To get an IEP in Arizona, send your child’s school a dated written request asking for a special education evaluation. That letter starts a legal timeline: the school has 15 school days to either begin the evaluation process or give you a formal written refusal. From there, if your child is evaluated and found eligible under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the school must hold a meeting to write the IEP within 30 calendar days of the eligibility decision. The whole process is governed by federal law and Arizona Administrative Code R7-2-401, and knowing the deadlines is what keeps it moving.
Start With a Written Request to the School
Write a letter or email to the principal or the special education director. State clearly that you believe your child may have a disability that affects learning and that you are requesting a comprehensive special education evaluation. Use the word “evaluation” rather than softer language like “testing” or “help,” because that specific word triggers the legal process. Date the letter and keep a copy. The school’s response clock runs from the date it receives your written request.
Under Arizona Administrative Code R7-2-401, the school has no more than 15 school days from receipt of your request to respond in one of two ways. It must either begin the evaluation process by convening a team to review existing data, or send you a formal written refusal explaining why it will not evaluate.1Arizona Department of Education. Arizona Administrative Code R7-2-401 – Special Education If the school agrees to move forward, it will ask for your informed written consent before beginning any formal assessments. Consent for evaluation is not the same as consent for services; federal law treats those as separate decisions.2eCFR. 34 CFR 300.300 – Parental Consent
If the School Refuses to Evaluate
A school that declines your request cannot simply say no and walk away. It must give you a document called Prior Written Notice, required under federal regulations any time a school proposes or refuses to take action on evaluation, placement, or services.3eCFR. 34 CFR 300.503 – Prior Written Notice That notice must explain what the school is refusing to do, the reasons, and what data or records it relied on. It must also tell you about your rights under IDEA’s procedural safeguards and point you to places that can help you understand them.
If you receive a refusal and disagree, you have options. Many parents respond with a second letter addressing the school’s stated reasons directly and attaching any additional documentation such as private evaluations or doctor’s reports. You can also file a state complaint with the Arizona Department of Education or a due process complaint, both covered briefly below.
The Evaluation and Arizona’s 60-Day Clock
Once you sign the consent form, a strict Arizona timeline begins. The school’s Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team must complete the full evaluation and determine eligibility within 60 calendar days of receiving your signed consent.1Arizona Department of Education. Arizona Administrative Code R7-2-401 – Special Education This matches the federal default.4eCFR. 34 CFR 300.301 – Initial Evaluations If you and the evaluation team both agree it serves your child’s best interest, the 60-day period can be extended by an additional 30 days through a written agreement.5Arizona State Board of Education. Arizona Administrative Code R7-2-401 – Special Education
The team is made up of qualified professionals who assess your child across all areas of suspected disability. Depending on the concerns, that can include academic achievement, cognitive ability, communication, motor skills, social and emotional functioning, health, vision, and hearing. The team must use a variety of assessment tools rather than relying on a single test, and the evaluation must be conducted in your child’s native language or preferred mode of communication when feasible.
One federal exception to the 60-day timeline matters if your family moves mid-evaluation. If your child transfers to a new Arizona school district after you have given consent but before the evaluation is complete, the new district is not bound by the original deadline, as long as it is making sufficient progress and you and the school agree on a specific completion date.6U.S. Department of Education. 20 U.S. Code 1414(a) – Evaluations, Eligibility Determinations, Individualized Education Programs, and Educational Placements
Does Your Child Qualify?
When the evaluation is finished, the team meets to decide whether your child qualifies for special education, and you are a member of that team. Eligibility requires two things, both of which must be true. Your child must have a disability that falls under one of 13 federally recognized categories, and that disability must adversely affect educational performance to the point that your child needs specially designed instruction.7U.S. Department of Education. 34 CFR 300.8 – Child With a Disability A diagnosed disability alone is not enough if your child is performing well without specialized instruction, and academic struggle alone is not enough without a qualifying disability.
The 13 IDEA disability categories are:
- Autism
- Deaf-blindness
- Deafness
- Emotional disturbance
- Hearing impairment
- Intellectual disability
- Multiple disabilities
- Orthopedic impairment
- Other health impairment (covers conditions like ADHD, epilepsy, and diabetes when they affect learning)
- Specific learning disability (includes dyslexia, dyscalculia, and similar conditions)
- Speech or language impairment
- Traumatic brain injury
- Visual impairment, including blindness
For children ages three through nine, Arizona may also use a 14th category called “developmental delay,” which covers children experiencing delays in physical, cognitive, communication, social or emotional, or adaptive development without a more specific diagnosis.7U.S. Department of Education. 34 CFR 300.8 – Child With a Disability This category is particularly useful for younger children whose disabilities are not yet clearly defined.
