Updates

A new integrity rule for FY 2021 will be introduced into the integrity process on SPED data shortly.  This new rule is a continuation of our effort to further validate SPED reporting to ensure clean data for the state.   

Integrity Rule -10134 

This rule will validate any students enrolled at an Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) to have a corresponding SPED Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) reported. 

Special Education Directors,

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

June 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.

ADE/ESS is pleased to announce additional training opportunities for Arizona’s schools with The Neurosequential Model Network led by Dr. Bruce Perry. The trainings will assist schools in dealing with trauma and its effects on students. There are two training programs available to schools.

Please see the following stakeholder communication opportunity from the Arizona Response to Sexual Violence & Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Collaborative:

The Arizona Response to Sexual Violence & Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Collaborative recently released, Preventing Sexual Abuse in Arizona Schools: Suggested Protocols for Students with Intellectual, Developmental and Other Disabilities.

ADE/ESS is so excited to announce that the 2021 IDEA Conference is scheduled for September 13—15, 2021:

• September 13 and 14, 8:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.
• September 15, 8:00 a.m. –12:00 p.m.

The opening of the ESS Special Education Program Approval System for the 2021–2022 school year will open on May 17, 2021. ESS plans to have all ED-P programs that wish to operate for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 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.

Join the ESS Program Management team for a 60-minute webinar to highlight items Directors and Business Managers need to know to close out the 2021 fiscal year.

AzEDS is considered the system of record for the 2020-2021 school year and will close for current year data submissions at 5:00 PM on July 15, 2021. Data for all public education agencies (PEAs) must be complete and accurate in AzEDS for FY 2021. Data found to be inaccurate after the statewide data recalculation is subject to a data correction process (this may also meet the criteria of A.R.S. § 15-915) and must be corrected with the assistance of ADE School Finance personnel. ESS Data Management encourages our customers to strive for complete and accurate AzEDS data entry. Please see below for some helpful tips when submitting your data.

Please review this memo regarding the need to correct the use of “Not Observed Due to School Closure” for Child Outcomes reporting in Teaching Strategies Gold.

Feel free to email the Early Childhood Special Education Unit with any questions.

We are pleased to announce the ESS Annual Data Collection (ADC) application is open and available to all public education agencies (PEAs). PEAs are expected to complete this data collection requirement electronically, utilizing ADEConnect to access the online application via the ESS Portal for FY 2021.