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.

Special Education Directors,

With input from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, the ADE/ESS developed policies and procedures for Early Childhood Special Education Transition that are aligned with the IDEA. Following the public participation process set forth in IDEA and GEPA regulations during Spring 2022, ESS considered all public comments and finalized its policies and procedures document. The finalized document is also available on the ADE/ESS website.

Many thanks are offered to the special education stakeholders who provided feedback and attended information sessions at the Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education Summit, as well as the public hearings for special education professionals and parents and families of youth with disabilities.

The new AOIADM15 report, which details the Average Daily Membership (ADM) calculation for Arizona Online Instruction (AOI) students, is now available to districts and charters in AzEDS. The ADM for AOI students is determined based on the students reported Full Time Equivalency (FTE) and the total minutes of instruction reported during the year. Additionally, until a student withdraws or the year ends, the calculation includes projected future minutes for each student.

The new report identifies students participating in an AOI school, displays the total minutes of instruction reported year-to-date for each student, shows the projected minutes of instruction for each student enrolled through the end of year, and details the ADM generated by the student by dividing total minutes reported by the minutes required for the student’s grade level.

The new report is available  under the “ADM” header from the reports menu in AzEDS:

Please submit a Help Desk ticket or email [email protected] if you need assistance with the new report.

FY 2022 Results-Based Funding Payment 2 has been calculated and will distribute in May, 2022. Below is a file that will show the FY 2022 Results-Based Funding Total Amount, FY 2022 Results-Based Funding Payment 1 Amount, and FY 2022 Results-Based Funding Payment 2 Amount (Amounts being distributed in May, 2022-highlighted column). On the LEA-Level tab, Districts are listed by county, followed by charters listed alphabetically. A second tab will show the School-Level amounts. For questions regarding your payment, please contact [email protected]

FY 2022 Results-Based Funding Payment Amounts

Please see FY 2022 Results-Based Funding Payment 1 Hot Topic

Special Education Stakeholders,

ADE/ESS is excited to announce keynote speakers for Arizona’s 2022 IDEA Conference, Rise Up: Reimagining and Transforming Educational Practices. This year’s conference will be held in person from September 7–9, 2022 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix. Please see the conference flyer to learn about Dr. Christopher Emdin, Art Cernosia, and David Edward Garcia. Additional national speakers and exciting conference events will be shared soon.

ADE/ESS is also pleased to announce the opening of registration for the 2022 IDEA Conference. The conference registration fee for professionals is $450 per person and can be paid by credit card, check, or purchase order. ADE/ESS is aware that PEAs may have approaching procurement deadlines related to the issuance of purchase orders, so please do not delay in registering for the conference. Registration is anticipated to fill quickly. Due to the reduced capacity at this year's conference, ADE/ESS may cap registrations at the entity level in order to ensure that all stakeholders have an equitable opportunity to attend. ADE/ESS will communicate directly with your entity if this cap occurs. Register for the 2022 IDEA Conference in the Event Management System (EMS). To learn more about registration and see Frequently Asked Questions, please visit the IDEA Conference Registration webpage.

Please bookmark the IDEA Conference website for updates throughout the summer. Questions about the conference or registration can be sent to the IDEA Conference inbox.

Special Education Directors,

Please see the following digital flyer learning opportunity for parents of children with disabilities who attend your schools, provided by Raising Special Kids. Feel free to share before the last day of school!

Raising Special Kids is offering 2022 Summer School for Parents in-person & virtually. Link for registration.

Special Education Directors,

The opening of the ADE/ESS Special Education Program Approval System for the 2022–2023 school year will open on May 16, 2022. ESS plans to have all ED-P programs that wish to operate for the fiscal year 2022 to 2023 reviewed and approved by the end of June. Failure to apply to the application may cause integrity failures for public education agencies (PEAs) toward the end of the upcoming school year, which may affect state payments.

Please see this memo for more information.

For any questions on ED-P programs, please contact Victoria Naser at [email protected].

