Governor Doug Ducey and the Superintendent of Public Instruction have announced the closure of all schools from Monday, March 16, 2020 through Friday, March 27, 2020. Please review their Open Letter to Arizona Families, Educators, School Leaders and Education Community Members at https://azgovernor.gov/governor/blog/2020/03/open-letter-arizona-families-educators-school-leaders-and-education-community. School Finance will offer a special webinar to provide current information needed by District and Charter Data Coordinators related to the closure of schools. Please look for an announcement with the date and time of this upcoming webinar. We are making every effort to prevent interruptions to school funding and appreciate your assistance as we adapt to the current situation.

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

One tap mobile +16699006833,,459650473# US (San Jose) +19294362866,,459650473# US (New York)

Dial by your location +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 929 436 2866 US (New York) Meeting ID: 459 650 473 Find your local number

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

Public Notice Regarding Application for Federal Funds under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA)

The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is applying for federal funding under IDEA 2004 for the period of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. The eligibility document serves as the basis for the operation and administration of activities to carry out the requirements of Part B of the IDEA. In accordance with 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.165 and 441 (b)(7), the federal regulations that implement the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) ((20 U.S.C. §1232d(b)(7)(B)), this application is posted for public participation and comment.

The Application document sets forth policies and procedures that Arizona will undertake: 1) to ensure that all eligible children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that includes special education and related services to meet their unique needs; 2) to ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and their parents are protected; 3) to assist public education agencies in providing for the education of all children with disabilities; and 4) to assess and ensure the effectiveness of efforts to educate those children.

The IDEA Part B State Application and Interactive Spreadsheet are available to parents, educators, and members of the general public for review and comment starting March 3, 2020 through May 2, 2020 at the Arizona Department of Education, Exceptional Student Services, 3300 N. Central Avenue, 24th floor, Phoenix, Arizona 85012, or on the ADE website.

Public comment for the 2020-2021 Proposed IDEA Part B State Application will be taken for 30 days starting March 3 through April 2, 2020. Comments may be submitted in writing to:

Alissa Trollinger Deputy Associate Superintendent Exceptional Student Services Arizona Department of Education 1535 West Jefferson Street, Bin #24 Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Additionally, you may comment via email between March 3 and April 2.

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.