Special Education Directors,

Please review the October update from the ESS Program Management team and forward to your Business Manager. Thank you!

Completion Reports

The completion reports (CR) for FY20 IDEA Consolidated – Entitlement grants have been rolling in steadily since 7/1/2020. The official due date for these completion reports is 12/30/2020. Remember, this means the CR must be approved by your County Business Manager (if necessary) by that date. If you have questions about how to fill out sections of the CR, please contact your Program Management specialist.

Reimbursement requests

We have entered the fourth month of the FY21 project period. Our goal this year is to have public education agencies (PEAs) submit reimbursement requests more frequently. Reimbursement requests can be submitted for all grants that have been approved by the SEA Director.

Full allocation to FY21 IDEA Basic and IDEA Preschool grants

Program Management will place comments in the History Log of your application to notify you of the upcoming allocation adjustment as your full award is deposited into the GME. If your funding application is currently in an SEA Director Approved status, it will be placed into a revision status. If it is in any other status, you will need to initiate a revision. If your PEA has obligations for Proportionate Share or Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS), you will note that those obligations have increased due to the full award.

Annual Financial Reports due to School Finance

The FY2020 Annual Financial Reports (AFR) are due to School Finance on October 15. Please remember the IDEA Maintenance of Effort Compliance test is based on the value your PEA reports on Page 8 of the AFR. To review information about the Maintenance of Effort test, please visit the ESS Operations website. View your PEA’s MOE comparison year data by logging into the Maintenance of Effort application through the ESS Portal of ADE Connect.

Upcoming Webinars

Program Management will launch a webinar series on the second Tuesday of each month from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

November 10 – Proportionate Share Calculations and the October Data Collection

December 8 – FY 2021 High-Cost Child Applications

January 19, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. – Allowable Costs Under the IDEA Please note the change of date.

February 9 – FY2022 IDEA Consolidated – Entitlement funding application

March 9 – Maintenance of Effort Compliance

Help us plan for upcoming webinars, modules, and videos by filling out this training survey.

The ESS Program Management team is here to help you. Please email Program Management or contact your specialist directly: Alice Nunes, Tanya Rodriguez, or Candice Trainor. Sign up for the ESS Program Management listserv.

Special Education Directors,

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

Algebra Tiles Part 2: Exploration of Algebra Tiles in Solving Linear and Quadratic Equations

October 20 from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Register in advance for Algebra Tiles Part 2.

In this webinar, we will explore the use of virtual algebra tiles to solve linear equations, multiply binomials, factor quadratics, and divide quadratics.

Attendance for Part 1 is not required to attend Part 2. A computer or tablet with the ability to access Google slides is not required but is strongly recommended to enable full participation in the session. Participants can earn 1.5 hours of professional development credit for the session.

October 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.

Grades 7–12

Monday, October 26 from 3:30–4:30 p.m. with Q & A from 4:30–5:00 p.m.

Register in advance for the Grades 7–12 meeting.

Grades K–6

Tuesday, October 27 from 3:30–4:30 p.m. with Q & A from 4:30–5:00 p.m. 

Register in advance for the Grades K–6 meeting.

Note: Accommodations must be requested at least one week in advance of the webinars.

Please contact Eboney McKinney or contact Jenifer Hutchinson with any questions.

Hello Educators,

With the start of the 2020–2021 school year, obstacles and unique barriers may be faced by staff working with transition-aged youths. The ADE/ESS Secondary Transition Team would like to invite you to tune into the Transition Tuesdays series. These sessions are intended to share information and strategies that will support the transition planning process throughout the pandemic and beyond.

Details for the upcoming Transition Tuesdays session:

Office Hours

October 20, 2020 at 2:30 p.m.

Do you have questions about Secondary Transition? Join us this fall for one of our virtual office hours. These one-hour informal meetings are opportunities to discuss transition planning topics and brainstorm strategies with Secondary Transition Specialists and other AZ educators.

Registration is required for all Transition Tuesday sessions.

Please view this flyer for upcoming Transition Tuesday sessions with updated details.

Email the Secondary Transition Team with any questions.

We look forward to seeing you there!

For the 2020 School (Site) Level AFRs to process into the system the following modifications need to be made to the file before uploading it:

 /sites/default/files/2020/10/InstructionsSiteLevelAFR_Upload.pdf

Thank you

Special Education Directors,

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is the federal agency that leads service and volunteering in the United States, helping millions of Americans improve their lives and the lives of their fellow citizens through service.

