DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT  

FY26 Statement of Assurances, required for all Public Education Agencies, opens April 2, 2025 

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the representative body for Special Education for Arizona, Exceptional Student Services (ESS), is required to annually obtain assurances from Public Education Agencies (PEAs) attesting that they are meeting the requirements under state and federal statutes. This requirement is completed via the Statement of Assurances application. 

Completing the annual Statement of Assurances is a requirement for all entities defined as a PEA, regardless of whether they get federal funds. Non-Public Organizations (NPOs) are exempt from this requirement.  

All PEAs must submit the FY26 Statement of Assurances (SOA) through the ESS Portal, accessed via ADEConnect.  

The application will open on April 2, 2025, and close for submissions on June 11, 2025. 

The SOA must be submitted by your Superintendent, Charter Holder, or Special Education Director before FY26 IDEA funding applications are approved in the Grants Management Enterprise system. 

• The PEA’s entity administrator must assign the role of ESS Special Education: Signer in ADEConnect to the individual who will review, sign, and submit the SOA. 

• PEAs that do not apply for IDEA funds are still required to submit the SOA. 

Once the role is assigned, please log in to ADEConnect, navigate to the Exceptional Student Services portal, and select the Statement of Assurances link under Surveys & Assurances:

The survey code will auto-populate for your PEA. Please select the “Yes” checkbox for each page to indicate your assurances for the requirements. 

Upon completion, the SOA can be printed for your records. If your PEA wants to ensure that the SOA was submitted, re-accessing the SOA will display the “Thank you for submitting” page. 

Please direct any questions to the ESS Data Management inbox. 

For immediate release: March 5, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
 

Huge gains made in academic scores at inner-city school used as ADE lab

Horne touts leadership efforts tied to math and reading gains

PHOENIX – A program championed by state schools chief Tom Horne to train teachers and use collaborative leadership efforts to raise student achievement showed remarkable gains in academic scores at the Wilson Elementary School near downtown Phoenix.

The ADE-Wilson Partnership Project involved 5th grade classes for the entire 2023-24 school year. Educator and leadership coaches from the Arizona Department of Education worked with teachers and district personnel to implement rigorous classroom instruction and management techniques. The results show that students’ reading scores reading grew by six percent and math scores shot up 25 percent.

Horne said, “The results of this partnership are outstanding and prove that students in low-income areas are just as capable of academic excellence as students in wealthy communities. Family income has no bearing on academic ability.”

He added, “There was an impressive 25 percent gain in math scores. This demonstrates that using effective coaching and training methods rewards students with academic success. Every time my department has worked in partnership with schools to improve academics, we have seen gains. That is true for this partnership just as it is true for Project Momentum, school improvement teams and tutoring programs. I want to commend the teachers, staff and leadership at the Wilson school and the district for their excellent performance. The students were challenged to work very hard, and they deserve praise for their achievements.”

The partnership concentrating on the 5th grade cohort began in June of 2023 and lasted through September of 2024. It also included mentoring from ADE professional learning specialists in between sessions. Since then, the entire school has transitioned to Project Momentum, a department-led program that uses the same techniques to increase academic achievement.

The success of the Wilson project also led to the department creating low-cost training academies for teachers, leaders, and instructional coaches. Training for any public school statewide is available through the department.

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The ADE/ESS Assistive Technology (AT) Team is pleased to announce the final installation of our 2024–2025 AT National Presenter series, Meaningful Activities to Increase Participation, Access & Communication for Students with Complex Bodies and Communication Needs, with Julie Marzano, M.S., OTR/L and Emily McCarthy, M.S., CCC-SLP. This presentation is intended for special education administrators, special education teachers, general education teachers, related service providers, and assistive technology specialists.

