Special Education Directors,

ADE ESS and Assessment are excited to announce a new professional learning opportunity for educators.

Empower Students to Use Universal Tools in the 2022 State Assessments Platform (Grades 3–8)

Wednesday, March 2, 2022, 4:00–5:30 p.m.

Digital tools are not just for assessment; they can help students to achieve success in the classroom and beyond. This school year, your learners will take Arizona’s Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) for the first time on the TestNav platform. AASA assesses the Arizona Standards adopted by the Arizona State Board of Education in 2016. At the Arizona Department of Education, we want to help you to empower your students to use the universal assessment tools that are embedded in the AASA platform so that they can readily showcase their knowledge and understanding.

Join us to learn more about the universal tools and accommodations that are available for the AASA for grades 3–8. You will also engage with instructional resources that you can use every day to provide rich learning for students as they familiarize themselves with digital tools that help them express their understanding. During the session, there will be guided, hands-on time with these universal tools and instructional resources.

Register in advance for this session. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Note: accommodations (e.g., ASL interpreting services) for participants in this webinar must be requested at least one week in advance of the webinar.

Please email Rob Hilliker with any questions.

Special Education Directors,

The ADE/ESS Professional Learning and Sustainability unit is pleased to announce two “grow your own” opportunities for educators in Arizona public schools.

• The General Education Teacher to Special Education Teacher (GETSET) program provides tuition reimbursement to certified general education teachers who want to pursue a career change to become certified in an area of special education. 

• The Special Education Teacher Tuition Assistance (SETTA) program provides tuition reimbursement to paraprofessionals and educational interpreters that leads to special education teaching certification.

Certifications that satisfy the application requirements:

1. Mild/Moderate Disabilities, K–12
2. Moderate/Severe Disabilities, K–12
3. Early Childhood Special Education, Birth–Grade 3/Age 8
4. Hearing Impaired Special Education, Birth–Grade 12
5. Visually Impaired Special Education, Birth–Grade 12

 Application materials are below. PEAs have an opportunity to submit an application for one candidate per program. Applications earning the highest scores in the evaluation process will be approved until the funding that is set aside for the program is depleted. Applications must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on April 15, 2022.

• General Education Teacher to Special Education Teacher (GETSET) Application
• Special Education Teacher Tuition Assistance (SETTA) Application

Please note:

• Applicant must have been employed by the PEA for two full school years as of June 30, 2022.
• Applicant agrees to two full years of teaching in a special education capacity at the PEA once special education certification is achieved.
• Educational interpreters are eligible to apply for the SETTA program.
• GETSET and SETTA are tuition reimbursement programs. Potential expenses are pre-approved, and reimbursement is provided after each semester is completed and program requirements are met.

For additional information, please email the Recruitment and Retention Inbox.

Special Education Directors,

The following is a free professional learning opportunity available to you and your staff.

The Power of Strengths-Based IEPs with Carol Kosnitsky

Thursday, March 3, 2022, 3:30–4:30 p.m.

The dilemma: how do you write an appropriate IEP that provides both insights into the student’s disability and needs as well as the student’s strengths, interests, preferences, and personal accomplishments? It’s hard to look at many IEP requirements and not to think that the focus is on deficits. We can remain true to IEP requirements and incorporate all we have learned about the power of language, high expectations, growth mindsets, and Universal Design for Learning.  Rarely do these big ideas make their way into students’ IEPs, but you can change that! This session will explore some of the self-defeating and student-limiting practices common in IEP writing and provide alternative strengths-based models that can change our conversations, our expectations, and our IEPs.

Carol Kosnitsky is the nationally recognized and popular author of IEP Goals That Make a Difference: An Administrator’s Guide to Improving the Process (2018, LRP Publications). This book is used widely by teachers as well as administrators. As a distinguished special education consultant with more than 35 years in the field, Carol provides consultation and professional development services across the country, traveling from her home base in New England.

Her work focuses on improving outcomes for students with disabilities through increased access to the general education curriculum.

She is particularly sought after for her expertise regarding the development of relevant and measurable IEPs, the aligning of IEPs with the Common Core, and the collaboration between general and special education to improve education for all students. Ms. Kosnitsky was a special education director for 20 years in New Hampshire, served as President of the New Hampshire Association for Special Education Administrators, and developed the New Hampshire Academy for Special Education Directors.

Register in advance for this event.

If you are a special education teacher or related service provider, the presenter requests that you bring a current IEP with you to the training. Please be ready to examine your own IEP in relation to the content of the session and remember that all student information needs to remain confidential. This session is for training purposes and does not replace the technical assistance provided by the ADE.

Questions regarding this professional learning opportunity can be sent to the ESS Recruitment and Retention Inbox.

The Title IV-A Safe and Healthy Students program would like to share with you a one-of-a-kind Physical Education Data Dashboard!

