Special Education Directors,

The ADE/ESS has been asked a variety of questions by public education agencies (PEAs) around “school days” under the Executive Order 2020-44 issued by the Governor on June 29, 2020.

This is a Hot Topic outlining the impact of this Executive Order on school days and special education timelines.

For any questions or clarifications please contact your PEA’s assigned Program Support and Monitoring specialist.

Special Education Directors,  

Please join us for the next episode of Thursday Afternoon LEarning Series, or TALES, on Thursday, July 23 from 2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m., when we present, “Get a Move On!” Students with special needs may have difficulties attending, processing, and recalling information during distance learning. Research tells us that movement and brain breaks have great potential to help students learn and remember. Physical movement and brain breaks can have positive effects on executive function, attention, and recall and may also reduce stress. Yet, with distance learning extended through the middle of August, students may be spending time in front of monitors and screens and moving less than ever. In this session, an OT, a PT, and an SLP will be sharing no-cost ways to easily integrate movement activities, sensory experiences, and brain breaks in distance learning. Join us on July 23 and help your students get a move on! 

Please click here to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Participant registration is first-come, first-served and is not limited to special educators – feel free to forward. Questions regarding this professional learning opportunity can be sent to [email protected].

We look forward to seeing you there,

Margaret Egan, PT

Mitch Galbraith, MS, OTR/L

Mary Keeney, CCC-SLP

Special Education Directors,

Please see the available professional development opportunities below.

Dive Deep into AZ Math Standards

for

Special Education Teachers

We know that, as special education teachers, you are typically working across multiple grade levels and with students who have various strengths, and we are here to support you in making it all work!

Join us as we spend time diving into our math standards and supporting documents to consider the following:

• Where are the students coming from? We will delineate content from the previous grade level.
• What do they need to learn this year? We will discuss the major content standards of the current grade level and how we can embed previous year learnings.
• Where are they headed? We will look at connections across grade bands that will support student learning in subsequent years.

See the list of sessions below, and please feel free to sign up for the session(s) that are most relevant to you, based on the students that you support. These sessions are a repeat of the sessions offered in June, and we welcome teachers who are attending for the first time and those who wish to join us again!

Elementary Sessions

• Grades K-2:  July 21, 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
• Grades 2-3: July 22, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
• Grades 3-5: July 23, 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
• Grades 5-6: July 24, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.

Secondary Sessions

• 6^th Grade: July 21, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
• 7^th – 8^th Grade: July 22, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
• HS Algebra I/II: July 23, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
• HS Geometry: July 24, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Special Education Directors and Business Managers,

Please review this posted memo for FY21 IDEA Consolidated – Entitlement grants.

The ESS Program Management team has also created a listserv, you can select the link and enter your information if you’d like to sign up.

For any questions or further guidance, please contact [email protected].

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

Annual Data Collection (ADC) Final Submission Process

Due to COVID-19 and IT related delays, the final submission process for the ESS Annual Data application will not begin until July 20, 2020. The Annual Data Collection is due in its entirety on  September 15, 2020.  We apologize for the delay. The application language stating the final submission July 15, 2020 due date will be updated as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, please direct them to ESS Data Management.

Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS has received a number of questions regarding the use of electronic signatures. Based upon guidance provided by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), ADE/ESS is providing this Hot Topic regarding the use of electronic signatures.

Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS is pleased to announce additional training opportunities for Arizona’s schools with The Neurosequential Model Network. The trainings will assist schools in dealing with trauma and its effects on students. There are two training programs available to schools:

Neurosequential Model in Education

The Neurosequential Model in Education (NME) draws upon the neurodevelopmentally informed, biologically respectful perspective on human development and functioning to help educators understand student behavior and performance. The goals of NME are to educate faculty and students in basic concepts of neurosequential development and then teach them how to apply this knowledge to the teaching and learning process. NME is not a specific “intervention;” rather, it is a way to educate school staff about brain development and developmental trauma and then to further teach them how to apply that knowledge to their work with students in and outside the classroom, particularly those students with adverse childhood experiences. This training is for classroom teachers and is a trainer-of-trainers model, and participants will be equipped to bring strategies back to their schools. See this document that provides further details about the training expectations.

Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics

The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) is a developmentally informed, biologically-respectful approach to working with at-risk children and is a way to organize a child’s history and current functioning. The goal of this approach is to structure the assessment of a child, the articulation of the primary problems, the identification of key strengths, and the application of interventions (educational, enrichment, and therapeutic) in a way that will help family, educators, therapists, and related professionals best meet the needs of the child. (This training is for Master’s level school social workers, school counselors, or school psychologists.) See this document that provides further details about the training expectations.

Please join the Neurosequential Model Network for an informational session on July 24, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. to learn more about the trainings and hear from other Arizona schools who have been learning and implementing the model for over a year. Admission into the training series will require attendance at the webinar (or viewing of the recorded webinar) and submission of an application provided at the conclusion of the webinar on July 24. The cost of the training is $150.

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

Email Aanya Rispoli any questions you have about this professional learning opportunity.

Special Education Directors,

Below is a Hot Topic to address questions from the field in light of the Governor’s June 29, 2020 Executive Order considering Compensatory Educational Services and Extended School Year Services. ADE/ESS provides guidance based on interpretation of current Executive Orders, as well as federal and state regulations. Please consult with your district/charter legal counsel to determine how to implement service delivery in your schools.

Alert to Special Education Directors and Program Administrators: Extended School Year and Compensatory Educational Services Related to Executive Order 2020-44

Join Us for an Exciting New Event IHD Evidence for Success VIRTUAL Mini-Conference July 20 & 21, 2020 Assistive Technology Innovative Practices in Disability Disciplines

Choose from 17 virtual sessions Featuring nationally known speakers and local experts Earn up to 10 CE Credit Hours

The Institute for Human Development at Northern Arizona University and the Arizona Technology Access Program are introducing the IHD Virtual Academy, an online learning environment focused on evidence based practices in disability disciplines. We invite you to join our first event:

• 2 day mini-conference
• 17 diverse sessions selected from this summer's in-person conference which was cancelled due to COVID-19
• Featuring nationally recognized speakers Jonathan Martinis, Gayl Bowser and Mo Buti along with numerous local and regional experts
• Topics covered include Employment, Education (K-12), AAC, American Indian Rehabilitation Service (AIVRS), Community Living and more!
• Four 75 minute sessions each day, with 2 or 3 concurrent session options per time-slot
• Earn up to 5 CE credit hours per day - 10 CE credit hours for the entire mini-conference
  • Northern Arizona University and Arizona Department of Education CEU certificates
  • CRCs offered

Great value and very affordable pricing!

3 Registration and Cost Options:

• Option 1: Monday, July 20 only - COST:  $15
• Option 2: Tuesday, July 21 only - COST:  $15
• Option 3: Full 2-Day Conference - COST:  $25

NOTE: Participants can choose up to FOUR 75-minute sessions per day!

Upon registration and payment, participants will get links to all the sessions they can choose from so they can sign-up for the sessions they want.

Click here for more information, including the conference program and the presenter bios.

If you have any questions, please contact Adi Schaeffer at [email protected] or 602.728.9534.

We hope to see you on July 20 & 21, 2020!

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

New SPED Integrity Rule -40076

Effective Fiscal Year 2021, a new integrity rule will be implemented for SPED Least Restrictive Environment Exit Code SPED13 (School is Out).

This integrity rule will validate the date of a SPED13 exit is the last in-session day of the reported calendar for the student.  This rule will not apply to entities without calendars.

This rule has been added to the SPED Integrity Rules Reference document. A new integrity one-sheet tool has been published on the ESS Data Management website to aid troubleshooting this error: Integrity Tool -40076.

If you have any questions, please direct them to ESS Data Management.