June's data capture for the June 30^th payment is 6/7/22 at 5pm.

Please ensure data is reconciled and free of integrity errors prior to data capture date. Review the following reports in AzEDS:

• INTEG15 – ensure data is free and clear of membership ADM Integrity errors
• STUD10 – validate all students are listed in AzEDS
• ADM15 – ensure all students expected to generate funding are indicated as fundable
• ADM20, SPED20, and EL20 – ensure ADM amounts for each ADM type 

The following videos provide general information related to the data reconciliation process:

• Introduction to Data Verification Reports: https://youtu.be/ou9Jst9qnsg
• Introduction to Data Verification Reports 2: https://youtu.be/_m3uEo3OGRI
• Introduction to Integrity: https://youtu.be/PYzBAEZmiSs

Prior payment reports can be found here: https://schoolfinancereports.azed.gov/.

Please submit a School Finance HelpDesk ticket if data assistance is needed.

Special Education Directors,

ESS/Program Support and Monitoring (PSM) is proud to announce the release of the SY 2022–2023 Programmatic Monitoring Guide Steps. Additionally, is the release memo indicating some of the recent updates. The guide steps are a technical assistance document created to aid PEAs in understanding the requirements specific to programmatic monitoring. Legal compliance, as it relates to a state complaint or due process, may be more extensive. Examples included are intended to provide additional clarification and understanding on how to apply a compliance lens to a student’s evaluation or IEP. These examples should not be taken directly and added to a unique student’s IEP or evaluation, because each student is unique and has his/her own set of circumstances that must be addressed through his/her individual evaluation and IEP.

ESS hopes these guide steps, and the examples, assist PEAs to review created student documents for compliance purposes and assist in the review of systemic, programmatic needs within the PEA.

For questions about the SY 2022—2023 Programmatic Monitoring Guide Steps or programmatic monitoring in general, please contact your PEA’s assigned PSM specialist.

Registration for Teach Camp is closing soon, so be sure to register your new special education teachers for Teach Camp today!

Teach Camp is a year-long support system that includes professional learning specifically designed for beginning special educators. The goal of Teach Camp is to increase the retention of special educators by providing our newest special education teachers with the tools they need to survive and thrive during their first years in the classroom.

Teach Camp is designed for special education teachers who will begin their first, second, or third year of teaching special education in the fall of 2022. Recent graduates from traditional teacher preparation programs, alternative certified teachers, and veteran general education teachers transitioning to special education are all welcome.

Teach Camp will be in person this summer! The cost is $175 per teacher and includes:

• 3-day summer “camp” to be held June 27–29, 2022 in Phoenix* (breakfast and lunch provided)
• Two 1-hour, virtual, after-school sessions, one in the fall and one in the spring, with national speakers
• A copy of The Survival Guide for New Special Education Teachers
• A one-year membership to the Council for Exceptional Children
• Additional valuable resources

*Information regarding travel reimbursement for participants from eligible PEAs will be provided once registration is completed.

Registration for Teach Camp is open until June 6, 2022, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Register for Teach Camp!

Please email the ESS Recruitment and Retention Inbox with any questions about Teach Camp. For more information about Teach Camp, pleasevisit the ESS Teach Camp webpage.

Special Education Directors,

Please share the following virtual math professional learning opportunities with general and special education teachers who teach mathematics.

Creating Accessible Mathematics Classrooms (Grades K-5)

Special Guest Speaker: Andrew Gael 

Tuesday, June 21, 2022 from 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Register in advance for Creating Accessible Mathematics Classrooms.

Count Me In! Integers Series

Attendance at both Count Me In! Integers Series sessions is not required but recommended. 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.

Count Me In! Exploring Adding and Subtracting Integers 

Thursday, July 7, 2022 from 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Register in advance for Count Me In! Exploring Adding and Subtracting Integers. 

Count Me In! Exploring Multiplying and Dividing Integers

Friday, July 8, 2022 from 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Register in advance for Count Me In! Exploring Multiplying and Dividing Integers.