ADE's Title IV-A Team, in conjunction with The Arizona Physical Education Advisory Roundtable (PEAR), partnered with Quadrant Research to create the nation's first "Physical Education Data Project". The interactive dashboards offer insights into physical education course access and participation rates in Arizona schools.

Key findings from the Arizona Physical Education Report include:

• Most students (89%) had access to at least one PE course.
• Physical education enrollment was higher in traditional schools than in charter schools (61%vs.49%).
• Schools in rural, distant locations had the highest PE participation rate (69%); schools in remote town locales had the lowest rate:44%.

To view the interactive Dashboard and The Arizona 20/21 Physical Education Report, please click below. 

Physical Education Data Dashboard

If accessing the Data Dashboard from a mobile device, please click below.

Mobile Friendly Physical Education Data Dashboard

Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS, in partnership with the Neurosequential Model Network led by Dr. Bruce Perry, is pleased to announce two exciting training opportunities for Arizona’s schools: the Neurosequential Model in Education and the Neurosequential Model in Therapeutics training programs. This train-the-trainer, capacity-building process provides educators and therapists with a comprehensive introduction to key concepts related to the developmental impact of trauma on the brain as well as examples and practical application of these concepts in educational settings.

Please join us for a free informational session on March 3, 2022, from 12:00–1:00 p.m. to learn more about these professional learning opportunities. This session will review key information including training content and requirements. Admission into the training series will require attendance at the webinar (or viewing of the recorded webinar) and an application process. The cost of the training program is $250 per participant. These documents provide further information about each training program:

• Neurosequential Model in Therapeutics
• Neurosequential Model in Education

Please register for the informational session. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

If you have questions, please email Lauren Blocher.

ADE/ESS is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the Early Intervention and Early Childhood Summit entitled, We Are All in This Together: A Universal Design for Learning. This year’s sessions will include presentations on Pyramid Model, behavior and social skills, first responders, universal design for learning (UDL), Early Head Start, sensory processing, pediatric feeding, among many more!

This year’s virtual summit will take place February 24–25, 2022 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily, and the registration fee is $50. Discount rates are available for pre-service educators and families. Win prizes! Visit with exhibitors!

For more information, please visit the summit website. Registration is now open, for questions contact [email protected].

Special Education Stakeholders,

ADE/ESS is excited to share that Arizona’s 2022 IDEA Conference will be held in person from September 7–9, 2022 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix.

This year’s theme is Rise Up: Reimagining and Transforming Educational Practices. This cross-stakeholder event includes special education administrative staff, youth and young adults with disabilities, family members and caregivers, state agency staff, educators, service providers, and community members who share a commitment to student success.

The event will feature over 75 professional learning opportunities, including IDEA legal issues, instructional practices, national trends and hot topics, special education compliance, preschool and secondary transition, and social/emotional learning.

Please bookmark the IDEA Conference website for updates and registration information. Requests for proposals will also be disseminated shortly—please consider submitting presentations that represent your creative and research-based work.

ESS appreciates this opportunity to learn with each of you and looks forward to the year ahead. Please send questions to the IDEA Conference inbox.

ADE/ESS is excited to share that Arizona’s 2022 IDEA Conference will be held in person from September 7–9, 2022 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix.

This year’s theme is Rise Up: Reimagining and Transforming Educational Practices. This cross-stakeholder event includes special education administrative staff, youth and young adults with disabilities, family members and caregivers, state agency staff, educators, service providers, and community members who share a commitment to student success.

The event will feature over 75 professional learning opportunities, including IDEA legal issues, instructional practices, national trends and hot topics, special education compliance, preschool and secondary transition, and social/emotional learning.

Please bookmark the IDEA Conference website for updates and registration information. Requests for proposals will also be disseminated shortly—please consider submitting presentations that represent your creative and research-based work.

ESS appreciates this opportunity to learn with each of you and looks forward to the year ahead. Please send questions to the IDEA Conference inbox.

In accordance with A.R.S. §15-905(L), the FY 2021 BUDG-75 Expenditure Analysis Letters are now published. Letters are based on the most recent FY 2021 BUDG-75 Over Expenditure reports, which have been calculated using FY 2021 APOR55-1 reconciliation information.  These letters serve as official notification of any over expenditure for FY 2021, and how Budget Balance/Over Expenditure values should be recorded on the next FY 2022 budget revision.

• District BUDG-75 Expenditure Analysis 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 2021 and then click “Go!”. The BUDG-75 Expenditure Analysis will appear.

• District APOR55-1 reports are available to download from the School Finance website:
  • First, select a school district and then click “Go!”
  • Next, click “Reports/Data” from the middle of the menu bar.
  • Finally, select fiscal year 2021 and system APOR, then click “Go!”. The APOR55-1 report will appear.

The expenditure analysis 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. 

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

Thank you!

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

• Reminders 
• Trending topics 
• Topics requested by you 
• 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].