The IEP Meeting and What Goes in the Document
If your child qualifies, the school must hold a meeting to develop the IEP within 30 calendar days of the eligibility determination.8U.S. Department of Education. 34 CFR 300.323(c) – Initial IEPs; Provision of Services This is where the evaluation findings get turned into an actual educational plan. The IEP team includes you, at least one of your child’s general education teachers, at least one special education teacher, a school representative who can commit resources, and someone qualified to explain what the evaluation results mean for instruction.9U.S. Department of Education. 34 CFR 300.321 – IEP Team You can also bring anyone with knowledge or expertise about your child, such as a private therapist, advocate, or family member.
The written IEP must include several required components:10eCFR. 34 CFR 300.320 – Definition of Individualized Education Program
- A description of your child’s present levels of academic and functional performance, and how the disability affects involvement in the general curriculum.
- Measurable annual goals, both academic and functional.
- How and when the school will measure progress toward those goals and report it to you.
- The specific special education and related services your child will receive, including how often, where, and for how long.
- An explanation of any time your child will be removed from the general education classroom.
- Any accommodations needed on state and district assessments, or a statement explaining why an alternate assessment is appropriate.
Related services are the additional supports your child needs to benefit from special education. Common examples include speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling, school nursing services, and transportation. The IEP must describe each one with enough detail that you know exactly what your child will receive.
Services cannot begin until you give written consent to the initial IEP.2eCFR. 34 CFR 300.300 – Parental Consent You have the right to refuse, and the school cannot override that refusal through due process. Read the document carefully before signing. If you agree with some parts but not others, you can note your disagreements and request another meeting to revise it.
If You Disagree With the School
Disputes over evaluations, eligibility, IEP content, or placement are common, and IDEA builds in several ways to resolve them. The approach you choose affects timeline, formality, and outcomes.
If you disagree with the school’s evaluation, you can request an Independent Educational Evaluation at the district’s expense.11eCFR. 34 CFR 300.502 – Independent Educational Evaluation The district must either pay for the IEE or file a due process complaint to show that its own evaluation was adequate. The school may ask why you disagree, but it cannot require you to give a reason. You are entitled to one publicly funded IEE each time the school conducts an evaluation you disagree with.
Mediation is a voluntary process where you and the school work with a trained, neutral mediator toward an agreement.12eCFR. 34 CFR 300.506 – Mediation It is faster and less adversarial than a hearing, and any agreement reached is legally binding. If mediation fails, your other rights stay intact.
You or the school can file a due process complaint over any disagreement about identification, evaluation, placement, or services.13eCFR. 34 CFR 300.507 – Filing a Due Process Complaint The complaint must allege a violation that occurred within the past two years. The school must hold a resolution session within 15 days, and if the issue isn’t resolved within 30 days, the case moves to a formal hearing before an impartial hearing officer whose decision is legally binding unless appealed.14eCFR. 34 CFR 300.510 – Resolution Process
Separately, you can file a state complaint with the Arizona Department of Education if you believe the school has violated IDEA or Arizona special education rules.15Arizona Department of Education. State Complaint A state complaint triggers an ADE investigation and can result in corrective action against the school. It runs on a different track from a due process hearing.
While any of these proceedings are pending, your child has a right to remain in their current educational placement under IDEA’s “stay-put” provision.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 20 U.S. Code 1415 – Procedural Safeguards The school cannot unilaterally change services or placement during a dispute, with narrow exceptions for certain disciplinary removals.
When an IEP Isn’t the Right Fit: 504 Plans
Some children don’t qualify for an IEP but still have a disability that affects a major life activity like learning. In that case, a 504 plan may be the right tool. A 504 plan falls under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act rather than IDEA, and it uses a broader definition of disability. An IEP requires that a child need specially designed instruction; a 504 plan covers children who need accommodations to access the same education as their peers but do not need specialized instruction.
A 504 plan can provide accommodations like extended test time, modified seating, or breaks during class, but it does not include the detailed goals, progress monitoring, or specialized services an IEP provides, and it carries fewer procedural protections. If the school finds your child ineligible for an IEP during the evaluation process, ask whether a 504 evaluation is appropriate before you leave the meeting.