Special Education Directors,

The ADE/ESS Professional Learning Team is pleased to announce additional office hours opportunities for special education teachers!

These weekly virtual meetups, focused on specific content areas, are a chance for special education teachers across Arizona to connect with each other, collaborate and learn from one another, and also to celebrate and share successes during this new educational landscape.

Behavior/Social Emotional Learning Office Hours for Special Education Teachers

First meeting is Tuesday, April 21 from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Register for April 21. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Literacy Office Hours for Special Education Teachers

First meeting is Thursday, April 23 from 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

Register for April 23. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We appreciate all your efforts to support students, and we look forward to meeting with you!

Special Education Directors,

The ADE Math Team has had an excellent turnout for math office hours during the past two weeks, and we have enjoyed working with hundreds of general education and special education teachers and leaders from across the state! We are excited to announce that we are now offering an additional session specifically for special education teachers.

Special Education Teacher Math Office Hours

These virtual meetups are a chance for special education teachers across Arizona to connect with each other, collaborate and learn from one another, and celebrate and share successes during this new educational landscape. Join our biweekly meetup and connect with your colleagues to learn and lead from wherever you are in our state!

First meeting is Thursday, April 16th from 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Please feel free to join any and all of our Math Office Hours for both general education and special education teachers:

Next meetings are Wednesday, April 22 at the following times:

Grade Band: High School

Grade Band: 6-8

Grade Band: K-2

Grade Band: 3-5

Together we can continue to provide exceptional learning for all Arizona students!

Your ADE Math Team

Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS and Early Childhood Education (ECE), and STAR Autism Support are collaborating to offer resources and professional learning opportunities to support your staff through this unprecedented period of remote learning. The following information details your FREE access to tools intended to support remote learning for all learning levels, including children who have minimal language or are non-verbal, have motor skill limitations, or have challenges attending to instruction.

Access to the STAR Online Learning System (SOLS)

All educators throughout Arizona may now receive FREE access to SOLS through STAR Autism Support. The STAR Online Learning System offers programming for early-childhood and primary age students, as well as for secondary students. A short administrator webinar (with information about SOLS and the provided resources) is available here: https://www.starautismsupport.com/webinar/registration?webinar=3348

Three ways of engaging with teachers, students and caregivers are offered:

• Home Supports are offered to caregivers and students during this time of significant routine upheaval, including visual resources and video modeling for families. Caregivers can use these resources to support their children during daily routines.
• Instructorless Learning Home Packets include printable materials that offer caregivers and students fun, theme-based materials designed to meet students’ individual learning levels. The printable packets offer flexibility for caregivers to decide when their children engage with materials, providing opportunities for students to work independently to maintain previously learned skills.
• Synchronous Remote Learning Tools include everything needed for a comprehensive remote learning program. To support individual IEP goals and the development of new skills, synchronous remote instruction offers the opportunity for teachers to individualize and scaffold curriculum to meet the unique needs of all students.

To request FREE access to the STAR Online Learning System (SOLS)

Simply forward the attached flyer to your staff or direct them to register here: https://starautismsupport.com/AZ-SOLS-Access.

Professional development opportunities for instructional staff and related services

Several virtual professional development opportunities will be made available to staff implementing remote learning.  These trainings will both provide guidance on ensuring successful learning sessions, as well as offer Q&A opportunities for staff to troubleshoot various challenging scenarios. Each series of trainings includes:

• 3 introductory webinars (each building on the previous) to support implementation of remote learning
• 8 subsequent weekly webinars to offer staff support on various topics, as well as Q&A opportunities

Your public education agency’s (PEA) staff will be asked to select participation in one of 3 training series (beginning each of the following 3 weeks). Staff may register here for access to the professional development: https://www.starautismsupport.com/az-sols-webinar-registration.

