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.
The review criteria are summarized in the chart below
Review Rubric |
Primary Reviewers: ESS Program Management Staff
Secondary Reviewers: ESS Operations Director and ESS Deputy Associate Superintendent |
Eligibility - SSID validated in AzEDS
- Provide document attachments
- Request within the dollar caps for the school district or charter school
| Documentation - Current IEP
- Accurate invoices or journals for claim period (summary invoices preferred)
| Content - School districts or charter schools must submit a narrative to describe the justification of excess costs
- Claimed costs meet general allowability rules for IDEA Consolidated – Entitlement Grant (special education driven)
|
Submission Deadlines
| ESEN Round for Funding Approval | Submission Deadline |
| 1st | August 26, 2022 |
| 2nd | November 25, 2022 |
| 3rd | February 24, 2023 |
| 4th | May 26, 2023 |
Contact
Please contact ESS Program Management for any questions
ESS Program Management
ESS Program Management Webpage
