Vouchers

The Arizona Department of Education pays for the educational services for students in institutional and residential settings through the voucher program. 

 

What is an Institutional Voucher?

Institutional vouchers are for students who receive services through the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (ASDB). 

ASDB Student Reporting Guidance
ASDB Website

 

What is a Residential Voucher?

Residential vouchers are for students who are placed in residential treatment centers by state placing agencies and IEP teams. When a state placing agency places a student in a residential treatment center, it is the responsibility of the home school district to determine if the student is eligible or non-eligible for special education per A.R.S. §15-765(E) and A.R.S. §15-1183(B).

 

Definition of Home School District per A.R.S. § 15-761(9)

"Home school district" means the (age-appropriate) school district or charter school that the child last attended or, if the child has not previously attended a public school in this state, the school district in which the person resides who has legal custody of the child, as provided in section 15-824, subsection B. If the child is a ward of this state and a specific person does not have legal custody of the child or is a ward of this state and the child is enrolled in an accommodation school pursuant to section 15-913, the home school district is the district that the child last attended or, if the child has not previously attended a public school in this state, the school district within which the child currently resides.

 

Home School Districts (HSD), Residential Voucher Materials

Training for HSDs
Required Documents for HSDs
Determining the HSD Flowchart  
FAQs Determining the HSD
Creating an HSD Application and Uploading Documents
FAQs Vouchers 

 

Residential Treatment Centers (RTC)

Training for RTCs
2020–21 Approved RTC List
2020–21 RTC Calendars
RTC Statement of Assurances
RTC Criteria
New Application
Renewal Application 

 

Resources

Voucher Role Assignments
Training for State Placing Agencies
Intergovernmental Agreement between AHCCCS and ADE (updated version coming soon)
ADEConnect

 

Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA)

Institutional and residential vouchers are different than the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program. Please go to the Empowerment Scholarship Account page for more information or call (602) 364-1969.

 

Contact the Vouchers Unit

Vouchers Unit Inbox
Voucher Program Specialist, Eva Martinez-Cruz, (602) 542-4831
Voucher Education Program Specialist, Jeff Rhodes, (602) 542-4387
Vouchers Coordinator, Sheri Partridge, (602) 364-4014

 

Page revision date: January 7, 2021

From the Exceptional Student Services Blog

SPED DATA UPDATE: October 1 Special Education Data Collection Closes on January 15, 2021 Thu, Jan 14 2021 Data Management, Updates

To ensure compliance with federal reporting and program requirements for the fiscal year 2021, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is compiling data for student's special education data on October 1, 2020. Reports will be prepared using special education data that has been submitted by Arizona school districts, charter schools, and other public education agencies (PEAs) via their respective student information systems to ADE and has Passed Integrity in AzEDS accordingly. This system is a part of the October 1 Enrollment Data.
SPED DATA INFO: Updates When Reporting Students on an Institutional Voucher When Students are Attending a Neighboring Districts Mon, Jan 11 2021 Data Management, Updates

Vouchered students are normally reported by the district of residence (DOR) that is responsible for his or her education. In certain circumstances for students receiving services through an ASDB regional cooperative, a student may be attending a public school outside of the DOR.