Arizona IEP Evaluation Timeline, Dispute Routes and Parent Resources (2026)
- Evaluation window
- 60 calendar days
- The clock starts at
- Parental consent
- State complaint deadline
- Within one year
- Due process deadline
- Two years
How long does a school in Arizona have to complete an IEP evaluation?
An Arizona school district or charter school completes an initial special education evaluation within 60 calendar days of receiving a parent's informed written consent. State rules close that window on the day the multidisciplinary evaluation team decides whether a child is eligible, so the eligibility meeting sits inside the 60 days rather than after them. A written request from a parent comes first: the school has up to 15 school days to start by reviewing existing data or to send prior written notice explaining why it declines. A parent and a school can agree in writing to add 30 days when that serves the child, though no extension may push a reevaluation past its three year mark. Arizona then splits its three disagreement routes: the Arizona Department of Education handles state complaints and mediation, while administrative law judges at the Arizona Office of Administrative Hearings hear due process cases.
The evaluation timeline in Arizona
| Initial evaluation window | 60 calendar days |
|---|---|
| The clock starts at | parental consent to evaluate |
| Against the federal rule | The federal default, unchanged |
IDEA sets a default of 60 calendar days from parental consent for an initial evaluation (34 CFR 300.301(c)(1)). Arizona keeps that default rather than setting a timeframe of its own.
Arizona follows the federal 60 calendar day default. Schools must respond to a parent's evaluation request within 15 school days. The 60 day period can be extended by up to 30 more days if the parent and school agree in writing.
Source: Ariz. Admin. Code R7-2-401(E)(3) www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/arizona/Ariz-Admin-Code-SS-R7-2-401
The same window sits beside all fifty-one jurisdictions on the evaluation timelines by state table, which explains where the federal deadline comes from. To pull one state's window on its own, the evaluation deadline checker returns that single result.
Reevaluation and IEP review cadence in Arizona
Arizona keeps the federal cadence and adds clocks of its own. The three year reevaluation and the once a year limit sit in the federal rules Arizona incorporates by reference. Arizona's own statute repeats both at section 15-766(B). Two state additions show up in practice. A reevaluation a parent asks for runs on the same 60 calendar day clock as an initial evaluation. Neither that clock nor a 30 day extension may push a reevaluation past three years from the previous evaluation. For the IEP itself, the team meets at least once a year or more often when a student's progress moves well away from what the team expected. A parent or a school can also ask in writing for an IEP review and name the reason for it. That review happens within 45 school days of the request at a date and time both sides agree on.
Source: Ariz. Admin. Code R7-2-401(E)(3), (E)(5), (G)(6) and (G)(7), current text as amended effective June 23, 2025 (31 A.A.R. 2980; A.A.C. Supp. 25-3); A.R.S. 15-766(B) for the once a year limit and the three year cadence in statute; the federal three year cadence at 34 CFR 300.303(b) and the annual IEP review at 34 CFR 300.324(b)(1)(i), which Arizona incorporates by reference at R7-2-401(A) www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/arizona/Ariz-Admin-Code-SS-R7-2-401
If you disagree in Arizona
IDEA gives families in every state the same three routes when a disagreement with the school does not resolve at the team table. What changes at the state line is who administers each route, how long you have to file and the local detail below.
The state complaint
Handled by Arizona Department of Education, Exceptional Student Services, Dispute Resolution Unit. Time limit to file: Within one year of the alleged violation.
A signed written complaint goes to the Dispute Resolution Unit inside Exceptional Student Services at the Arizona Department of Education, by mail, fax, email or the department's online form. The unit investigates and issues an investigative report with findings of fact within 60 calendar days of receiving a complete complaint. Arizona lets a complaint allege a violation of Part B of IDEA or of the Arizona statutes and rules that carry Part B into state law, so a state rule breach counts as well as a federal one. Whoever files sends a copy to the school district or charter school at the same time. The department still accepts a complaint where that copy did not go out. The department's current procedures state that the complaint process itself carries no appeal of the findings. Where a due process hearing could cover the same issue, a party who disagrees can file one within the two year window instead. Anonymous complaints are not processed. The 60 day timeline can stretch for exceptional circumstances or when both sides agree to try mediation or a facilitated IEP meeting.
Source: Arizona Department of Education Dispute Resolution, State Complaint Procedures (Rev. July 2025), items 14 and 15 for the department's position that its findings carry no appeal inside the complaint process; Ariz. Admin. Code R7-2-405.01(B) for the one year filing window, (A)(1) for the copy to the school and (A)(2) for the 60 day written decision; Ariz. Admin. Code R7-2-401(M)(2) and (M)(3) for the department's general supervision and its duty to see noncompliance corrected; the federal minimums at 34 CFR 300.152(a), 300.153(c) and 300.153(d) www.azed.gov/sites/default/files/media/State%20Complaint%20Procedures_Final_0.pdf
Mediation
Mediation in Arizona is free, voluntary for both sides and arranged through the Dispute Resolution Unit at the Arizona Department of Education. The department provides trained mediators at no expense to the family or the school. Mediators stay neutral, give no legal advice and take cases on a random or rotational basis. Sessions run at a place both sides find workable and can take most of a day, up to eight hours. A family or a school can ask for mediation before anyone files for a due process hearing or after. What people say in mediation stays confidential and cannot be used later in a hearing or in court. An agreement reached in mediation is written down, signed by both sides and enforceable in state or federal court. State coordinated mediation covers special education disputes under IDEA Part B only. It does not reach Section 504 plans, discrimination or harassment claims, employment matters or general school policy questions.