The first professional development opportunities begin on April 14, 2020. PEAs are also encouraged to contact STAR Autism Support if they would like additional individualized support during this time for their teachers, related service staff members and paraprofessionals! Click here to learn more about these additional support opportunities: https://www.starautismsupport.com/AZ-SOLS-Support.  

We are excited to offer these opportunities to work with your teams to support their remote learning sessions!

Special Education Directors,

There have been many challenges as a result of COVID-19 and, after careful consideration, our leadership team has made the difficult decision to cancel Teach Camp 2020 as well as a new professional learning opportunity that was planned for new special education directors.  Our goal is to begin a new cohort of Teach Camp and professional learning for new special education directors in the summer of 2021. Currently, we are considering ways to connect with our 2019 Teach Camp participants and help them reconnect with each other during the next school year.

For your information, a resource that has been available to teachers participating in Teach Camp is now open to others as well. CEC is opening its doors to the special education community in need of resources. Nonmembers of CEC can receive a free basic membership from now through May 31 by using the promotional code "CECED60". This will provide access to all of CEC’s journal articles, member discounts on publications and events, and their online membership community where educators can ask questions and receive support from special educators, administrators, and support personnel. Join now by clicking here.

Thank you for your continued service to our field. We look forward to collaborating with you to support new teachers and new special education directors again in the future.

Special Education Directors,

We understand that this has been a busy and stressful time as you work to meet the needs of your students and staff. As such, we are extending the application deadline for the SETTA and GETSET Tuition Assistance Programs until 5:00 p.m. on Friday April 17.

• General Education Teacher to Special Education Teacher (GETSET) Application
• Special Education Teacher Tuition Assistance (SETTA) Application

For questions, please email Aanya Rispoli or call (602) 364-4022.

Please see this timely professional development opportunity from our colleagues in AZCEC, AZCASE, and SEAA.

Join AZCEC, AZCASE, and SEAA in sharing ideas on alternative service models during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is an opportunity for Directors of Special Education to hear ASU Prep’s success on getting services virtual, and to share other formats of alternative service models. This meeting will be hosted by Janet Holt, ESS Director for ASU Prep, and assisted by AZCEC, AZCASE, and SEAA Presidents.

Please join us: Monday, March 23 from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Access the meeting

Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS has received many questions regarding special education timelines during school closures associated with COVID-19. We recognize that, during this time, there may be challenges in meeting deadlines. Please see the this guidance document (Updated 4/1/20) that contains guidance on timelines, provided in good faith based on guidance from OSEP.

There are a few other resources that may be useful for you to review:

• The ADE delivered a COVID-19 webinar today to district and charter leaders, as well as education stakeholders. The webinar was hosted with the support of the AZ School Board Association. Participant size was limited, but the webinar was recorded and is available on ADE’s COVID-19 webpage. There is a short section on special education that is taken primarily from the OSEP Q & A document recently disseminated, but also contains a few pieces of information gained from the “Joint Webinar on COVID 19 and Students with Disabilities” held on March 13.
• The “Joint Webinar on COVID 19 and Students with Disabilities” was presented by Laurie VanderPloeg, OSEP Director, along with representatives from NASDSE, CASE, and the CCCSO. It is a review of the OSEP Q & A Document, including IDEA, Part C, and Section 504 students, and also contains a general question and answer section. The recording of the webinar is available in the link.
• The ADE provided information on “School Closures: Clarification and Guidance,” today. This information is also available on the ADE COVID 19 webpage and concretely outlines which schools and programs are and are not closed, per the Governor’s declaration. It also provides some general information about school closure.

Additionally, ADE/ESS is in the process of developing a COVID-19 ESS subpage that will be linked to the overall ADE COVID-19 page. It will contain special education-specific information, as well as an evolving Q & A document based on questions that are submitted to ADE and ESS. Please be patient as ESS receives questions, processes information, seeks guidance, and provides answers. This is a quickly-changing landscape of information and resources, and ESS is working closely with OSEP, national technical assistance groups, and state leadership to get the most accurate information to you.

