Updates

Special Education Directors,

Please see the following public notice and comment period information for the IDEA Part B State Application.

Special Education Administrators, 

The ADE/ESS is pleased to announce that registration for Teach Camp is now open! 

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 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. 

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT 

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.

Special Education Directors:

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.

Greetings,

The ADE/ESS is pleased to announce the 2023 Seminar for School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists: Expanding​ ​Expression​ ​Training: ​ A​ ​Multi-Sensory​ ​Approach​ ​for​ ​Improved​ ​Writing,​ ​Oral Expression,​ ​and​ ​Comprehension​ Across​ ​the​ ​Curriculum with Sara​ ​L.​ ​Smith,​ ​MS,​ ​CCC-SLP​ ​​(and founder​ ​of​ ​EET). The intended audience for this seminar is Speech-Language Pathologists, Speech-Language Technicians, and Speech-Language Pathology Assistants.

Special Education Stakeholders,

Nominations are now being accepted for this year’s Arizona Secondary Transition Services Awards!

On behalf of the Arizona Department of Education, Exceptional Student Services, and other partnering agencies, you are invited to submit your nominations for this year's Secondary Transition Services Awards, which will be presented at Arizona's 2023 IDEA Conference.

Special Education Stakeholders,

Arizona’s 2023 IDEA Conference: Creating Connections and Strengthening Systems, will be held in person from August 21–23, 2023 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix.

ADE/ESS is requesting proposals that represent your creative and research-based work. The conference will feature numerous professional learning opportunities, including IDEA legal issues, instructional practices, national trends and hot topics, special education compliance, preschool and secondary transition, and content for related service providers.

Special Education Directors,

It has been two years since ADE conducted the 2021 Instructional Accommodations Survey, a biennial inquiry that has informed ADE of accommodation trends since 2015. The information collected from the survey assists in planning presentations and training for the field. We invite you and other personnel, including both general and special educators, related service providers, as well as support staff, who provide instruction for students with disabilities to take a few minutes to respond to this year’s survey.

Special Education Directors,

The Arizona Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ArSHA) will be holding its annual convention in Phoenix on March 31–April 1. There will be hundreds of Speech-Language Pathologists, Speech-Language Technicians, and Speech-Language Pathology Assistants attending this event. 

The Arizona Department of Education sponsors the public school strand at the convention to support high-quality, relevant professional learning for school-based speech personnel. This year’s sponsored topics include remediation of speech sound disorders and developmental language disorders, assistive technology (AT), augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), and supporting students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT 

Special Education Data Updates Webinar Wednesday, March 15th   

The Exceptional Student Services Data Management team will host the next Special Education Data Updates live webinar on Wednesday, March 15th, from 2pm – 3pm. This session will cover a variety of data topics that will include (subject to change):   

• Reminders 
• Trending topics 
• Top 3 Integrity Errors 
• Q&A