Date/Time:                  Tuesday, May 6, 2025 - 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM (Seats are limited; register now!) Please bring your own device

Fee:                                $25

Where:                          Gilbert Community Education Center

Address:                       6839 E. Guadalupe Rd., Mesa, AZ 85212

Julie Marzano, M.S., OTR/L, is a nationally certified occupational therapist who works and resides outside of Philadelphia, PA, with her husband and three children. She has over 20 years of experience working in the public school system and currently works at an approved private school serving students aged 3-21 with MANY abilities. Julie loves her job and enjoys the creative aspect of “thinking outside the box” to develop solutions from an OT perspective.

Emily McCarthy, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a nationally certified and licensed speech-language pathologist. She worked in the public school setting for 12 years before transitioning to early intervention. Emily now works with the birth-to-three population in Pennsylvania. Emily lives with her husband and three children just a few streets away from Julie in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA. 

Julie and Emily are co-creators of Fine Motor Boot Camp and Tooth Camp.

Workshop Description:

Only 2% of students with IEPs in the United States are classified as having multiple disabilities. This population is often underserved in our community. Individuals who work with children with multiple disabilities sometimes struggle to find new and exciting ways to meet the needs of these students. Let’s “think outside the box” and focus on what our students can do! Learn how to use a strengths-based approach to guide active and meaningful participation for our students with multiple disabilities and complex needs in the areas of literacy, math, vocation, and recreation/leisure. Attend and leave re-energized, creative, and equipped with cost-effective activities that can be easily implemented the next day.

Objectives:

• Understand and apply a strength-based approach, including the concepts of “presuming competence” and “presuming potential” for students with multiple and complex needs.
• Gain knowledge of basic language development and modes of communication.
• Define and differentiate between core and fringe vocabulary.
• Define “active participation” for students with complex needs.
• Develop skills to differentiate curriculum and activities to enhance active participation for students with multiple and complex needs.
• Define and understand “active communication responses.”
• Gain knowledge of assessments for communication, including switch, touchscreen, and eye-gaze access methods.
• Increase active participation and access to education for students with complex needs.
• Learn strategies for using switches to increase participation in activities of daily living (ADLs), group activities, math, English Language Arts (ELA), vocational tasks, and recreation/leisure activities.
• Explore Speech Generating Device mounting options and hacks.

Register for Meaningful Activities to Increase Participation, Access & Communication for Students with Complex Bodies and Communication Needs

If you have questions about this training, please email [email protected].

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 spring 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: Trello- How to Streamline Your Day and Reclaim Your Time

Presenters:     Rui Hernandez, M.S., CCC-SLP

Date:               Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Time:               11:30 AM-12:00 PM

Description: Overwhelmed with your never-ending to-do list? Come learn about Trello, a free, visual task management tool, and how it can help streamline your day. This webinar is specifically designed for educators and will explore practical applications like lesson planning, IEP tracking, parent communication, and resource management. Learn to create boards, lists, and cards to organize everything from daily tasks to long-term projects. Discover time-saving tips and tricks to boost productivity and reclaim your time. Walk away with actionable strategies to implement Trello immediately and conquer your daily chaos. Perfect for beginners, this webinar will empower you to work smarter, not harder!

Registration has closed. 

If you have questions regarding this professional development opportunity, please email [email protected]

Revised 1.23.2026

On October 21, 2024, the Arizona State Board of Education (SBE) approved a board rule change that impacts Individualized Education Program (IEP) requirements, specifically secondary transition services. See this memo for more information about the secondary transition services rule change. In response, the ADE/ESS Program Support & Monitoring (PSM) unit and the Secondary Transition team are collaborating to provide an in-person professional development opportunity to gain clarity on the rule change and how to apply effective practices for stronger transition plans.  

Attendees will receive an overview of secondary transition planning requirements, implications for the 2024 Arizona State Board of Education rule changes, and effective practices. These trainings are geared towards school administrators, teachers, and other staff integral to transition planning and service delivery.

Register to reserve your spot now in Phoenix or Tucson. See the attached flyer for more information.

 If you have questions about this training, please email Veronica Reza.  

For immediate release: March 4, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne statement on Primavera Online School charter being revoked

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne issued the following statement after the State Board for Charter Schools served a notice of intent to revoke the charter for American Virtual Academy, which does business as Primavera Online School.

