Coordinated early intervening services (CEIS) are services to help children who need additional academic or behavioral support to be successful in school. They can include professional development and educational and behavioral evaluations,  services,  and supports  (see  34  CFR  §300.226(b);  34 CFR §300.646(d)(1)(i)). Under the IDEA, CEIS can be provided voluntarily or mandatorily.

Voluntary CEIS is defined by regulations under 34 CFR §300.226. These regulations allow public educational agencies (PEAs) to use up to 15 percent of their combined IDEA Part B Section 611 and Section 619 funds to implement voluntary CEIS. The activities can be divided into any portion between section 611 and section 619.

IDEA regulations guiding the mandatory provision of CEIS — referred to as comprehensive coordinated early intervening services (CCEIS)— were revised in 2016. These regulations require LEAs identified by their states as having significant disproportionality based on race or ethnicity to reserve 15 percent of their combined IDEA Part B Section 611 and Section 619 funds to implement CCEIS. States must identify disproportionality with respect to identification, placement, and/or disciplinary removals. CCEIS is defined by regulations at 34 CFR §300.646(d). If your PEA was required to provide CCEIS, please contact ESS Program Management for further information as these PEAs are required to provide further information beyond grant reports.

Voluntary CEIS activities that may be funded under Part B for students not on an individualized education plan (IEP) by PEAs include:

• Providing professional development for teachers and other school staff to enable such personnel to deliver scientifically-based academic and behavioral interventions, including scientifically based literacy instruction and, where appropriate, instruction on the use of adaptive and instructional software; and
• Providing educational and behavioral evaluations, services, and supports, including scientifically based literacy instruction (see 34 CFR §300.226(b)).

Additionally, the students must be receiving services through one of the CEIS funded activities to be counted as a student receiving CEIS services:

• Professional development - students served by personnel who participated in professional development activities supported by CEIS funds;
• School-wide intervention initiatives - students who participated in school-wide intervention initiative activities supported with CEIS funds should be counted as receiving CEIS as follows;
• Educational and behavioral evaluations - students who are evaluated to determine the supports necessary for success in a general education environment should be counted as receiving CEIS in the year of evaluation; or
• Direct services and supports - students receiving direct service or supports supported with CEIS funds should be counted every year in which they receive the services

PEAs are required to report how many students received CEIS services into AzEDS.  Please refer to the Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS and CCEIS) reporting guidance on ESS Data Management's AzEDS SPED Reporting page for assistance.

Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) FAQ

Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CCEIS) FAQ

Special Education Determination Percentage

Targeted Assistance and Intervention Activities

ADE/ESS will take action(s) in response to PEA determinations in accordance with 34 CFR §300.604 and applicable Arizona state statutes, including A.R.S. §§ 15‑741 and 15‑761 et seq. Actions are based on the assigned determination category and the duration of the determination status.

 Meets Requirements (MR)

For PEAs identified as Meets Requirements, ADE/ESS may:

• Continue routine monitoring and support
• Encourage continued improvement in results and compliance

No additional enforcement actions are required.

 Needs Assistance (NA)

For PEAs identified as Needs Assistance for two (2) consecutive years, ADE/ESS will:

• Advise the PEA of available sources of technical assistance, including guidance and technical assistance documents from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), other federal or state agencies, SEA-approved technical assistance providers, and SEA-developed guidance documents and trainings
• Require the PEA to engage in targeted technical assistance activities, which may include participation in professional development, implementation support, or consultation with subject matter experts
• Provide guidance on improvement strategies related to identified areas of need in results and/or compliance
• Direct the use of state-level IDEA funds, as appropriate, to support improvement efforts
• Consider additional special monitoring or support.

 Needs Intervention (NI):

For PEAs identified as Needs Intervention for three (3) or more consecutive years, ADE/ESS will implement additional actions beyond those required for Needs Assistance, which may include:

• Requiring the PEA to develop and implement a corrective action plan and/or improvement plan that addresses identified areas of noncompliance and/or low performance
• Increasing monitoring activities, including targeted reviews, data validation, and required reporting on progress toward improvement
• Requiring participation in specified technical assistance, professional development, or coaching aligned to identified needs
• Directing the use of IDEA funds to support correction of noncompliance and/or improvement efforts
• Withholding, in whole or in part, up to fifteen percent (15%) of IDEA funds until the PEA demonstrates sufficient progress in addressing identified areas of concern
• Implementing additional enforcement actions as permitted under federal and state law
• Notification to the Charter Authorization Board for consideration of further actions or sanctions

ADE/ESS will tailor interventions based on the severity, scope, and persistence of identified performance and compliance issues.

Needs Substantial Intervention (NSI):

For PEAs identified as Needs Substantial Intervention, or in cases of significant failure to comply with IDEA requirements, ADE/ESS will take immediate and substantial enforcement actions, building on all actions available under Needs Intervention (NI), which may include:

• Withholding, in whole or in part, IDEA funds
• Requiring intensive corrective action planning and implementation with continuous monitoring and oversight
• Implementing any additional enforcement actions necessary to ensure compliance with federal and state requirements

ADE/ESS may take one or more of these actions immediately based on the severity of the identified noncompliance or failure to meet IDEA requirements.