To stay informed of ESS announcements and special education check-in dates, please ensure your SPED Director information is up-to-date for your PEA on our contact list by reaching out to your monitoring specialist.
FY 2022 American Rescue Plan (ARP) IDEA Funds Information The ESS Program Management team has shared information regarding the supplemental ARP IDEA funds that will be available to PEAs in Fiscal Year 2022, including resources, funding uses, and impact on a PEA’s ability to reduce state and local expenditures using the Allowable Adjustment to Local Fiscal Efforts under the IDEA Maintenance of Effort.
Indicator 8 Parent Involvement Survey Update. Regarding the Indicator 8 topic, results are in! Record parent participation indicates families and school staff are working together to improve special education services and outcomes for students with disabilities. The ESS Family Engagement Specialist has shared strategies directors used to significantly boost participation.
This month’s topic is Demystifying ESS Programmatic Monitoring, a collaborative presentation between ADE/ESS and the Arizona Association of School Psychologists (AASP). Together, ESS Program Support and Monitoring and AASP will provide clarification on some commonly misunderstood evaluation topics and share some tricks of the trade. This content will include specifics on evaluation content and methodology.
This month’s topic is Students with Disabilities, Graduation, and a FAPE, and will review graduation considerations for students with disabilities. Get the information you need to communicate with parents, students, and staff regarding high school graduation and planning for success.
This month’s topic is Important Updates to the Early Childhood Transition Policy & Procedures, and includes updates to policies and procedures from AzEIP and ADE/ESS resulting from a recent Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) monitoring. Presenters from both AzEIP and ADE/ESS will provide information about general supervision, monitoring, and data reporting, and there will be time for Q & A related to the presentation.
This month’s topic is Mid-Year Special Education & Assessment News, and will be presented by a number of ADE staff on the following topics: Parent Involvement and Teacher Attrition Survey Information, Recruitment and Retention Updates, Compensatory Services Funding Check-Up, and Assessment Updates.
This week’s topic is Assessment Updates, which will be presented by Audra Ahumada, ADE’s Deputy Associate Superintendent of Assessment. The ADE Assessment Unit provides an overview of Assessments for the 2020 School Year and beyond, including recent decisions from the State Board and Spring 2020 Test Administration Plans.
This week’s topic is Detecting Child Abuse and Neglect in a Virtual Learning Environment, which will be presented by our colleagues at the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS). These are highly unusual times and stressors on the family are great. A DCS investigation can be yet another added stressor on a family. As such, it is important that educators know their role as mandated reporters and know when and when not to report child abuse and neglect. Please join ADE and DCS for critical information about this important topic.
This week’s topic is School Reentry Updates. This is an overview of the recently issued Hot Topic and Question & Answer companion document, highlight Q & As, and an introduction to the ADE Compensatory Educational Services Claim System.
This week’s topic is Critical Updates for School Reentry, which will include an overview of recently issued Hot Topics (ESY/Comp Ed Services, Electronic Signatures, and more), Virtual Learning Tools & Considerations, Discussion of Homebound vs. Home Placement, and Data Reporting in a Virtual Environment.
Presentation from Special Education Check-In Webinar This week’s topic is Programmatic Monitoring Part II SY 2020—2021 with an overview of monitoring changes for this upcoming school year including: OSEP guidance, due dates, and COVID-19 considerations.
June 25, 2020
This week’s topic is Progress Monitoring and Compensatory Education, the presentation will include progress monitoring resources and a discussion regarding ways to provide compensatory educational services to students who may need them.
Compensatory Education Presentation from Special Education COVID-19 Check-In Webinar (coming soon)
June 11, 2020
Presentation from Special Education Check-In Webinar This week’s topic is IDEA Programmatic Monitoring (Part 1) with an overview of what the IDEA requires for programmatic monitoring and how ESS has designed its system to meet IDEA requirements and to ensure FAPE for students with disabilities is provided at the PEA level. This week’s topic is IDEA Programmatic Monitoring (Part 1) with an overview of what the IDEA requires for programmatic monitoring and how ESS has designed its system to meet IDEA requirements and to ensure FAPE for students with disabilities is provided at the PEA level.
May 28, 2020
Presentation from Special Education Check-In Webinar This week’s topic is an IDEA fiscal update and will include information related to the IDEA grant, funding from the CARES Act, Maintenance of Effort (MOE), and more.
May 14, 2020
Presentation from Special Education Check-In Webinar includes information about Extended School Year (ESY) and will introduce a revised ESY Arizona Technical Assistance and Support (AzTAS) document from ADE/ESS.
This presentation from Raising Special Kids, Arizona’s Parent Training and Information (PTI) operating under Part D of IDEA sec. 671, articulates positive practices regarding communication with parents and families of students with disabilities during school closure. It also highlights resources and supports available to families through Raising Special Kids and other agencies.
Dispute Resolution presents - How to Leverage the Principles of Facilitated IEP (FIEP) to Conduct Virtual IEP Meetings. Learn the three core components necessary to facilitate a successful virtual IEP meeting: the IEP process under the IDEA which allows for alternatives to in person meetings; standardized meeting procedures and tips to ensure the meeting runs smoothly in a virtual format; and meeting management skills that aid in minimizing conflict and maximizing collaboration. This presentation will help your district ensure that collaborative, student focused IEP teams are equipped to make sound decisions in the development of Individualized Education Programs that offer children with disabilities a free appropriate public education whether in an person IEP meeting or virtual platform IEP.
This presentation outlines federal guidance from the OSEP, OCR, and OSERS related to implementation of the IDEA during school closure, provides general tips for implementation at PEAs, and provides ESS resources.
FY23 Statement of Assurances required by all PEAs opens on 4/3/23
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), the representative body for Special Education for Arizona, Exceptional Student Services, is required to obtain assurances from Public Education Agencies (PEAs) to attest that they are meeting the requirements under state and federal statute for special education in the state of Arizona.
It is a requirement for all entities defined as PEAs regardless if they get federal funds or not.
All PEAs must submit the IDEA Statement of Assurances (SOA) through the ESS Portal of ADEConnect.
The application will open on 4/3/23 and close for submissions on 6/15/23.
Are you concerned about the current rate of suspensions and expulsions at your school or district? Do you feel students are losing valuable class time due to disruptions and other behavior problems? Are teachers struggling to be successful with classroom management? Are administrators spending too much time dealing with discipline issues? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then you might find the solution in Multi-Tier Behavior Supports.
