ESA Accepted
A-FITS accepts Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account funding and can help families understand how ESA connects to enrollment and tuition.
What This Means for Your Child
- ESA accepted for qualifying tuition
- Help understanding required documentation
- Admissions guidance
- A clearer path from application to enrollment
For many Arizona families, the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) makes specialized private education a realistic option.
A-FITS accepts ESA funding toward qualifying educational expenses, including private-school tuition, and our team works with families to help make the funding and enrollment process easier to understand.
Choosing the right school can already feel overwhelming. Understanding ESA should not make it harder.
What Is ESA?
Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account program provides eligible families with public education funds that can be used for approved educational expenses.
For families choosing private school, those funds may be applied toward qualifying tuition and other approved educational costs.
ESA gives parents greater flexibility in deciding where and how their child receives an education.
For many families of students with autism, that flexibility can open the door to a more specialized educational setting built around the student's individual needs.
Using ESA at A-FITS
A-FITS is a tuition-based private school and accepts Arizona ESA funding.
Families who participate in ESA can use eligible funds toward A-FITS tuition in accordance with current Arizona Department of Education requirements.
Our team can help families understand how ESA works with A-FITS tuition, what documentation may be needed, how tuition payments are processed, what to expect during enrollment, how ClassWallet may be used when applicable, and who to contact when questions arise.
We want the financial side of enrollment to be as understandable as possible so families can focus on the more important question:
Is A-FITS the right educational environment for my child?
We Can Help You Apply
Some families come to A-FITS already using ESA. Others are learning about the program for the first time.
If your family has not yet applied, A-FITS can help explain the general process and point you toward the appropriate Arizona Department of Education resources.
Our staff can help families understand common steps and documentation associated with the process, but ESA eligibility and funding decisions are ultimately determined by the Arizona Department of Education, not A-FITS.
We cannot guarantee eligibility or an award amount. What we can do is help make the process less confusing.
ESA and Admissions Are Two Different Processes
ESA funding does not automatically determine whether A-FITS is the right placement for a student.
Admissions is still based on understanding the individual student and determining whether our program, classroom environment, staffing, and supports can appropriately meet their needs.
Families may be working through two processes at the same time:
Funding: How will ESA be used toward tuition?
Educational Fit: Can A-FITS provide the environment and support this student needs?
Both matter. But educational fit always comes first.
Educational Records Help Us Understand Your Child
During admissions, we ask families to provide relevant educational and evaluation records when available.
Those may include a current or previous IEP, MET or evaluation reports, psychological or developmental evaluations, Speech or Occupational Therapy information, behavior plans or assessments, academic records, progress reports, and other information that helps us understand the student's educational history.
We do not request those records because A-FITS will simply continue the student's previous public-school program.
We request them because they help us understand where the student has been, what has been tried, what has worked, and where additional support may be needed.
From Existing Records to an A-FITS ILP
A-FITS is a private school and uses an Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) rather than creating or administering a public-school IEP.
Existing IEPs, MET reports, evaluations, family input, observations, assessment information, and data collected at A-FITS all help us develop a clearer picture of the student.
That information becomes part of the foundation for the student's A-FITS ILP.
The ILP is designed around the student who is actually sitting in front of us—not simply around the paperwork that arrived with them.
It can guide academic priorities, communication, sensory support, behavioral support, social development, independence, life skills, transition needs, individual goals, and progress.
ESA Gives Families a Choice
One of the most important aspects of ESA is that it gives families greater ability to choose an educational environment that fits their child.
At A-FITS, we take that responsibility seriously.
Families are not simply choosing a tuition payment destination. They are choosing the people, environment, philosophy, and educational approach that will surround their child every day.
ESA can help make A-FITS possible. Our job is to make sure A-FITS is meaningful.
We'll Help You Navigate the Process
You do not need to understand every part of ESA before contacting us.
Start with your child. Tell us what is working. Tell us what isn't. Tell us what you are looking for in a school.
We can help you understand the next steps from there.
ESA eligibility, award amounts, allowable expenses, payment procedures, and Arizona Department of Education requirements can change. Families should always confirm current ESA rules directly with the Arizona Department of Education.