Private & Public Programs

The Arizona Department of Education grants approvals for private school special education programs that seek to provide specially designed instruction to students placed by a public education agency and meet the criteria as outlined in A.A.C. R7-2-402. Approval by the Arizona Department of Education does not make the Department a guarantor or insurer for services or programs provided to individual students. The Private Special Education Schools website contains more information for prospective and renewal applicants, including a current list of approved providers and calendars.

Emotional Disabilities-Public (ED-P) Programs

Public education students qualify for ED-P funding if the child is placed in a special program that provides intensive services within a school district, as outlined under A.R.S. § 15-765(D)(2): The chief administrative official of the school district or county or other person as designated by the school district or county as responsible for special education shall verify that the pupil placed in such a program is diagnosed with an emotional disability as defined in section 15-761 and that appropriate services cannot be provided in traditional resource and self-contained special education classes. Additional information, including program criteria, is located at the ED-P Programs website.

Residential Treatment Center Placement

Students may be placed by state placing agencies and Individualized Education Programs (IEP) teams for care, safety, and treatment purposes or educational needs into residential treatment centers (RTC). State placing agencies per A.R.S. § 15-1181(12) is the Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC), the Department of Economic Security (DES), the Department of Child Safety (DCS), the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), and the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). The approved RTC List and RTC Calendars are located at the Residential Treatment Center Placement website. Additional information is located at the ESS Vouchers website, you may also email ESS Vouchers.

Head Start Programs

A list of recognized head starts and their entity IDs will be provided soon. Additional information is located on the ESS Head Start website.

State Institutions

Per A.R.S. § 15-1201, "Institution" means the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (ASDB), the Arizona training program facilities as provided in section 36-551, and the Arizona State Hospital (ASH). Students residing and attending special education programs in these settings may be eligible for institutional voucher funding. ASDB's site names, website link, Institutional Voucher FAQs, and student reporting guidance are located at the State Institutions website, you may also email ESS Vouchers.

Secondary Transition Programs

A.R.S. § 15-765(D) allows PEAs to contract with outside organizations if specific criteria are met. ADE supports secondary transition programs that focus on building the skills of students with disabilities to increase their engagement in productive post-secondary activities. PEAs are required to report students attending programs at these sites. The Secondary Transition Program List contains the recognized organizations and their entity IDs. If PEAs do not see the organization listed, please contact ESS Data Management ([email protected]), and they can generate the entity for accurate reporting.