Horne stated, “My first priority for all public schools is academic success. It is important that charters and district schools alike are held accountable for the quality of education they provide. The Board’s action demonstrates that these are not just words, but actions. Primavera is being held accountable and losing its ability to operate because of poor academic results.”

Horne is a member of the board and his designee, Wendy Miller, voted for revocation.

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DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT    

Special Education Data Updates Webinar: Wednesday, March 19, 2025  

The Exceptional Student Services Data Management team will host the next live Special Education Data Updates webinar on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm. This session will cover a variety of data topics that will include:    

• Reminders  

• Trending topics  

• Top Three Integrity Errors 

• Q&A     

     Please register by clicking this link. Registration is required to attend. If you have any questions, please email the ESS Data Management inbox.  

Do your students doubt their abilities when they experience challenges? Do they understand how to put forth effort and make progress toward their goals? Self-efficacy instruction can increase students’ belief in themselves and develop their ability to persist through learning challenges. 

The ADE/ESS, in collaboration with the University of Kansas Research Collaboration, is offering the College and Career Competencies Project, a free, one-year professional development series that includes:

• Free access to self-efficacy curricula at the primary, intermediate, and secondary levels with 25+ evidence-based instructional activities that teach 10 self-efficacy strategies.

• Virtual training across the school year to all staff, based on your professional learning calendar.
• Assessments to show student growth.
• Coaching support throughout the implementation process.

The Self-Efficacy curriculum, professional learning, and student progress measures are provided to all school staff across the school year. Training dates are established by each participating school.

The College and Career Competencies Project is accepting 7 more schools (elementary, middle, or high) for the 2025–2026 school year. Please note that funding for the project is contingent upon federal appropriations for the upcoming year.

To participate, have an administrator from your district complete the CCCs Project Interest Form, and schedule a 30-minute conference call about the project.

View our self-efficacy infographic, which includes the definition of self-efficacy and student impacts resulting from instruction.

For any questions, email Pattie Noonan.

For immediate release: February 24, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne calls for “radical efforts” to combat disastrous absenteeism problem

Independent report spotlights “extraordinary” rate

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne says the disastrous rate of chronic absences among public school students requires “radical efforts” on the part of local schools to tackle the problem.

Polices regarding absences are set at the local district and charter level and Horne is urging schools to adopt measures that call for nine unexcused absences resulting in a student failing a course and five tardies counting as an absence.

He stated, “The idea that a third of our students are missing 18 days of school or more is a real catastrophe and an emergency for our state. We need radical efforts to solve this problem. We have to create a motivation for parents to be sure their children go to school. Parents don’t want their kids to fail courses or to miss out on graduating on time, and if schools would adopt those kinds of polices, we would see the parents motivated and a radical drop in absenteeism. As a result of that we would see better academic results.”

Horne’s comments followed a presentation by the Phoenix-based Helios Foundation at the State Board of Education meeting today. Data provided by Helios shows that the rates of chronic absences skyrocketed across nearly every grade level in the 2022-23 school year compared to levels prior to the pandemic. The data show absenteeism rates for all grade levels of approximately nine percent during the 2019-20 school year compared to 30 percent from the 2022-23 school year.

He added, “90 percent of my time and energy and that of the department is geared toward students getting better academic results and raising proficiency rates. You can’t do that for kids who don’t show up in school; you can’t teach a student who is not there.”

Arizona defines chronic absence as missing 10 percent or more of the school year for any reason while enrolled at a given school. This results in 18 days missed in a typical 180-day school year assuming a student does not change schools.

A copy of the Helios report is attached.

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BUDG-25 reports for all school districts have been posted to the School Finance website.  FY 2025 February BUDG-25 reports have been calculated using the FY 2025 February BSA-55 information.

• District BUDG-25 reports are available to download from this School Finance website. For further instructions on how to navigate the website, please view this Hot Topic.

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

• District 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!