Schools, districts, public charters, non-profit organizations, colleges, universities, and other institutions are eligible to apply to bring AmeriCorps members to their sites. AmeriCorps provides funding for members who work under the supervision, guidance, and support of the eligible organization.

AmeriCorps State and National Grants provide support and/or facilitate access to services and resources that

• contribute to improved educational outcomes for economically disadvantaged children;

• improve school readiness for economically disadvantaged children;

• improve educational and behavioral outcomes of students in low-achieving elementary, middle, and high schools;

• and/or support economically disadvantaged students’ preparation for success in post-secondary educational institutions.

The AmeriCorps State and National Grants FY 2021 application is now open, and Arizona applications are due via eGrants by November 6, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. The Governor’s Office will review your submission and provide feedback to you for an ultimate deadline of late December. For more information, contact Randy George, AmeriCorps Training Administrator, or Emily Litchfield, AmeriCorps Director, Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith and Family.

For more information on funded AmeriCorps education programs, visit the AmeriCorps Evidence Brief – Effective Education Programs.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT   

FY 2021 October 1 Data Collection Application is now OPEN

We are pleased to announce that the October 1 Data Collection (ODC) application is accessible for the submission of the Verification Count and Personnel data.

This data along with the required electronic signature are due November 18, 2020 for Phase I of the October 1 Data Collection. Please refer to the Important Dates document for more detail on the timeline of the ODC.  More information on performing the ODC is available on our Data Management website.

Thank you for your patience.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT   

FY 2021 October 1 Data Collection – Phase I opening delayed

Due to unforeseen technical issues with the October 1 Data Collection (ODC) application, the opening of the application will be tentatively delayed to October 5, 2020 or later if necessary. The Important Dates document will be updated accordingly. ODC users are encouraged to refer to this document for updates.

A follow-up alert will be sent via our Listserv to announce the status of the ODC application.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

The October 2021 BUDG25 Reports have been posted and will be the basis for the notification of the need to complete a December Revision (AKA BUDG25 Letters) which will be sent out later this month.  If you have any concerns about the October 2021 BUDG25, please email the SF Budget Team at [email protected] by October 16, 2020.
 

OCTOBER 2021 BUDG 25 Notes:

• RCL(BSL) is Based on the October 1st APOR
• Based current year enrollment, with the exception of two districts that will be notified separately
• Reminder: District Budgeted K3 Reading amounts will be added to the RCL until the District is approved for the support level weight by the State Board, or 12/15, whichever comes first.
• Budget Balance Carry Forward (BBCF)s are based on the district’s budget amount and may vary with the ADE’s calculated BBCFs in November after the 2020 BUDG75 reports are published

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT 

FY21 Important Dates Posted

The Fiscal Year 2021 Important Dates document is now available. This document outlines all important due dates for the two data collections overseen by ESS Data Management:

• ESS October 1 Data Collection
• ESS Annual Data Collection

The FY21 Important Dates document is available on the ESS Data Management homepage.

Please note these dates are subject to change. Keep the link to the document for the most current version, and we encourage SPED staff sign up for our Data Management Listserv for important announcements.

If you have any questions, please direct them to [email protected]

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT   

FY 2021 October 1 Data Collection

Public education agencies (PEAs) are required to verify the count of students participating in special education (SPED) on October 1, 2020. Verification will be completed via 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 and Personnel

Phase II: Reconciliation

Phase III: Non-Reconciliation (if applicable)

To review the complete October 1 Data Collection timeline, please see the ESS Data Management FY 2021 Important Dates document that will be updated on the ESS Data Management website on October 1, 2020.

Phase I: Verification

The ESS October 1 Data Collection application will open on Friday, October 2, 2020. PEAs must log in to the application to submit the October 1 verification counts and personnel data. All technical assistance documents and FAQs will be available by accessing the “Help tab” on the home page of the ESS October 1 Data Collection application. Some of these documents will also be available on the ESS Data Management website in the October 1 Data Collection page.

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

October 1 falls on a Thursday 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.

Training Videos

To access ESS Data Management training videos, go to this Training Videos webpage. This year’s training will consist of videos on various topics related to the October 1 Data Collection phases:

• Overview
• Phase I
  • How to Count Your Students
  • Parentally Private School Student Reporting
  • Personnel
• Phase II
  • Reconciliation Steps
  • Case Study
• Phase III
  • Non-Reconciliation Requirements

As each training video is posted, an alert will be sent via the ESS Data Management listserv. To join the listserv to receive these and other alerts, click here.

For questions regarding October 1 Data Collection requirements, email ESS Data Management.