Special Education Directors,

Beginning in the fiscal year 2021, the Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) will no longer be reporting student-level data through Arizona Education Data Standards (AzEDS)  and a variety of other applications. The reporting responsibility for the students on an institutional voucher will fall back on the originating district of residence (DOR) or the public education agency (PEA) responsible for implementing the individualized education program of the child. This should align with the home school district (HSD) that has approved the institutional voucher with ASDB. This shift in data reporting responsibility does not change how the ESS voucher process works. Please see this memo for additional guidance.

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

School District Special Education Directors,

Many questions have been received by Exceptional Student Services (ESS) regarding whether unused proportionate share funds can be reverted to other activities under the IDEA entitlement grant after a period of time. ESS has finally received feedback regarding how these funds can be flexible considering time frame and specific criteria. Although detailed requirements are still in development and should be disseminated in April 2020, this memo provides an overview of proportionate share flexibility.

For further questions, please contact ESS Program Management at [email protected].

Special Education Directors,

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), each state is required to collect the number of removals for students on an individualized education program (IEP). This information is required to submit to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and is also used in significant disproportionality testing. Exceptional Student Services (ESS) meets these requirements through the ESS Annual Data Collection process and the use of software for discipline data collection. This application was updated to the ESS Discipline Data Collection (DDC) tool when it was upgraded to new software platforms and integrated with other systems throughout the agency’s infrastructure. Based upon feedback from the field, ESS is working to finalize development on two bulk upload options for discipline data for students with disabilities. Further information can be found in this memo.

For any questions, please contact ESS Data Management 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 district and charter schools in Arizona.

The survey is now open and will close on May 8, 2020. Please see this letter for further details. Answers to frequently asked questions regarding the survey can be located at http://bit.ly/teacherattritionsurvey. For additional questions, please contact [email protected].

Thank you for completing the Teacher Attrition Survey.

Teaching Reading Effectively (TRE) Training for Administrators

 A new Teaching Reading Effectively (TRE) training is being offered for elementary school and district administrators (special education directors, principals, assistant principals, and superintendents). Teaching Reading Effectively (TRE) guides participants through current reading research and evidence-based practices that are necessary to develop a student’s early literacy skills and the elements of an effective literacy assessment system in order to improve K-3 reading instruction.

The entire five-day training is only $60.00.

The course will convene from 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on each the following days.

• February 29
• March 21
• March 28
• April 4
• April 18

Training will be held at the Arizona Department of Education, 3300 N. Central Ave, Phoenix AZ, 85012.

For more information and to register, please follow this link.

Special Education Directors,

Arizona has a unique opportunity to host a national hybrid conference: the Winter Hybrid Conference hosted by AZ CASE. The conference is coming up at the end of this month, February 26-27, 2020 at Black Canyon Conference Center. Participants can attend on-site or virtually, and registration is still open. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from special education experts from across the state!

For information, please visit the following link: https://www.casecec.org/case-hybrid-conference.

Special Education Directors,

Please see below for important information from ADE/Assessment that was also presented at the Talk with ADE last week:

EL and Special Education

The following resources were developed as a result of changes made at the state level regarding the removal of the “Sped Withdrawal” option. The PowerPoint provides information relating to the change in guidance as well as the process for stakeholder involvement in developing the following resources. These resources were developed to support schools and teams with Dual Labeled students (students that are English Learners and have a disability).

Resources List:

EL and Special Education FAQ- Frequently Asked Questions regarding ELs and Students with Disabilities

EL and Special Education Flowchart- Participation in AZELLA with Accommodations and Supports

EL Outcomes for all English Learners Flowchart-Demonstrates the same outcomes for all students

EL Toolkit- Checklist for IEP teams considering Dual Labeled students developed by the U.S. Department of Education and the Office of English Language Acquisition Services

These resources can be located on the Assessment Main page under EL and Spec. Ed. Taskforce Tab: http://www.azed.gov/assessment/taskforce/.

ACT and Parent Consent

ADE/Assessment has been in communication with ACT Assessment personnel regarding the Parent Consent document for Accommodations. This document was created for LEAs, if the district felt they needed additional documentation.  It is not required to be submitted when submitting request for accommodations for ACT. The IEP serves as the documentation to request accommodations.

Please direct questions about these topics to [email protected].

It has been almost one year since the last major update of the Graduation AZ-TAS (Arizona Technical Assistance and Support) document. Since that time, ADE/ESS has sought feedback about the document in person, via phone, via survey, and electronically. With feedback from internal and external special education stakeholders, the Graduation AZ-TAS has been revised and the final version is now available.

The Graduation AZ-TAS document can be found on the ESS website.

The completion of the AZ-TAS Graduation document does not end technical assistance and guidance. Among the needs that ADE/ESS has heard during the feedback process, the ESS/Secondary Transition unit will be working on companion documents for school personnel and families to provide guiding questions that help schools and families explore and plan for graduation decisions. ESS will also work with Raising Special Kids to develop a parent-friendly version of the Graduation AZ-TAS document.

Many thanks to all those who provided feedback and engaged in meaningful dialogue about this guidance document. To ask questions or leave comments, please email Exceptional Student Services.

Special Education Directors:

Are your students with disabilities meeting the math requirements for middle and high school? Do they have the skills to meet and successfully complete the standards in Algebra One? Are there structures in place for special education and general education teachers to collaborate effectively to meet the needs of students with disabilities?  

Count Me In: Hands on Algebra is a two-day professional learning opportunity that will focus on inclusive practices for teaching mathematics for middle and high school students with learning disabilities. Teachers will walk away with a conceptual understanding of the progressions within algebraic reasoning and thinking and learn collaboration strategies that will support all students in meeting the High School Algebra standards.

We strongly encourage school teams of special education and general education teachers who teach mathematics in Grade 6 through High School Algebra to register. Participants will be required to attend BOTH in-person training days and a follow up one-hour coaching session.

Prescott—May 4 and 5, 2020: http://bit.ly/AlgebraPrescott

Show Low—June 18 and 19, 2020: http://bit.ly/AlgebraShowLow

Please see the attached flyer for further details. Additional trainings in Tucson and Phoenix will be offered in Fall 2020.

Questions about registration may be directed to [email protected].  Questions about the training may be directed to [email protected] or [email protected].

Join our ESS Math Listserv to stay informed of upcoming professional learning opportunities! bit.ly/essmathlist

Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS is opening up the IDEA High-Cost Funding application for claims for the 2019-2020 school year on January 27, 2020. All applications will be reviewed and processed to determine if they meet the minimum requirements for any high-cost claim. Details about the criteria used for review are in this notification.

For any questions or concerns, please email ESS Program Management.