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 web page contains more information for prospective and renewal applicants, including a current list of approved providers and calendars.
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 web page.
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 web page. Additional information is located at the ESS Vouchers web page, you may also email ESS Vouchers.
Head Start Programs
List of recognized head starts and their entity IDs will be provided soon. Additional information is located on the ESS Head Start web page.
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 instututional voucher funding. ASDB's calendars, website link, and institutional voucher student reporting guidance is located at the State Institutions web page, you may also email ESS Vouchers.