ADE/ESS is excited to announce keynote speakers for Arizona’s 2022 IDEA Conference, Rise Up: Reimagining and Transforming Educational Practices. This year’s conference will be held in person from September 7–9, 2022 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix. Please see the conference flyer to learn about Dr. Christopher Emdin, Art Cernosia, and David Edward Garcia. Additional national speakers and exciting conference events will be shared soon.

ADE/ESS is also pleased to announce the opening of registration for the 2022 IDEA Conference. The conference registration fee for professionals is $450 per person and can be paid by credit card, check, or purchase order. ADE/ESS is aware that PEAs may have approaching procurement deadlines related to the issuance of purchase orders, so please do not delay in registering for the conference. Registration is anticipated to fill quickly. Due to the reduced capacity at this year's conference, ADE/ESS may cap registrations at the entity level in order to ensure that all stakeholders have an equitable opportunity to attend. ADE/ESS will communicate directly with your entity if this cap occurs. Register for the 2022 IDEA Conference in the Event Management System (EMS). To learn more about registration and see Frequently Asked Questions, please visit the IDEA Conference Registration webpage.

Please bookmark the IDEA Conference website for updates throughout the summer. Questions about the conference or registration can be sent to the IDEA Conference inbox.

Budget forms for the upcoming fiscal year are typically published shortly after the state budget passes to incorporate any changes in state law. Since the FY 2023 state budget has not yet passed, School Finance and the Auditor General's Office are sharing plans to publish budget forms based on the timing of the state budget to allow districts and charters to plan budget preparation processes and governing board meetings.

The Auditor General's Office will publish preliminary budget forms for use in budget proposal and adoption on Friday June 3^rd if the state budget has not passed and does not appear likely to pass the following week. If preliminary budget forms are used, it will be necessary to revise budgets in early FY 2023 to incorporate changes in state law. Please note that preliminary budget forms will not account for routine annual changes, such as inflation, and will not anticipate any other changes to state law. Districts in which the qualifying levy is greater than the equalization base (non-state-aid districts) in particular should be aware of the impact of preliminary forms on the budget and discuss property tax rate considerations with counties if preliminary budget forms are used with revisions expected. Final budget forms with any changes in state law incorporated will be available for use in budget revisions as soon as Friday July 8th.

If the State budget passes on or before June 3^rd, or appears likely to pass the following week, the Auditor General’s Office will not publish preliminary forms and will instead publish the final budget forms as soon as possible after the budget passes. The final forms will account for all changes in state law, and it will not be necessary to revise the budget in early FY 2023.  

Special Education Directors,

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

Creating Accessible Mathematics Classrooms (Grades K–5)

Register in advance for Creating Accessible Mathematics Classrooms.

Presenter:                 Andrew Gael

Date/Time:                Tuesday, June 21, 2022, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Format:                      Virtual (Zoom Meeting)

Fee:                            Free

Participants:             Educators in Grades K–5

Description:

This workshop aims to provide a foundation for mathematics teachers to work successfully with all students in grades K–5. Participants will critique and construct their understanding of ability and disability and how this understanding applies to the mathematics classroom. They will activate prior knowledge of Universal Design for Learning and reflect on best practices for working with students with disabilities. A major focus of the workshop is the design and implementation of instructional routines and activities as a way to increase student access to mathematical content.

About Our Speaker:

Andrew Gael is a national speaker who is the Curriculum Director of Mathematics, grades K–12, at the Cooke School and Institute, a school for students with disabilities in the neighborhood of Harlem in New York City. He also has worked with pre-service teachers at The City College of New York (CCNY). Additionally, he has consulted with Illustrative Mathematics and Desmos on the development of their middle school curricula. He has also developed and facilitated professional development courses for Mathematics in the City at CCNY and Mount Holyoke College.

He has been a member of NCTM’s Publishing Committee, where he was instrumental in the publication of Humanizing Disability in Mathematics Education: Forging New Paths. He has also contributed to publications such as: NCTM’s Math Tasks to Talk About blog, Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You’d Had, Motivated, and the Global Math Department newsletter.

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

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