ESS Vouchers
The Arizona Department of Education pays for the educational services for students in institutional and residential settings through the voucher system.
Institutional vouchers are for students who receive services through state institutions such as the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (ASDB).
ASDB Student Reporting
State Institutions and ASDB Sites
FY25 Institutional Voucher Rates
Institutional Voucher FAQs
ASDB Website
Residential vouchers are for students who are placed in residential treatment centers by state placing agencies and IEP teams. When a state placing agency places a student in a residential treatment center, it is the responsibility of the home school district to determine if the student is eligible or non-eligible for special education per A.R.S. §15-765(E) and A.R.S. §15-1183(B).
"Home school district" means the (age-appropriate) school district or charter school that the child last attended or, if the child has not previously attended a public school in this state, the school district in which the person resides who has legal custody of the child, as provided in section 15-824, subsection B. If the child is a ward of this state and a specific person does not have legal custody of the child or is a ward of this state and the child is enrolled in an accommodation school pursuant to section 15-913, the home school district is the district that the child last attended or, if the child has not previously attended a public school in this state, the school district within which the child currently resides.
Residential Voucher FAQs
Determining the Home School District FAQs
ESS Vouchers Toolkit
State Placing Agencies (SPA)
Training for State Placing Agencies -NEW! Effective July 1, 2024
FY25 Voucher Process Change
Home School Districts (HSD)
Training for HSDs
Required Documents for HSDs
Creating an HSD Application and Uploading Documents
Residential Treatment Centers (RTC)
Training for RTCs
2024-25 Approved RTC List
2024-25 RTC Calendars
RTC Agreements
RTC Criteria
FY25 Residential Voucher Rates
New Application
Renewal Application
Residential Voucher Resources
Determining the HSD Flowchart
Determinación del Diagrama de Flujo HSD
ESS Vouchers and Claims Role Assignments
Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA)
Institutional and Residential Vouchers are different than Universal Vouchers and the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program. For more information go to the Empowerment Scholarship Account website, you may also contact (602) 364-1969 or [email protected].
Contact Exceptional Student Services (ESS) Vouchers
ESS Vouchers Inbox
Voucher Program Specialist, Nosa Muhsin, (602) 542-1126
Voucher Education Program Specialist, Laura DeLoach, (602) 364-4014
Voucher Education Program Specialist, Jeff Rhodes, (602) 542-4387
Page revision date: July 29, 2024