Section R7-2-404. Special Education Voucher Program Policies and Procedures

A.      Institutional vouchers. Students residing and attending special education programs at the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (ASDB) or the Arizona State Hospital (ASH) or stu- dents attending special education day programs provided by ASDB may be eligible for special education institutional voucher funding.

1.        Eligibility criteria.

a.         Student shall be between the ages of 3 and 22 years.

b.        Student shall have a recognized disability as docu- mented by a current educational evaluation. Evalua- tions shall be completed by the institution or the student’s home school district (HSD), as determined by a multidisciplinary evaluation team (MET).

c.         Student shall have a current individualized educa- tion program (IEP) identifying the placement as the most appropriate and least restrictive educational environment.

2.        Institutional voucher application/approval.

a.         Applications for special education institutional vouchers shall be completed by the institution and submitted to the Exceptional Student Services Divi- sion of the Department of Education. The institution shall provide all student information requested on the institutional voucher application.

b.        Institutions shall sign a Statement of Assurance guaranteeing their maintenance of and ability to pro- duce all supporting documentation for each applica- tion.

c.         Institutional voucher applications shall be reviewed and approved or disapproved by the voucher unit manager. Applications that are disapproved may be corrected and resubmitted. Institutional voucher payments will not be made for student attendance prior to voucher approval date.

d.        Voucher identification numbers shall be assigned for each new student approval, and shall be used by the institution to complete claims for payment and the special education census form.

e.         Institutional vouchers are approved for the current year only; therefore the application process shall be repeated each school year for each student.

f.         Institutions shall report any changes in student sta- tus, including withdrawals, transfers, current evalua- tion dates and changes in disability categories to the Exceptional Student Services Division of the Department of Education. Changes shall be submit- ted within ten days of the occurrence.

3.        Institutional voucher claim for payment.

a.         The special education institutional voucher claim for payment form shall be completed by the institution at the end of each calendar month. The claim shall be submitted in accordance with procedures estab- lished by the School Finance Division of the Depart- ment of Education.

b.        Claims for payment shall be submitted to the School Finance Division of the Department of Education.

4.        Special education census.

All institutional voucher students shall be reported on the special education census in accordance with procedures established by the School Finance Division of the Depart- ment of Education.

5.        Review of placement.

a.         It is the responsibility of the HSD to review student progress at least once a semester.

b.        The IEP may be completed by the institution but is ultimately the responsibility of the student’s HSD to ensure that it is reviewed and revised annually.

c.         It is the responsibility of the HSD to ensure that re- evaluations are conducted on a tri-annual basis or more frequently as needed.

B.       Residential vouchers: Students placed in private residential treatment facilities (PRF) may be eligible for residential voucher funding for the educational portion of the placement.

1.        Eligibility Criteria.

a.         Students shall be enrolled in and eligible for educa- tional services from a Public Education Agency (PEA).

b.        Placement shall be made by one of the State Placing Agencies. They are the Department of Economic Security (DES), the Department of Health Services (DHS), the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), or the Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC).

c.         Residential facilities shall be licensed by the Depart- ment of Health Services or Department of Economic Security and approved by the Department of Educa- tion for the specific educational needs of each stu- dent placed there.

d.        The following conditions invalidate eligibility.

i.         Placement by any agency other than those noted in subsection (B)(1)(b).

ii.        Placement in facilities not appropriately licensed by DHS or DES or approved by the Department of Education.

iii.      Student attendance at a PEA while residing in a residential facility.

e.         Eligible students are divided into three categories.

i.         Non-special education (NSE): Students not eli- gible for special education services who are placed by a State Placing Agency for their care, safety, or treatment.

ii.        Care special education (CSE): Students eligible for special education services who are placed by a State Placing Agency for their care, safety, or treatment.

iii.      Residential special education (RSE): Students requiring residential placement to benefit from educational programming who are placed by an IEP team.

2.        Voucher application/approval process. The process dif- fers depending on category.

a.         NSE and CSE options:

i.         When a placement decision is reached, the State Placing Agency (SPA) shall complete a SPA Application for Voucher Funding, and for- ward a copy to the student’s Home School Dis- trict (HSD) for appropriate signatures within five days of placement.

ii.        Upon placement, copies of the completed voucher shall be provided to the PRF and the Exceptional Student Services of the Depart- ment of Education (ESS).

iii.      Upon receipt and review of the application and verification of facility approval, the SPA appli- cation will be approved for the initial 60 days of placement. An approval memo is sent to the PRF and the HSD. The Exceptional Student Services shall assign a student identification number to each approved voucher student. This number shall be used by the private facility

when completing the special education census form and the claim for payment form.

iv.       The HSD shall submit the HSD Application for Education Voucher Funding packet and submit it to the Exceptional Student Services of the Department of Education. Appropriate docu- mentation of eligibility for special education and provision of services, if applicable, shall be included.

v.        The HSD voucher application packet shall be reviewed and approved or disapproved by the voucher unit manager. Applications that are disapproved may be corrected and resubmitted. Approvals are granted from the date of receipt through the end of the school year. An approval memo is sent to the PRF and the HSD.

vi.       If the HSD cannot complete the requirements for the HSD application packet within the ini- tial 60-day approval period, they shall submit an Application For Extension Of Education Voucher Funding.

b.        RSE option.

The HSD shall follow statutory requirements and procedures agreed upon by the ADE, DHS, and DES when considering placement in a PRF for educa- tional reasons. If a need for such a placement is determined, the HSD shall complete and submit the HSD Application for Education Voucher Funding packet to the ESS. Documentation of the necessity for PRF placement, measurable exit criteria, and a reintegration plan shall be required.

3.        Changes in placement/Discharge.

a.         If a student is discharged or is absent without leave for more than ten days from the PRF, the facility shall notify the State Placing Agency, Home School District and the Exceptional Student Services Divi- sion of the Department of Education in writing within five days.

b.        Students returning to a facility after a discharge or students transferred from one facility to another require a new SPA voucher application.

c.         Students placed under the RSE option shall not be discharged without the consent of the IEP team.

4.        Voucher claim for payment.

a.         A special education voucher claim for payment shall be submitted in accordance with procedures estab- lished by the School Finance Division of the Depart- ment of Education.

b.        Claim for payment shall be submitted to the School Finance Division of the Department of Education.

5.        Special education census.

A special education census form shall be completed for all voucher students in accordance with proce- dures established by the School Finance Division of the Department of Education.

6.        Review and continuation of placement.

a.         The Home School District (HSD) shall regularly monitor the progress of students, ensure the annual review and revision of IEPs, and complete three- year re-evaluations as applicable.

b.        Voucher approval is for one school year only. Stu- dents remaining in an PRF from the end of one school year to the beginning of the next year require new voucher applications. Prior to the beginning of the new school year, the PRF shall submit an Appli- cation for Continuing Voucher funding, signed by

both the SPA and the HSD. For a student who is eli- gible for special education services, a current IEP shall accompany the continuing application if the IEP has been reviewed or revised after the original voucher was approved.

Historical Note

Adopted effective December 4, 1978 (Supp. 78-6).

Amended by final rulemaking at 9 A.A.R. 4633, effective December 8, 2003 (Supp. 03-4).

Note

Editor’s Note: The following Section was erroneously pub- lished in Supp. 04-2 with amendments that were not approved by the Attorney General’s Office. It is republished with the text in effect before Supp. 04-2. The correct notice was published at 10

A.A.R. 3274 (Supp. 04-3).