8. What is CCEIS?

A PEA is required to reserve the maximum amount of funds available for comprehensive CEIS (CCEIS) if there is significant disproportionality based on race or ethnicity with respect to:

• (a) The identification of children with disabilities, including the identification of children in specific disability categories;
• (b) The placement of children with disabilities in particular educational settings; or
• (c) The incidence, duration, and type of disciplinary actions, including suspensions and expulsions

9. What funds must be reserved by the PEA for CCEIS if a State determines significant disproportionality?

In accordance with 34 C.F.R. § 300.646, any PEA identified as having significant disproportionality, as defined by the state, is required to set aside 15% of their allocation for the development and provision of CCEIS for

1. Children who are not currently identified as needing special education or related services but who need additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in a general education environment (ages 3–21)
2. Children with disabilities (ages 3–21), however, a PEA may not limit the provision of CCEIS to only children with disabilities.

10. How does Arizona determine Significant Disproportionality?

Arizona examines significant disproportionality among its PEAs annually. The State examines each PEA’s three previous school years of enrollment, special education, and discipline data and identifies the PEA only when it meets all criteria for significant disproportionality for three consecutive years.

For details regarding the criteria for measuring significant disproportionality, please see Arizona’s Calculating Significant Disproportionality Infographic.

11. What are the requirements regarding activities using CCEIS funds?

CCEIS activities must:

1. Address the needs of those student subgroups that were identified as the basis for causing the LEA to be identified as significantly disproportionate, but not exclusively for those student subgroups
2. Focus on academic and behavioral instructional services and professional development

12. May a PEA limit CCEIS solely to members of the racial or ethnic group for which significant disproportionality was identified?

No. The requirement in 34 C.F.R. § 300.646(d)(2) is to provide comprehensive CEIS to serve “children in the PEA, particularly, but not exclusively, children in those groups that were significantly overidentified.”

13. What are the key differences between CEIS and CCEIS?

To view a table distinguishing CEIS and CCEIS, please see the Key Differences Between CEIS and CCEIS.

14. What activities can be used with CCEIS funds?

A PEA may use CCEIS funds for the activities listed below. The activities must address factors and policy, practice, or procedure contributing to significant disproportionality. Funds can be used for students identified as needing special education or related services, as well as children who are not currently identified as needing special education or related services but who need additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in a general education environment.

• Hiring or contracting with individuals or organizations for tutoring services to carry out activities. Tutors may:
  • Participate in or provide professional development to enable teachers and other school staff to deliver scientifically based, academic, and behavioral interventions and, if appropriate, the use of adaptive and instructional software.
  • Support, reinforce, or follow up on the provision of educational and behavioral services provided by and under the supervision of an appropriately certified general education teacher.
     
• Professional development for teachers and other school staff to enable such personnel to deliver scientifically based, academic interventions, including scientifically based literacy instruction and, where appropriate, instruction on the use of adaptive and instructional software.
  • The professional development may be provided to all personnel who are responsible for students who need additional academic and behavioral supports to succeed in a general education environment, as well as students who have been identified as needing special education.
     
• Salaries and fringe benefits of aides who are PEA employees, or for costs for contracted aides who provide services to students receiving CCEIS. Aides must work under the supervision of an appropriately certified teacher and must perform duties consistent with the role of an aide while not assuming the role of a teacher.
   
• Paying for extended contracts or extended hours for staff directly involved with the coordination, supervision, or delivery of academic or behavioral interventions and progress monitoring.
   
• Salaries and fringe benefits, or a portion thereof, of staff who directly coordinate or supervise the delivery and monitoring of academic or behavioral interventions.
   
• RTI Coordinator. This position must align with the PEA’s activities as reported in the CCEIS narrative. CCEIS funds may be used to support RTI as long as the CCEIS funds are used to supplement, not to supplant, other funds used to implement RTI. 
   
• School guidance counselor, school psychologist, or social worker. Staff would be hired to implement behavioral interventions, progress monitoring, other CCEIS evaluations, and related professional development. These positions may not deliver reading or math instruction under CCEIS funding unless they also hold the appropriate endorsement to deliver reading or math instruction.
   
• Purchasing nominal items of low value to be used as part of the coordinated delivery of academic or behavioral interventions. The items should be educational in nature. The amount charged to the CCEIS grant must be reasonable and prudent. The following are not allowed as incentives: cash, cash cards, gift cards, or electronic devices (such as iPads, Kindles, etc.).
   
• Progress monitoring of supplemental interventions provided to those students determined to need additional academic and behavioral supports to succeed in general education.
   
• Travel costs are generated as a result of implementing activities funded by CCEIS, such as for professional development.
   
• Other activities include professional development and educational and behavioral evaluations, services, and supports that address the factors contributing to the significant disproportionality that can be articulated to Exceptional Student Services.

1. What is the statutory definition of the home school district?

A.R.S. § 15-761(9) "Home school district" means the 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.

2. When did charter schools become part of the statutory definition of the home school district?

With the passage of Senate Bill 1177 in 2019, charter schools were added to the home school district definition, this change went into effect on August 1, 2019.

