Extraordinary Special Education Needs Fund

The Extraordinary Special Education Needs fund was established through A.R.S. § 15-774 to award funds through claims for school districts and charter schools who have special education students that provide an excessive financial burden upon their entity.

School districts or charter schools may submit claims for additional financial assistance for students who meet the following criteria:

• Receiving special education services and has incurred costs in the current year of at least the statewide per pupil funding average multiplied by three.
• Demonstrate extraordinary needs, including describing and documenting student services required and showing that the district or charter school is not able to absorb the costs of these services.
• Demonstrate total costs incurred in the current year by the student for whom the school district or charter school is applying.
• Evidence that before applying for monies from the fund the school district or charter school made sufficient efforts to seek but has not received funding to cover the costs of extraordinary needs applied for which includes federal and other state sources of funding.

General Resources

Claims are processed through a system that is similar to the high-cost child fund that is prescribed through the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). Exceptional Student Services is continually updating this documentation as we work through the claim processes.

School districts and charters should review this document for the general policies and procedures that will be formalized in the near future as we work through initial implementation of the program.

• General Policies and Procedures in Q&A format
• Presentation from 2022 for General Overview
• Quick Reference Guide on Claim Submission (uses High-Cost instructions until revised)
• Summary Claim Template (Revised 11/2022 to include FY24 state aid reimbursement rates.)

The review criteria are summarized in the chart below

Submission Deadlines

Contact

Please contact ESS Program Management for any questions

ESS Program Management

ESS Program Management Webpage