DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT 

Special Education Data Updates Webinar Wednesday, November 16th 

 The Exceptional Student Services Data Management team will be hosting the next Special Education Data Updates live webinar on Wednesday, November 16th from 2pm – 3pm. This session will cover a variety of data topics that will include (subject to change):   

• Reminders 
  • October 1 Data Collection Phase I due date
  • FY23 Important Dates Document
• Trending topics 
  • Calculating LRE and LRE Flowcharts
  • Integrity Rules mid-year introductions and type updates
  • Foundation for Blind Children: Private Day vs Voucher students
• Topics Not in Scope
  • Homebound
• Top 3 Integrity Errors 
• Q&A    

Registration is required to attend: Register for Special Education Data Updates webinar.   

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

Special Education Directors,

The ADE/ESS Assistive Technology (AT) team is excited to announce our next 2022–23 national presenter: Therese Willkomm, PhD. Dr. Willkomm’s workshop is designed for special educators and related service providers.

Making AT for Educational Success: A “Hands On” Make and Take Workshop

Date: Thursday, December 8, 2022

Time: 8:00 a.m.−3:30 p.m.

Fee: $26 (breakfast and lunch included)

Where: Roosevelt School District Wellness Center

Address: 1030 E Baseline Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85042

About Therese Willkomm

Dr. Therese Willkomm, PhD, is the Director of New Hampshire's State Assistive Technology Program with the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). Dr. Willkomm is a clinical associate professor emeritus in the Department of Occupational Therapy. She developed, coordinated, and taught the assistive technology courses for the Graduate Certificate Program in Assistive Technology for 23 years. She is known nationally and internationally for her innovative strategies for creating solutions in minutes. She has designed and fabricated over two thousand solutions for individuals with disabilities. She has presented her work in forty-two states, ten foreign countries, and three U.S. Territories and has authored over twenty publications, including her recent book, Assistive Technology Solutions in Minutes Book 3: "Make Stuff and Love People."

Workshop Description:

This workshop will explore hundreds of assistive technology solutions that can be made in minutes using everyday tools and materials. Each participant will make ten different multi-use assistive technology solutions, including solutions for reading, writing, communicating, vision, physical access limitations, life skills, self-regulation, and tabletop mounting/stabilizing solutions. Attendees will receive a copy of Dr. Willkomm's latest book, Assistive Technology Solutions in Minutes Book 3: "Make Stuff and Love People."

Register for “Making AT for Educational Success: A “Hands On” Make and Take Workshop.”

If you have questions regarding this training, please email our AT inbox.

The ADE/ESS Early Childhood Special Education unit will host the 2023 Summit for Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education in partnership with Arizona’s Early Intervention Program on March 2–3, 2023. The Summit is a virtual event and will offer presentations for teachers, direct and related services providers, administrators, and families of children with disabilities on best practices for working with young children with disabilities.

This year’s theme is Keeping the EC in the Ecosystem: Partnering for Improvement, and our keynote speakers will focus on themes of supporting all children, inclusion, ensuring access to high-quality programming, and building collaborative systems to address program needs.

Discounts to attend are available for families of children with disabilities and students enrolled in community college or university education programs.

Register for the Summit

Email us with any questions

In accordance with A.R.S. §15-905(E), the FY 2023 BUDG-25 Budget Verification Letters are now published. Letters are based on the most recent BUDG-25 Budget Verification reports, which have been calculated using the September BSA 55-1 information.  These letters contain the official notification if a FY 2023 December revision is required as of the date of the letter.

• District BUDG-25 Budget Verification Letters are available to download from the School Finance website:
  • First, select a school district and then click “Go!”
  • Next, click “Switch to Budgets” from the top right corner of the menu bar and then click “Reports” from the middle of the menu bar.
  • Finally, select fiscal year 2023 and then click “Go!”. The BUDG-25 Budget Verification Letter will appear.

