registration can be sent to [email protected].

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT   

FY 2022 October 1 Data Collection

The Exceptional Student Services (ESS) Special Education (SPED) October 1 Data Collection (ODC) child count is a key process that is consequential for federal reporting, determining federal allocations and providing information for the state to make educational determinations over time. Public education agencies (PEAs) are required to verify the count of students receiving SPED services over October 1. Verification will be completed through the web-based ESS October 1 Data Collection application, available through the ESS Portal via ADEConnect.

The October 1 Data Collection consists of three phases:

• Phase I: Verification & Personnel
• Phase II: Reconciliation
• Phase III: Non-Reconciliation (if applicable)
   

For a complete ODC timeline, please review the ESS Data Management Important Dates document.

Phase I: Verification

The ESS ODC application will open on Wednesday, October 6, 2021. PEAs must login to the application to submit the October 1 verification and personnel counts. All technical assistance documents and FAQs will be available by accessing the “Help tab” on the home page of the ESS ODC application.

Please note that October 1 is the count date, not a due date or deadline.

October 1 falls on a Friday this year. If October 1 is a non-session day for your PEA (i.e., fall break), be mindful of the following information. To ensure an accurate count, include students who were enrolled on the last day school was in session before October 1 as long as they are known to have continued in special education on the first day school was in session following October 1 (whether it be in your school in your PEA or another PEA). The PEA that should count the student is the PEA the student was enrolled in prior to October 1.

Resources

ODC Manual – This manual includes documentation of the entire process of ODC, including frequently asked questions.

Please note the Important Dates document shows that Phase II of the October 1 Data Collection is due earlier this year than previous years. Ensure your SPED data in AzEDS is accurate and passing integrity regularly to ensure a smooth Phase II submission.

IDEA Conference (Conference Registration | Recording coming soon)

Special Education October 1 Processes, Report Out, and Upcoming Changes

This session will review the current processes of the child count requirement, report out on different perspectives in SPED placements and elaborate on significant upcoming changes moving forward.

To access ESS Data Management ODC training videos, please visit our ODC or YouTube webpages.

We highly encourage all PEAs to subscribe to ESS Data Management Alerts to receive ODC and other important SPED data reporting announcements.

Please join us at our monthly Special Education Data Updates (SEDU) webinars to discuss a variety of ESS data topics, updates, and live Q&A. Please visit the  Data Management website under Training Opportunities for more information.

For questions regarding ODC requirements or anything else, please email us at [email protected].

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT   

New AzEDS Portal Report: SPED50 – SPED Concurrency Report

The ESS Data Management team is pleased to announce that a new report is now available in the AzEDS Portal, SPED50 – SPED Concurrency Report. This report will help PEAs find concurrent SPED data in AzEDS along with the concurrent PEA, Site, and dates reported to aid in determining the accurate reporting for the student. This report will only show Primary SPED LRE data reported by your PEA that overlaps with Primary SPED LRE data reported by another PEA (Concurrency).

The report will display the following:

• State Student ID
• Student Last Name
• Student First Name
• School Site of your PEA
• LRE Entry Date of your PEA
• LRE Exit Date of your PEA
• Concurrent School Site of the overlapping PEA
• Concurrent LRE Entry Date of the overlapping PEA
• Concurrent LRE Exit Date of the overlapping PEA
• Concurrent PEA
   

If any exit dates are blank in this report, AzEDS translates this as the LRE continuing to the end of the Fiscal Year.

If the concurrent PEA does not show this information on their SPED50 report, this would indicate their LRE data is Orphan Data (SPED data missing Enrollment) and they should review their SPED99 – Orphan Data report.

For any questions about this report, please contact ESS Data Management at [email protected].

Special Education Directors,

The ADE/ESS Secondary Transition Team is excited to announce a virtual professional learning opportunity on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 from 2:30–3:30 p.m. for school administrators, school counselors, Career and Technical Education (CTE) staff, and special education staff. Please share with any other stakeholder who is interested in this topic.

CTE Recruitment for Inclusion of Students with Disabilities: Innovative Strategies from a Panel of Your Peers

How do you increase the inclusion of students with disabilities in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs? Join ADE CTE and Exceptional Student Services staff as they host a conversation with Arizona school districts about their innovative ideas and best practices for CTE recruitment. ADE will also share a resource with recruitment strategies collected from educators, counselors, and administrators statewide during the last year. Prepare to build your recruitment toolbox with fresh ideas used throughout Arizona.

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

Please email Amanda Nolasco, ADE School Counselor Specialist, with any questions regarding this professional learning opportunity.