Early Childhood Special Education

Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) is a state and federally mandated program for children (ages 3-5) who meet state eligibility criteria because they are experiencing developmental delays. School districts and other public agencies are responsible for locating, identifying and evaluating eligible children and offering a free & appropriate public education (FAPE). Eligible children are entitled to a FAPE at no cost to the family. If a child is eligible, the public school district of the child must offer services to meet their identified needs.
Currently there are over 10,000 children receiving special education services (2019 data). Services are provided through programs in the local school district, in Head Start programs and other community early childhood programs funded through federal, state and local funds. It is important to remember that special education is not a place but a system of services and supports for children with disabilities.

Child Find is part of Arizona's system for identifying children suspected of having a delay.  When a delay is suspected, or children are not meeting milestones, local school districts offer Child Find services to observe and evaluate children's play, communication, behavior, learning and movement skills. Please visit the Child Find resource page for further information about this service or call your local school district to request a screening.

Arizona's Child Outcomes Data Profile

States are required to report on three child outcomes for preschool to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). The Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy) provides each state with a comparative analysis of state data to national data annually. View the 2017 State Child Outcomes Data Profile.

 

Administrator Resources  Educator Reources  Parent Resources

Contact Us

NamePositionPhoneEmail Address
Suzanne PerryDirector, 619 Coordinator602-542-1113[email protected]
Erika ArguetaProgram Specialist602-542-3160[email protected]
Elizabeth HamiltonProgram Specialist602-364-1948[email protected]
Sas Jakeo-SingerProgram Specialist602-542-3183[email protected]
Laura LeeProgram Specialist602-542-4615[email protected]
Lenka StudnickaProgram Specialist602-542-1137[email protected]
Hollie McHenryAdministrative Assistant602-542-8747[email protected]

 

 

 

From the Exceptional Student Services Blog

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT: New fields available in the SPED72 report Fri, Sep 25 2020 Data Management, Updates

Additional fields have been made available in the SPED72 report to aid PEAs in validating submitted data. Integrity Warnings and Resident School ID
ECSE INFO: Update Regarding the Early Childhood Quality Improvement Process (ECQuIP) and Reporting for Special Education Tue, Sep 22 2020 Updates

The Early Childhood Quality Improvement Process (ECQuIP) is a process that was developed by the Early Childhood Education Unit to assure quality and accountability for programs that receive state funding or other early learning grants. ECQuIP is a programmatic self-assessment process that asks early childhood teams to identify and rate such practices as instruction, assessment, leadership, and climate.