 Introduction to Fluency with Whole Numbers 

Monday, July 11, 2022 from 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Register in advance for Introduction to Fluency with Whole Numbers

Count Me In! Algebra Tiles Series 

Attendance at both Count Me In! Algebra Tiles sessions is recommended but not required. These sessions will not be recorded. 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.

Algebra Tiles Part 1: Exploration of Algebraic Expressions

Tuesday, July 12, 2022 from 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Register in advance for Algebra Tiles Part 1.

 Algebra Tiles Part 2: Exploration of Substitution and Solving Equations

Wednesday, July 13, 2022 from 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Register in advance for Algebra Tiles Part 2.

 Note: Accommodations must be requested at least one week in advance of each webinar. 

 Please email Jenifer Fernandez or email Rob Hilliker with any questions.

As mandated by A.R.S. § 15-1042(B), all Local Education Agencies (LEAs) are required to submit data electronically in order to receive funding. As part of this process, LEAs must create an instructional calendar for each non-AOI school site and the Superintendent or authorized representative must certify that each calendar has met the minimum instructional time requirements defined in A.R.S. § 15-901. LEAs must enter the instructional calendars in student information systems (SIS) for submission to AzEDS. AzEDS will be available for FY 2023 (July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023) instructional calendars and student data transactions beginning on 6/1/2022.

The data capture deadline for the 8/19/2022 payment is 7/15/2022. Each district and charter is required to establish and certify instructional calendar(s) by 7/14/2022 in order to use AzEDS student counts for this payment. The calendar must be approved and certified before any student detail information can pass AzEDS Integrity and be used in funding calculations.

The initial release of state aid will be delayed if the deadline specified for the instructional calendar has not been met.

Note: Arizona Online Instruction (AOI) schools are not required to and should not submit a calendar.

Click here to review the full calendar memo. 

Click here to review the Calendar Integrity Reference Guide. 

If you need assistance with submitting your calendar(s), please reach out to an Analyst via HelpDesk. 

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 15-185(B)(2) the student count of a charter school shall be determined initially by using an "estimated count" based on actual registration of pupils before the beginning of the school year. 

The Charter Estimated Counts application will open for data submission on 5/31/22. Additionally, the AzEDS API will be available for FY23 (7/1/22-6/30/23) instructional calendars and student data transactions beginning on 6/1/22. 

For Charters, the first payment of FY23 will be based on projected 100th day Average Daily Membership (ADM) unless Charter Estimated Counts have been submitted. If a charter has both projected ADM and Charter Estimated Counts, School Finance will use Charter Estimated Counts as the basis for the 7/22/22 payment. The deadline to submit Charter Estimated Counts is 7/1/22. 

Charter Estimated Counts will not be used after the 8/19/22 payment and all remaining payments will be based on AzEDS data/projected ADM. 

To view the full Charter Estimated Counts memo, click here. 

To view the new Charter Estimated Counts manual, click here. 

Questions regarding the submittal of Charter Estimated Counts should be submitted via HelpDesk. 

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

NEW Special Education Data Dashboard

The NEW Special Education Data Dashboard (SEDD) opens on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 (today). The purpose of this application is to provide a one-stop shop for public education agencies (PEAs) to securely view their special education data as well as a redacted statewide view. By viewing relevant data in one place, PEAs can see how it all ties together and ultimately, how it all culminates into the indicators outlined in the State Performance Plan (SPP) / Annual Performance Report (APR).

User roles previously established in the archived Annual Data Collection (ADC) application have been transitioned to the new SEDD roles and related permissions. Users without previous access to the ADC application will need to request one of the applicable roles from their local ADEConnect Entity Administrator:

• SEDD LEA User: includes edit permissions
• SEDD LEA Signer: includes edit and signer permissions

To access the SEDD application, please login to ADEConnect, navigate to the Exceptional Student Services Portal and select the Special Education Data Dashboard button under Data Collection & Reporting.