• District BSA 55-1 reports are available to download from the School Finance website:
  • First, select a school district and then click “View Reports”
  • Next, scroll down the page to the “School District Reports” section.
  • Finally, click the September “PDF” button. The September BSA 55-1 report will appear.

The budget verification letters are addressed to the district's governing board in care of the district superintendent. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the district to inform the district's governing board members accordingly. 

Reminder: the district's budgeted FY 2023 K3 Reading amount is added to the district's BSL and RCL until the district is approved for the K3 Reading support level weight by the State Board, or December 15th, whichever occurs first.

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

Thank you!

The FY2023 Early Literacy Payment has been distributed November 4, 2022. A list of payments by LEA can be seen in the file linked below; Districts are listed by county and Charters are listed alphabetically. For questions about the payment amounts, please contact [email protected]. For all other questions please contact [email protected].

FY2023 Early Literacy Payment Amounts

Thank you!

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT 

Weekend closure of Exceptional Student Services Portal and Applications

Please be aware that all ESS Applications will be unavailable on Saturday, November 5, 2022. The applications will be back up and running no later than Monday, November 7, 2022. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

The Exceptional Student Services IT team will be updating the Exceptional Student Services Portal and ESS Applications over the weekend.  During this update, all ESS Applications, Online Forms, and ESS Portal will be unavailable in ADEConnect and links will be deactivated on ESS websites.

No deadline extensions for ESS data collections are offered due to this weekend closure.

For any questions regarding this interruption in service, please feel free to contact [email protected].

BUDG-75 reports for all school districts have been posted to the School Finance website.

BUDG-75 reports for all school districts have been posted to the School Finance website.  FY 2022 BUDG-75 reports have been calculated using the FY 2022 BSA55-1 SRC information.  As a reminder, districts automatically receive a budget balance carryforward adjustment for any under-budgeted RCL in M&O due to the FY 2022 statewide recalculation.

• District BUDG-75 reports are available to download from the School Finance website:
  • First, select a school district and then click “Go!”
  • Next, click “Switch to Budgets” from the top right corner of the menu bar and then click “Reports” from the middle of the menu bar.
  • Finally, select fiscal year 2022 and then click “Go!”. The BUDG-75 report will appear.

• District BSA 55-1 reports are available to download from the School Finance website:
  • First, select school district and then click “View Reports”
  • Next, scroll down the page to the “School District Reports” section.
  • Finally, click the FY22 SRC “PDF” button. The FY 2022 BSA55-1 SRC report will appear.

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

Thank you!

Special Education Directors,

Are you looking for Speech-Language Pathologists or Speech-Language Pathology Assistants?

From November 17–19, 2022, ADE/ESS will staff a recruitment booth on behalf of all public education agencies in Arizona at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (AHSA) annual national convention. Over 20,000 SLPs and graduate students attend ASHA’s convention each year.

If your PEA would like ESS to promote your speech opening(s) at ASHA, please post them on the ADE job board as soon as possible. Our recruiting materials will direct candidates to information about becoming licensed and certified to practice in Arizona and to the Arizona Education Employment Board.

Post your vacancies today!

For more information, please email the ESS Recruitment and Retention Inbox.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT   

FY 2023 October 1 Data Collection Phase I Verification due 11/16 by 5pm

This is a reminder that the October 1 Data Collection (ODC) Phase I verification count is due Wednesday, November 16, 2022, by 5pm. This phase includes the submission of your Public Education Agency (PEA) Special Education (SPED) student count and personnel Full-Time Equivalency (FTE) data. 

All PEAs are required to verify the aggregate count of students receiving SPED services over October 1, including zero counts. This is an internal count using your student information systems and student rosters; AzEDS reports should not be used to gather Phase I Verification Count.

More information and training videos are available on the ESS October 1 Data Collection website.

Please refer to the Important Dates document on the ODC timeline for a complete outline of deadline requirements for this data collection, and contact [email protected] with any questions.

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 public education agencies in Arizona.

The survey is open now and will close on January 31, 2023. Please see this 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 Attrition Survey.