3. Where do I find the flowchart for determining the home school district and a student's enrollment history?

The flowchart is located at Flowchart for Determining the HSD. The ESS Vouchers Application under Help/Enrollment History is the best way to determine previous schools attended with an SSID# and date of birth. This displays several fields including grade level, entry date, exit date, entity IDs, and CTDS numbers. Please note: AzEDS Identity is a good method for locating an SSID#, but should not be used to determine previous schools attended/enrollment.

4. What entities cannot be used to determine the home school district?

When utilizing the flowchart in determining the appropriate home school district, these entities should be ignored when trying to determine the most recent schools attended:

• Accommodation schools
• Juvenile detention centers
• Bureau of Indian Affairs Education schools
• Parochial schools
• Private schools
• Correctional facilities
• Vocational schools

5. What does "age-appropriate" mean in terms of the flowchart?

Age-appropriate is referring to the district or charter serving the grade level of the student. A unified district serves students K-12, whereas an elementary district serves students K-8. For a student that is a 9th grader and most recently attended an elementary district (as reported in AzEDS), the elementary district is not age-appropriate and should be skipped in determining the home school district.

6. How is the flowchart used for children that are wards of the state?

If a specific person does not have legal custody of a child and parental rights have been severed, he or she is a ward of the state. To meet the best interest of the child within the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) if a parent still retains educational rights the child is not considered a ward of the state in terms of the flowchart.

7. What if the child has not attended a school district or charter school in Arizona, and the legal guardian resides out-of-state?

In this scenario, the HSD would be the age-appropriate school district of the entity that is responsible for providing the day-to-day care for the child, and the RTC's address would be used.

8. Can ESS assist in identifying a legal guardian or home address for a student?

ESS does not have any information pertaining to legal guardianship or home addresses for students in the educational voucher system. This information must be gathered through the appropriate state placing agency.

Page revision date: February 12, 2025

1. Who is responsible for the educational services when a student is on an Institutional Voucher? 

With the passage of HB 2863 during the Spring 2021 legislative session, the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (ASDB) is now considered a local education agency (LEA) for the provision of free and appropriate public education (FAPE). ASDB is responsible for the education and reporting of all data for students attending its Phoenix and Tucson campuses or leased space programs. ASDB shares operational space, including, but not limited to the Foundation for Blind Children (private school locations) and Simonton Elementary (public school) in the J.O. Combs Unified School District. PEAs will continue to report and be responsible for FAPE for students who attend their public schools and are receiving services from ASDB through a regional cooperative. The list of ASDB's sites is located on the State Institutions website.

2. What is the difference between vouchered vs. fee-for-service?

Students are identified as either vouchered (institutional) or fee-for-service, depending on where and how they are receiving services. If a student is vouchered, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) pays for the educational services for students placed at an ASDB campus or an ASDB program (which includes the regional cooperatives) through the Special Education Fund (A.R.S. § 15-1202). All fee-for-service arrangements are contractual agreements between the district or charter and ASDB.

3. Which tuition payer codes should PEAs report for vouchered and fee-for-service?

PEAs should use tuition payer code 7 for students on Institutional Vouchers, and tuition payer code 1 is used for fee-for-service students. For reporting questions, please contact ESS Data Management.

4. Why is my PEA receiving an Institutional Voucher Application?

Students are placed through the IEP process in alignment with ASDB's admissions statute (A.R.S. § 15-1342), which is the responsibility of the home school district (HSD) and ASDB. ASDB then applies for an institutional voucher listing the HSD. The HSD continues to function as a resource for ASDB to allow a student to transition back to the public school if the least restrictive environment (LRE) changes. Please reach out to ASDB for questions regarding the submission of applications.

5. What is an ASDB regional cooperative?

ASDB maintains multiple cooperatives throughout the state in which an ASDB staff will go to the district or charter to provide services. This determination occurs through the IEP process with an ASDB and PEA representative present per A.R.S. § 15-1342.

6. Who submits calendars for students on an Institutional Voucher? 

ASDB is the only entity able to submit calendars for their campus or leased space sites as they are the only ones that can report these students. The district or charter will submit calendars for students attending their public schools. For reporting questions, please contact ESS Data Management.

7. What are the statutes regarding Institutional Vouchers and ASDB?

The State Institution/Institutional Voucher statutes and administrative code are A.R.S. § 15-1201 to 15-1205 and A.A.C. R7-2-404. ASDB’s statutes are A.R.S. § 15-1301 to 15-1346.

8. For a student who is turning or has just turned 3 years old, should the district or charter be registering the student? 

The PEA/HSD should be registering the children in their systems (despite not technically admitting them to their campus). Prior to placement within ASDB's locations, the IEP team would require a PEA to determine the capacity of their facilities and placements. As such, the PEA/HSD would need to generate a student ID (if one does not exist) because eventually this information may be used for future requirements of special education (ex: Child Find).

9. What happens when an application is rejected?

When an application is rejected, it goes back to the entity that created the application (ASDB), the Approval History will show the reason for the rejection. Both ASDB and the HSD can edit applications and upload documents, but the HSD can only make changes when the application is "Pending with HSD."

10. What if the PEA contacts on the application are incorrect? 

ASDB maintains its own contact list and sends the Institutional applications. At the bottom of the application in the Approval History, you can see who from ASDB sent the application, please notify them of the correct contacts at your PEA.

Page revision date: August 15, 2025