Universal eligibility begins at kindergarten, so a typical 4-year-old in Tucson cannot get an ESA. The exception is a child with a disability. ADE counted 1,420 preschool-disability ESA students statewide in the April-June 2026 quarter.
The paperwork has to come from the public system. Private evaluations and a private school's service plan aren't accepted for the preschool category, so most Pima County families start with their district's Child Find screening. The 45-day public-school attendance rule does not apply to preschoolers.
Preschool severe delay is the one category paid at the full chart amount before kindergarten. Developmental delay applies only from ages 3 through 9, so a child's category may change at re-evaluation; ADE lets the student keep renewing the account through high school once eligible.
STO scholarships are also available for preschoolers with disabilities at schools that serve them, so a family can compare the two paths here just as with older children.
Special-needs schools and funding
Combining it with other sources
In Tucson the main decision is ESA or STO for each child each year; the two can't be combined for the same student. A school's own discounts, such as parish, member or sibling rates, lower the bill and can usually sit alongside either path.