Any questions can be sent to the [email protected]. Thank you all for your work during this time.

Special Education Directors,

In acknowledgement of the existing school closure, ADE and SEAA have decided to cancel the SEAA and Talk with ADE meetings originally scheduled for Friday, March 27, 2020. If these meetings are rescheduled, ADE will communicate the new date via the Special Education Director list serv.

The next regularly scheduled Talk with ADE meeting will be held on June 12, 2020.

ADE/ESS is pleased to announce that the State Board of Education has approved the new Mild/Moderate and Moderate/Severe Disabilities endorsements. The endorsements were developed with input from the ADE Certification Unit, Exceptional Student Services, superintendents, human resources directors, and special education directors in order to provide an additional pathway for certified and experienced general education teachers to teach special education.

Certified teachers may apply for either a provisional or a full endorsement in mild/moderate or moderate/severe disabilities special education. The provisional endorsement is valid for three years and is nonrenewable.

The requirements for the provisional special education endorsements are:

• A valid Arizona Standard Professional Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Grades, Secondary, or Special Education teaching certificate; and
• Verification of three years of full-time teaching experience in preschool through grade twelve; and
• Six semester hours of specified special education courses; and
• Verification of 15 clock hours of special education practicum, which may be embedded in the six semester hours of courses.

The requirements for the full special education endorsements are:

• A valid Arizona Standard Professional Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Grades, Secondary, or Special Education teaching certificate; and
• Verification of three years of full-time teaching experience in preschool through grade twelve; and
• Fifteen (15) semester hours of specified special education courses; and
• Verification of 45 clock hours of special education practicum, which may be embedded in the 15 semester hours of courses.

FAQs

Why were the Mild/Moderate and Moderate/Severe Disabilities endorsements adopted?

Under previous State Board rules, certified general education teachers were required to enroll in an alternative teacher preparation program in order to transition into a special education classroom. The additional costs and repetitious training involved in completing the additional program presented a barrier to certified general education teachers seeking a credential to teach special education. The new endorsements remove this barrier by allowing certified and experienced teachers to qualify to teach special education by completing targeted coursework needed to be in a special education classroom.

Will the new special education endorsements replace the Alternative or Standard Professional certificate in Mild/Moderate or Moderate/Severe Disabilities?

No. The new endorsements are an additional option to become certified in special education. Candidates may also apply for the Alternative or Standard Professional special education certificates.

I only have one year of teaching experience. Can I qualify for the new special education endorsements?

No. You must have three years of full-time teaching experience in PreK-12 to qualify for the endorsements. However, you may enroll in an alternative teacher preparation program to qualify for the Alternative Teaching certificate in special education. For further information, please download the Application for the Alternative Teaching Certificate.

Where can I find further information on how to qualify for the endorsement?

You may download the requirements for the new endorsements at the ADE Educator Certification web page.

Please email ADE/Certification with questions or contact them by phone at 602-542-4367.

SEAA MEETING and TALK WITH ADE March 27, 2020 SEAA Meeting, 8:30 AM – 9:20 AM Talk with ADE, 9:20 AM – 11:00 AM

There are two ways to attend the SEAA Meeting and the Talk with ADE: you can attend in person or join via webinar.

If you will attend the meeting in person: Email Bekah Arrowsmith by COB on March 25, 2020. (hard deadline)

The physical meeting location: Arizona Department of Education 1535 W Jefferson St Phoenix, AZ 85007 Room 311 Parking information

Space is limited to 40. If you do not RSVP and the room is at capacity, you can be asked to leave by order of the fire marshal.

If you will join the meetings via webinar: The meetings also will be available by Zoom, which allows for remote participation using your computer, telephone, or computer and telephone. There is also a very good Zoom app for your smart phone. The information to participate remotely is below. There is no need to register for webinar participation.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 459 650 473

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Talk with ADE topics are still being developed. For questions, please email Bekah Arrowsmith.