Source: Ariz. Admin. Code R7-2-405.02(1)(a) for the voluntary nature, (3) for selection on a random or rotational basis, (4) for the Department bearing the cost, (6) for the legally binding agreement signed by both sides and enforceable in state or federal court plus (7) for confidentiality; Arizona Department of Education Dispute Resolution, Mediation Procedures (Rev. July 2025) for the eight hour session limit, the mediator's neutral role and the scope limits; the federal counterparts at 34 CFR 300.506(b)(4), (b)(6), (b)(7) and (b)(8) www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/arizona/Ariz-Admin-Code-SS-R7-2-405.02
A due process hearing
Time limit to file: Two years from when the party knew or should have known about the alleged action.
A due process complaint goes to the other party and to the Arizona Department of Education, which assigns a case number and forwards the file to the Arizona Office of Administrative Hearings. An administrative law judge there hears the case, holds a pre hearing conference and issues written findings of fact with a decision. A resolution meeting happens within 15 calendar days of the complaint unless both sides waive it in writing or choose mediation. The resolution period runs 30 calendar days. The written decision follows within 45 calendar days after that period ends. A judge can grant a specific extension of that 45 day clock at a party's request for good cause. A discipline related complaint moves faster and carries no extension at all: a resolution meeting within 7 calendar days, a hearing within 20 school days and a decision within 10 school days after the hearing. The two year lookback drops away where a school misrepresented that it had resolved the problem or held back information IDEA required it to share. The judge's decision is final at the administrative level, so no state level review sits between it and a court. Arizona then sets its own court clock at 35 calendar days from receipt of the decision, shorter than the 90 days the federal rule applies where a state sets no limit of its own. The department publishes redacted hearing decisions on its due process page.
Source: Ariz. Admin. Code R7-2-405(A)(1) and (A)(2) for the hearing body, (G)(1) for the two year lookback, (H)(1) for the pre hearing conference, (H)(6) for the 45 calendar day decision, (H)(7) for finality at the administrative level, (H)(8) for the 35 calendar day court window, (H)(9) for the published redacted decisions and (I)(3) for the discipline track; A.R.S. 15-766(E)(2) for the transmittal to the Office of Administrative Hearings; Arizona Department of Education Dispute Resolution, Due Process Procedures (Rev. July 2025) for the case number step and the 7 calendar day discipline resolution meeting; the federal resolution clocks at 34 CFR 300.510(a)(1) and (b)(1), the discipline clocks at 34 CFR 300.532(c)(2) and (c)(3)(i), the two year lookback at 34 CFR 300.507(a)(2), its exceptions at 34 CFR 300.511(f) and the civil action window at 34 CFR 300.516(b) www.azed.gov/sites/default/files/media/Due%20Process%20Procedures_Final_0.pdf
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Who to contact in Arizona
- The state special education office. Exceptional Student Services, Arizona Department of Education. This is the office that answers questions about Arizona rules and receives a state complaint.
- Your rights in writing. IDEA Part B Procedural Safeguards Notice for the State of Arizona: Parents' Rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Rev. 08-28-25). Every district hands parents this notice at least once a year (34 CFR 300.504). It is the plain summary of what you can ask for at each step.
- Parent training and information center. Encircle Families, formerly Raising Special Kids. A parent center is free and federally funded under IDEA. Staff there talk families through the process in their own state at no cost.
- The state rules themselves. A.R.S. Title 15, Chapter 7, Article 4, Special Education for Exceptional Children (sections 15-761 through 15-774). This article holds Arizona's special education definitions, the duties it places on school district governing boards, the evaluation and due process hearing provisions at section 15-766 and the transfer of parental rights when a student reaches the age of majority. The State Board of Education rules that put the article into practice sit in the Arizona Administrative Code at Title 7, Chapter 2, Article 4, where R7-2-401 carries the day counts families track and R7-2-405 carries the due process procedures.
Child Find in Arizona
Arizona runs child find under the name AZ FIND. School districts and charter schools locate, identify and evaluate children with disabilities from birth through 21, including children attending private schools and children taught at home. State rules finish screening within 45 calendar days after a preschool or kindergarten student enters school, after any student enrolls without records of earlier screening or progress, or after a family tells the school about a concern with the development or school progress of a child aged 3 through 21. Screening covers vision and hearing status plus cognitive or academic areas, communication, motor skills, social or behavioral development and adaptive development. When screening or a records review raises a concern, the school notifies the family within 10 school days and explains how it follows up. Responsibility usually sits with the school district where the parents live. It sits with the charter school for a student enrolled there. For a student in a nonprofit private school, it sits with the district whose boundaries hold that school.
Source: Ariz. Admin. Code R7-2-401(D)(1) for the birth through 21 scope covering students in private schools and home schools, (D)(4) for which agency is responsible, (D)(5) for the 45 calendar day screening window, (D)(6) for what screening covers and (D)(8) for the 10 school day notice to families; Arizona Department of Education, AZ FIND Info for Families www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/arizona/Ariz-Admin-Code-SS-R7-2-401