Currently, the only active component that is accessible to PEAs is the Student Exit Data for FY 2022. From the home page of the SEDD application, you can select this component either through the ‘Data’ menu option or you can click ‘Go’ with the red box.

Exit data will be extracted from AzEDS daily and displayed after federal business rules have been applied (refer to the Exit technical assistance doc under the ‘Help’ menu option which will take you to the SEDD website that contains the applicable tools and resources). This data is REVIEW only. Any changes to this data will need to be made through your Student Information System and uploaded/synced to AzEDS. You will have until July 15, 2022, by 5:00pm to finalize your Exit data.

For the remainder of FY 2022 data requirements, we will activate Preschool Transition Data and Students Without Disabilities (expulsion) components on June 30, 2022. Note that these two sections will require data entry to complete.

Please be aware that this application will be expanded further to include the following items in FY 2023 and 2024:

• LRE Placement
• Personnel
• SPP/APR Indicators
• PEA Determinations/Risk Analysis
• Discipline for Students with Disabilities
• Assessments
• Data Visualization

If you did not attend the Special Education Data Updates (SEDU) webinar in April, feel free to review the recording available on our website under Training Opportunities or on our YouTube Channel. Note the SEDD portion begins at 3:57.

Please direct any questions to [email protected].

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

FY22 Parentally Placed Private School Student Survey required by all Public School Districts only opens on 5/18/22

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 requires that each public education agency (PEA) maintain its records and provide to the State information related to parentally placed private elementary and secondary school student covered under §§ 300.130 through 300.144.

The application will open on 5/18/22 and close for submissions on 8/3/22.

• The PEA must assign the role at the district level of ESS Data Surveys: User in ADEConnect to the individual that will submit this survey.

• Instructions: Parentally Placed Private School Students

• FAQs: Parentally Placed Private School Students

Once the role is assigned, please login to ADEConnect, navigate to the Exceptional Student Services Portal (ESS) and select the ESS Data Surveys application. From there you can click on the blue hyperlinked text “FY22 Parentally Placed Private School Students Survey” to start the survey.

Upon completion the application will display a “Thank you for submitting” page.

Please direct any questions to [email protected].

Greetings!

At the beginning of this month, the Arizona Department of Education began to announce the awardees of our competitive grant process for the ADE set aside funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) passed by President Biden in 2021. The awardee applications went through the rigorous state procurement process and all funded projects share the goal of supporting schools, students, educators, and families as they recover from the effects of the pandemic. 

These awardees known as the Arizona’s ARP School and Community Grantees comprise of local and national organizations with evidence-based programs that received a portion of our ARP set aside funding. ARP School and Community Grantees will be announced throughout the month. Thus far, we’ve funded programs that:

• Address students’ physical and mental wellbeing
• Support students with disabilities
• Fund STEM education
• Advance student literacy
• Support Native American students and families
• Support local education recovery efforts

You can view all the previously announced grantees on our new American Rescue Plan School and Community Grantee page.

For LEAs using ESSER Funds

Using ESSER funds as matching funds for AmeriCorps programs

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently issued a letter which states that grantees or subgrantees may use Federal funds, including annually appropriated funds and COVID-19 pandemic relief funds, as matching funds for AmeriCorps programs. The Department fully supports and encourages state and local partnerships with AmeriCorps programs, including many activities in support of student learning and success that are appropriate uses of education funds. For more information on how to use Federal funds for this purpose, please review the Department’s April 1, 2022 letter.

Arizona LEAs are encouraged to contact the Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith and Family to get more information on local AmeriCorps programs. Please contact: [email protected]

Summer Food Programs

If a summer school site is not area eligible for Seamless Summer Option (SSO) or Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), can the school provide meals to the students at no cost to the student?

Sites operating both a summer school and National School Lunch Program (NSLP) will serve and claim meals following NSLP program regulations which includes counting and claiming the meals served based on the student’s eligibility. Students certified as free will receive meals at no cost. The costs of meals served to students who are eligible for a reduced-price or full-price meal would need to be covered by the student/family or through other district funding, where permitted by the funding source.

