IEP Eligibility in Arizona: Who Qualifies?
What qualifies a child for an IEP in Arizona?
Arizona eligibility for special education requires three elements: (1) the child is between ages 3 and 21 (through the end of the school year in which the child turns 22 for FAPE purposes); (2) the child has been evaluated and found to have one of Arizona's defined disability categories under A.R.S. § 15-761; and (3) by reason of that disability, the child needs specially designed instruction — i.e., the disability adversely affects educational performance (A.R.S. § 15-761(2); A.R.S. § 15-766). The IEP team, including the parent, must make the eligibility determination based on multidisciplinary evaluation data (A.R.S. § 15-766(B)). For specific learning disabilities (SLD), Arizona permits both the response-to-intervention (RTI/MTSS) model and the pattern-of-strengths-and-weaknesses (PSW) discrepancy model per A.A.C. R7-2-401; neither an IQ-achievement discrepancy formula alone nor any single measure may serve as the sole basis for eligibility (34 CFR 300.307–300.311; per federal baseline applied in AZ). Arizona's 'Emotional Disability' (not 'Emotional Disturbance') category excludes children who are only socially maladjusted without an underlying emotional disability. A child may not be found eligible solely because of limited English proficiency, lack of instruction in reading or math, or social maladjustment (A.R.S. § 15-761(2)(b)). For preschool children, A.R.S. § 15-771 establishes specific eligibility categories including Developmental Delay, Preschool Severe Delay, Hearing Impairment, Visual Impairment, and Speech/Language Impairment.
What Arizona Requires
Eligibility requires (1) disability within an Arizona-defined category; and (2) by reason of the disability, the child needs specially designed instruction (adversely affects educational performance) (A.R.S. § 15-761(2); A.R.S. § 15-766).
For SLD eligibility, Arizona permits the RTI/MTSS model or the pattern-of-strengths-and-weaknesses model; a simple IQ-achievement discrepancy alone is not permissible as the sole basis (A.A.C. R7-2-401; 34 CFR 300.307–300.311).
Arizona uses 'Emotional Disability' — not the federal term 'Emotional Disturbance'; social maladjustment alone does not qualify unless the child also has an emotional disability (A.R.S. § 15-761).
Developmental Delay eligibility applies only to children ages 3 to under 10; it requires 1.5–3 SDs below the mean in two or more developmental areas, corroborated by comprehensive assessment and parent input (A.R.S. § 15-761).
A child may not be found eligible solely because of limited English proficiency, lack of instruction, or social maladjustment (A.R.S. § 15-761(2)(b)).
Eligibility determination requires written parental consent; placement then requires a separate written consent from the parent after the eligibility determination (A.R.S. § 15-766(A); 34 CFR 300.300).
Key Timelines
Eligibility determination must be completed within 60 calendar days of receiving parental written consent to evaluate (A.R.S. § 15-766(B); A.A.C. R7-2-401(C)(1)).
Reevaluation must occur at least every three years, or more frequently if conditions warrant or the parent or teacher requests one (A.R.S. § 15-766; 34 CFR 300.303).
Reevaluation may not occur more than once per year unless the parent and district mutually agree to an additional evaluation (A.R.S. § 15-766; 34 CFR 300.303(b)(1)).