The ADE/ESS Secondary Transition Team is excited to continue our 2025-2026 Transition Tuesday webinar series! This engaging webinar series is designed to empower students, educators, and families by connecting them with community resources and experts who support the secondary transition planning process. 

We’ve curated an enriching lineup of guest speakers for the 2025–2026 series, all focused on enhancing postsecondary success for youth and young adults with disabilities. 

Mark your calendars! 
December 2, 2025, at 2:30 PM 

Title: Putting the Transition Plan Course of Study into Action 

Description: Join us for an engaging session that demystifies the process of developing a meaningful course of study. See how the transition course of study unfolds in real-world student scenarios that integrate student schedules, transition goals, and activities. Through examples and discussion, participants will explore how to individualize coursework pathways throughout high school that support each student’s future goals. 

Presenter: Heidi Sinkovic – Director of Student Services, Tempe Union High School District 

Presenter Bio: Heidi Sinkovic is the Director of Student Services for the Tempe Union High School District and has over 20 years of experience in education, including 14 years as a Special Education Director. She serves as co-chair of the Arizona Department of Education’s Special Education Advisory Panel and has expertise in special education, school improvement, and federal grant management. 

Don’t miss out! 
Join us to gain valuable insights, build connections, and strengthen your transition planning efforts. 

Please note: This Zoom session will not be recorded. Live attendance is encouraged to benefit fully from the presentation and resources. 

Please email the ADE/ESS Secondary Transition team with any questions. We look forward to your participation! 

Are you overwhelmed by professional development? Don’t have time for a 90-minute webinar? We got you! Join the ADE/ESS Assistive Technology Team for our fall series, Assistive Technology: Just One Thing (JOT). In these quick 30-minute sessions, we will highlight a single assistive technology tool or strategy that you can use to support your students.

Title:              JOT: "Building Capacity through Digital Content"

Presenter:    Matthew Press, DAD2, MHS, OTR/L, ATP

                       Peoria USD, Assistive Technology Specialist

Date:             Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Time:            11:30 AM-12:00 PM

Description: Do you serve a lot of staff and are trying to figure out efficient ways to support them all? Can't get in front of them for regular professional development (PD) and training?  Peoria Unified School District uses a number of strategic options, including weekly targeted emails, digital tutorials, and online classes. Come discover practical resources and strategies you can implement and adapt to enhance your own PD offerings and better support your colleagues—efficiently and sustainably.

Registtration has closed. 
Please note that JOTs are not recorded.

Revised 1.23.2026

Honors academic growth and excellence

PHOENIX – Six Arizona schools have been recognized as Blue Ribbon Schools by state schools superintendent Tom Horne and the Arizona Department of Education today.

The schools receiving honors are Academy of Math and Science in Peoria, Chinle Elementary School in Chinle, Tucson’s Empire High School, the Maricopa Institute of Technology in Phoenix, Saint John Bosco Catholic School of Phoenix and Tempe’s Ward Traditional Academy.

Horne said, “My primary focus as superintendent is on academic excellence, and these schools can be justifiably proud of this accomplishment because it is based on academic success. Students and educators should always work toward continuous improvement in academic achievement, and Blue Ribbon Schools demonstrate that when schools lead students into challenging themselves, they will excel academically.”

The Blue Ribbon School program is now overseen at the state level. It honors schools that have demonstrated academic excellence based on assessment scores or narrowing gaps in student performance by closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students. It has historically been open to public and private K-12 schools since 1982.

BUDG-75 reports for all school districts have been posted to the School Finance website. FY 2025 BUDG-75 reports have been calculated using the later of FY 2025 BSA55 SRC or 15-915 data.  As a reminder, districts automatically receive a budget balance carry-forward adjustment for any under-budgeted RCL in M&O due to the FY 2025 statewide recalculation.
 

• District BUDG-75 and BSA 55 reports are available to download from the School Finance website
   

Please contact the Budget Team ([email protected]) if you have any questions.

Thank you!

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

SPED07 Report Now Available 

The SPED07 report is now available within the October 1 Data Collection (ODC) application for Phase II: Reconciliation.  

The SPED07 report displays a list of students ages 3-21 identified in AzEDS as receiving special education services over the October 1 child count date as of the most recent integrity run.