ESSER III funds available through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) provides Federal resources to States, Tribal governments, and local partners with the intent of funds being used in the response and recovery from COVID-19. School Food Authorities (SFAs) are encouraged to work within their districts on opportunities with ARP ESSER funding that may be used to support Child Nutrition Programs (CNP).

If the state is giving funding for summer school, could that include money for feeding kids at sites that do not qualify?

ESSER funds may be used to provide meals at sites that do not qualify for summer meal operations.  This allowable activity would need to be placed in the budget as a revision if not already included in the plan for expending funds.  The normal approval process would follow.  The guidance for such funding clearly includes food assistance and CNPs. Allowable use of other school funds should be addressed with the funding source

ESSER Updates and Deadlines

ESSER III Grant Revisions

LEAs who have applied for their allocation of ESSER III funding may have to submit grant revisions. The following training PowerPoint and video will help guide LEAs through ESSER III grant revisions.  After watching the revision module, if you have questions or need additional support with ESSER grant revisions, please contact your assigned ESSER Specialist.

ESSER III Grant Revisions PPT

ESSER Grant Applications Due

FY21 ESSER l grant applications containing carryover funds from FY20 should be completed no later than 5/25/22.  These funds must all be expended prior to 9/30/22 or funds will be forfeited.

FY21 ESSER ll and ESSER lll applications must be submitted no later than June 1, 2022.  If you have not submitted your LEA application, please complete it as soon as possible.

If you have questions or need support contact Allison Barbor, ESSER Director @ 602-542-3068 or Devon Isherwood, Deputy Associate Superintendent @ 602-364-0379.

If you have questions or need support with an ESSER revision, please contact your assigned ESSER Specialist.

Reimbursement Requests

Accounting best practices require regular submission of reimbursement requests.  Personnel costs should be reimbursed monthly and other items at least quarterly.

• ESSER l funds should be almost all expended. 
• ESSER ll funds should be approximately 33% - 50% drawn down.
• ESSER lll funds should be approximately 20% - 25% drawn down.

If you have not submitted a reimbursement request in the last three months, please submit one immediately.

Safe Return to In-Person Learning

All Safe Return to In-Person Learning plans were due in EMAC by May 6, 2022.  If you have not submitted your plan in EMAC, please do so immediately.  After submitting your plan, please check EMAC weekly for communication from your specialist regarding your plan. 

If you need assistance with EMAC, please see the resources below:

• EMAC Portal User Guide
• How to add new users in EMAC

To access EMAC, please follow the steps below:

1. Sign into ADEConnect (adeconnect.azed.gov) 
2. Go to View Applications/Applications 
3. Click EMAC from your ADEConnect application menu

How to assign a user role:

1. Home
2. Assign Monitoring Cycle
3. Select Organization Name from drop down menu
4. Select Monitoring Program (Safe Return to In-Person Learning)
5. Cycle (select group that is in the dropdown menu)
6. There are two tabs ‘Assignment’ and ‘EdOrg Users”
7. View the ‘EdOrg Users’ tab
   1. You must have the role ‘Organization EMAC Administrator’ to assign roles
   2. Who ever has ‘LEA User’ role next to their name may be assigned to complete the Safe Return to In-Person Learning task.
8. View the ‘Assignment’ tab
   1. If you have the ‘Organization EMAC Administrator’ role there will be a gray dropdown menu under the ‘Assignment’ tab. 
   2. Click on the dropdown menu and you will see a list of names that have the ‘LEA User’ role.  Select the name of the person who you want to complete the Safe Return to In-Person Learning task
   3. Click the ‘Add’ button
   4. The person now has access to the task that needs to be completed

How to complete the task:

Please log into EMAC and complete the Safe Return to In-Person Learning task (online form).  Once completed, please make sure to click the submit button.  Your specialist will then be able to review your plan.

Additional Assistance

If you need additional assistance with EMAC, please reach out to your assigned specialist.  LEA are assigned alphabetical by LEA name.

