Vouchers

The Arizona Department of Education pays for the educational services for students in institutional and residential settings through the voucher program. 

 

Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA)

Institutional and Residential Vouchers are different than Universal Vouchers and the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program. Please go to the Empowerment Scholarship Account page for more information or call (602) 364-1969.

 

What is an Institutional Voucher?

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
FY23 Institutional Voucher Rates
Institutional Voucher FAQs 
ASDB Website

 

What is a Residential Voucher?

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).

 

Definition of Home School District per A.R.S. § 15-761(9)

"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.

 

Home School Districts (HSD), Residential Voucher Materials

Training for HSDs
Required Documents for HSDs
Creating an HSD Application and Uploading Documents
Determining the HSD Flowchart
Determinación del diagrama de flujo HSD
Determining the HSD FAQs
Residential Voucher FAQs

Residential Treatment Centers (RTC)

Training for RTCs
2022-23 Approved RTC List
2022-23 RTC Calendars
RTC Statement of Assurances
RTC Criteria
FY23 Residential Voucher Rates
New Application
Renewal Application

 

Resources

Voucher Role Assignments
Training for State Placing Agencies
Intergovernmental Agreement between AHCCCS and ADE
ADEConnect

 

Contact ESS Vouchers

ESS Vouchers Inbox
Voucher Program Specialist, Eva Martinez, (602) 542-4831
Voucher Education Program Specialist, Jeff Rhodes, (602) 542-4387

 

Page revision date: March 24, 2023

From the Exceptional Student Services Blog

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT: FY24 Statement of Assurances required by all PEAs opens on 4/3/23 Mon, Mar 20 2023 Data Management, Updates

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.
INTERNAL PD INFO: Multi-Tier Behavior Supports (MTBS) Year 1 Mon, Mar 20 2023 Professional Learning and Sustainability, Updates

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.