The SPED07 report is updated every morning at 10:00 am.

Each PEA is expected to ensure their verification count submitted in Phase I matches the count on the SPED07 report to reconcile their SPED October 1 Count for FY26. 

Please review the steps outlined in the October 1 Data Collection Manual – Phase II to assist in the reconciliation process. There are other resources available on the ESS Data Management October 1 Data Collection Page.   

The Phase II Reconciliation process is due Wednesday, December 10, 2025, by 5:00 pm.

For questions, please email the ESS Data Management inbox. 

The Exceptional Student Services Data Management team will host the next live Special Education Data Updates webinar on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm.

What makes this webinar different is that our team has invited Monica Paz, School Finance Director of Operations Support, to join us! We are aware that many data collection topics overlap between membership and special education reporting, and we wanted to offer an opportunity for both of our teams to present to public education agencies (PEAs) on these issues and clear up any misinterpretations.

This session will cover a variety of data topics that will include:      

• ADM Funding vs. Federal Funding
• 915 Process vs. ESS Data Management Data Correction Process
• PEA Calendars and Establishing Relationships for Tuition-Out Schools
• Home Placement Reporting 

Please register by clicking this link. Registration is required to attend. Note that this webinar will be recorded if you are unable to attend.

If you have any questions, please email the ESS Data Management inbox.  

More than 1,000 have quit since July – 4,000 vacancies filled temporarily

 PHOENIX – State schools superintendent Tom Horne says a new Arizona Department of Education survey of public schools shows the teacher shortage remains in a catastrophic state. More than 1,000 Arizona teachers quit the profession since July of this year.  In excess of 4,000 teaching positions are vacant and being covered by long-term substitutes or other part-time methods, with almost 1,400 completely unfilled.

Horne said, “This is an intolerable situation and must be addressed immediately. Teachers have been underpaid for years, and they have also been discouraged by a lack of administrative support for classroom discipline. I have consistently advocated higher teacher pay, and when I give my annual state of education speech to the legislature, I urge the passage of a bill that would require school leaders to support classroom teachers in discipline matters. I am hopeful that these will be addressed this year as the deadline approaches for the reauthorization of Proposition 123 that I hope will include money to raise teacher salaries using state land trust funds without a tax increase.”

The survey was conducted in late August to all 629 Arizona districts and charters – with 523 or 83 percent of those in the state - responding. The survey reports that 763 career teachers resigned after July 1 of this year or didn’t report to work, and 292 teachers - for a total of 1,055 - have resigned since the start of the current school year.

It also reveals that just over 4,200 teaching positions remain vacant with about 30 percent being covered by long-term substitutes, nearly 24 percent filled by existing teachers working through preparation or planning time to cover a vacant position and nearly 23 percent covered by agency temporary personnel.

Horne concluded, “This survey is disheartening because the solutions are obvious. Just about any classroom teacher can tell you what is needed to thrive as educators and lead students to academic excellence. Better pay and robust support from administrators on discipline are vital.”

ESS collects data annually through the Teacher Attrition Survey to make informed decisions about recruitment and retention efforts in Arizona. Participation in the survey is mandatory for all public education agencies in Arizona. 

  The survey opens on November 1, 2025, and will close on January 31, 2026. Please see the attached memo for further details.

Answers to frequently asked questions regarding the survey can be located online. If you have additional questions, please email the ESS Recruitment and Retention Inbox.  

  Thank you for completing the Teacher Attrtion Survey. 

You’ve been invited to an online session: Understanding Non-Fundable Intervals

Beginning FY 2026, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) implemented updates to how non-fundable intervals (NFI) are calculated in AzEDS. In this session, you will learn the criteria for an NFI, which is generated when a student has both an "absence threshold" and an "attendance block". We will also review the AzEDS Portal reports you can use to ensure data accuracy.

Who should attend:

• District and Charter Business Managers
• Attendance and Enrollment Coordinators (AzEDS Coordinators)
• Anyone involved in School Finance and student data reporting

We look forward to having you attend the event!

Register

Online session: Understanding Non Fundable Intervals

Wed, Nov 12, 2025 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

The Special Election Results Form must be emailed to the Arizona Department of Education- School Finance ([email protected]) within 15 calendar days of the election.

Thank you!