• A-Desert Sky: Kelly Curtin  602-642-9551
• Desert Star -Mes: Gina Tignini 602-364-0224
• Mex-Y: Teresa Morales  602-542-5711

If you need further assistance, please email [email protected] or call at 602-542-3068.

ESSER lll and Evidence-Based Interventions, Practices and Programs

ESSER lll places an emphasis on evidence-based practices, and it requires that funds are used to respond to students’ academic, social, and emotional needs, address disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on underrepresented students’ groups and present an opportunity to build staff capacity.  The initial selection of the best evidence-based strategies, practices and programs for your specific context was critical to the success of those programs implemented.  Next step will be monitoring and evaluation those selected.

As you begin to examine the impact of ESSER funded evidence-based interventions, practices and programs on student outcomes, this resource from RELWEST and the Comprehensive Center Network will be very helpful. This resource walks you through process and outcome measures; setting targets or benchmarks, short, medium, and long-term; and identifying what data to collect and analyze. Selecting and Measuring the Effectiveness of Evidence Based Interventions

More tools and resources will be available this summer. Visit our Addressing Disrupted Learning page to learn more about the resources available and how schools are meeting this requirement.  

Upcoming ESSER Set-Aside Opportunities

The following opportunities are funded and supported by the Arizona Department of Education’s ESSER set aside investments:

Stay Cool for Summer School with Discovery Education

Make this summer one to remember with Discovery Education! Tune in to the Discovery Education Summer of Learning Webinar to hear more about the time-saving resources available for summer school. No matter what your summer school goals are, Discovery Education has you covered! From curated interactives and at-home activities to Virtual Field Trips and on-demand professional learning, these helpful resources will make summer learning memorable and fun.

May 25, 2022 – 1:00 pm- 1:30 pm

• Stay Cool for Summer School with Discovery Education
• Registration Link

May 26, 2022 - 08:30 am- 9:00 am

• Stay Cool for Summer School with Discovery Education
• Registration Link

Education Forward CAP Training

Education Forward College Access Professional (CAP) Training is being offered for free to help education professionals develop a college-going mission for all students. All courses are designed for anyone who provides direct service to students, no matter their role.

The curriculum includes readings, activities, and online discussions, allowing professionals from all over the state of Arizona to interact and learn from each other. Each module takes approximately 4-6 weeks and 20 hours to complete, consisting of 1-2 hours per day. Participants who successfully complete a module are eligible for 20 continuing education units. Those who complete the three core modules become an Arizona College Access Professional.

Register for Free Today

Arizona’s 2022 IDEA Conference, Rise Up: Reimagining and Transforming Educational Practices, will feature over 75 learning opportunities that will address IDEA legal issues, instructional practices, national trends and hot topics, special education compliance, preschool and secondary transition, and social/emotional learning. This year’s conference will be held in person from September 7–9, 2022 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix.

In partnership with Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs, ADE/ESS is excited to be able to once again offer free registration for Arizona youth and their families. 

Who can apply for free registration for the 2022 IDEA Conference:

• Youth/Young adults between the ages of 14 and 26 years who have a documented disability
• Family members of a student with an IEP or 504 Plan
• Personal assistants who attend with a student or family member

Special Notes:

• Scholarships cover registration, lodging, and mileage (upon request, for applicants who live 51 miles or more from the JW Marriott Desert Ridge).  
• Scholarship recipients are responsible for the cost of food not provided by the conference.
• To ensure that scholarship funding is fairly distributed, the number of scholarships offered per family may be limited.
• If requests for scholarships exceed available funding, applicants will be placed on a waiting list.

A limited number of free registrations are available. Please complete the Youth, Young Adults, and Families Scholarship application by June 30, 2022. See the attached flyer for more information about this scholarship opportunity.

For more information about the IDEA Conference, including keynote speakers, please visit the IDEA Conference website. Questions about the conference, registration, or the scholarship can be sent to the IDEA Conference inbox.