Special Education Directors,

ESS/Early Childhood Special Education is pleased to announce the 6th Annual Early Childhood Special Education Summit on February 11—12, 2021, to be conducted as a virtual event. This year, the conference is sponsored by ADE/ESS, in collaboration with Arizona’s Early Intervention Program (AzEIP) within the Arizona Department of Economic Security.

Please save the date! Registration will open in November 2020.

For more information email [email protected].

Special Education Directors,

Please share the following message about upcoming math professional learning with general and special education teachers who teach mathematics.

Algebra Tiles Part 3: Exploration of Algebra Tiles in Factoring and Dividing Quadratic Equations

November 9 from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Register in advance for Algebra Tiles Part 3.

In this webinar, we will explore the use of virtual algebra tiles to factor quadratics, complete the square, and divide quadratics.

Attendance at Parts 1 and 2 is not required to attend Part 3. 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. Participants can earn 1.5 hours of professional development credit for the session.

 November Math Office Hours

The ADE Math Team has scheduled office hours to allow educators to meet together to network, problem-solve, and develop solutions to allow all Arizona teachers and students to continue to feel supported and to be successful.

Grade-band meetings are provided for all math teachers, including special education teachers! These grade-band meetings will include opportunities for networking, problem solving, and sharing different implementation models. Office hours are one hour long with an additional 30 minutes at the end for a Q & A session.  Participants can earn one hour of professional development credit for each session attended.

Grades 7–12

Monday, November 16 from 3:30–4:30 p.m. with Q & A from 4:30–5:00 p.m.

Register in advance for the Grades 7–12 meeting.

Grades 3–6

Tuesday, November 17 from 3:30–4:30 p.m. with Q & A from 4:30–5:00 p.m. 

Register in advance for the Grades 3–6 meeting.

 Grades K-2

Wednesday, November 18 from 3:30–4:30 p.m. with Q & A from 4:30–5:00 p.m. 

Register in advance for the Grades K–2 meeting.

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

Please contact Jenifer Hutchinson with any questions.

Special Education Directors,

ADE/ESS is pleased to announce that the Compensatory Services Claims application is now open for the second wave of applications through the ESS Portal of ADEConnect and the cap for funds has been increased for each public education agency (PEA). Each PEA can now apply for one or multiple compensatory education claims up to $25,000 for each PEA.

ADE has been aware that PEAs may need relief when a free appropriate public education (FAPE) was unable to be provided during the Spring/Summer 2020 school closure while emergency remote learning was in effect. ADE/ESS, with the support of Superintendent Hoffman, advocated for $5 million of CARES Act funds to be dedicated to compensatory services relief for services already provided by the PEA to absorb some of the burdens.

Please visit the ESS Program Management website to review the Compensatory Services Claims materials and quick reference guide.

For questions about the application process, please contact ESS Program Management.

Special Education Directors,

Please see the professional development offering provided by the USDOE/OSEP below:
 

“Education Technology Resources to Support Students With or At Risk for Disabilities During COVID 19”

A WEBINAR for Special Education Practitioners, Administrators, Parents, and Stakeholders

Wednesday, October 28, 1PM to 2PM Eastern

(plus an “overtime” Q & A session from 2:00PM to 2:15PM)

REGISTER HERE: https://bit.ly/30HMSG3

Overview: During these unprecedented times, education technology has been called upon to play a central role to support teaching and learning. This webinar will feature short user-case video demos of five edtech resources that are ready now for use in special education, as well as conversations by practitioners and experts about the role of edtech in meeting the needs children and students with or at risk for disabilities during “the new normal” in education.

Hosted By: Brooklyn-based InnovateEDU and the Educate All Learners Alliance, a coalition of organizations committed to resource sharing and community-building that supports the efforts of the education community to meet the needs of students with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Demos Featuring: Attainment Company (Early Reading Skill Builder), Education Modified (EdMod), University of Oregon (Numbershire), Penn State University (AvenuePM); & The Institute for Community Inclusion (Future Quest Island-Explorations)

Speakers: Erin Mote & Gabrielle Oates (InnovateEDU), Tara Courchaine & Edward Metz (US Department of Education), Rita Campbell & Rita Peterson (Special Education Practitioners from Washington state), Bart Epstein (Edtech Evidence Exchange), Margo Izzo & Andrew Buck (The Ohio State University), & Jose Blackorby (CAST)

Special Education Resources That are “Ready Now”: The developers presenting video demos are part of a larger network of special education software and assistive technology developers, researchers, and nonprofits who created edtech for special education with support from the Department of Education, National Science Foundation, and National Institutes of Health. This group recently released a guide presenting information on 20 Education Technology Resources that are READY NOW to Support Special Education Practitioners and Children and Students with or At Risk for Disabilities

Special Education Directors, 

Please share the following message with your staff who support Post School Outcomes (PSO) Survey data collection. 

The ADE/ESS Secondary Transition team would like to thank those who participated in the 2020 PSO data collection season. The PSO Survey helps PEAs collect and report information to meet Indicator 14 requirements. Between June 1 and September 30 of this year, PEAs statewide worked hard to reconnect with former students who had IEPs when they exited high school during the 2018–2019 school year. Through their efforts, 6,659 former students responded to the survey for a 78.5% participation rate with 72.5% of respondents engaged in postsecondary education/training or employment. A more detailed view of this year's PSO Survey results will be posted on the PSO Website by October 31, 2020. 

Our team wants to recognize PEAs that went above and beyond this season to complete their PSO requirements. We are excited to announce the PSO Celebration Website, which highlights the PEAs that completed all PSO surveys and met criteria for one of the following categories: 

• PSO All-Star—Met or exceeded the statewide participation rate goal of 80% and engagement rate target of 75% 
• PSO MVP—Met or exceeded the statewide participation rate goal of 80% 

Please join us in congratulating Arizona's exemplary PEAs for their hard work and dedication! 

Questions regarding PSO can be sent to the PSO Inbox. 

Special Education Directors,

Under Section 616 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA), States are required to make a determination for all public education agencies (PEAs) of their performance on identified special education criteria. The Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2018 determinations have been posted to the PEA Determinations section of the ESS website.

If you have questions regarding PEA Determinations, please email the ESS Operations unit.