Arizona

1. Initial evaluation timeline

60 calendar days from the public education agency’s receipt of the parent’s informed written consent, concluding with the Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET) eligibility determination. A.A.C. R7-2-401(E)(3): “The initial evaluation of a child being considered for special education … shall be conducted within 60 calendar days from the public education agency’s receipt of the parent’s informed written consent and shall conclude with the date of the Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET) determination of eligibility.” The days are calendar days and include school breaks - ADE: “The 60-day timeframe for an evaluation or reevaluation refers to 60 calendar days and would include school breaks.” Statutory backstop: A.R.S. § 15-766(B) (“evaluation shall be conducted within sixty days after receiving parental consent”). Two Arizona wrinkles worth flagging:

• Parent-initiated requests get a 15-school-day trigger. R7-2-401(E)(4): the PEA must, “within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed 15 school days from the date it receives a parent’s written request for an evaluation, either begin the evaluation by reviewing existing data, or provide prior written notice refusing to conduct the requested evaluation.” The 60-day clock still does not start until consent is received.

• Extension: the 60 days may be extended by 30 additional days only if it is in the child’s best interest and parent and PEA agree in writing. R7-2-401(E)(5).

Sources: A.A.C. R7-2-401 (Cornell LII); A.A.C. R7-2-401 full text (Justia); ADE FAQs: Timelines; A.R.S. § 15-766.

2. Eligibility-to-IEP timeline

Arizona sets no separate state deadline. The State Board rule incorporates IDEA and 34 C.F.R. Part 300 by reference (R7-2-401(A)), so the federal 30-calendar-day rule (IEP meeting within 30 days of the determination that the child needs special education, 34 C.F.R. § 300.323(c)(1)) governs; ADE’s own timelines FAQ lists no state-specific eligibility-to-IEP clock. Arizona does add a rule the federal regulations lack: on a written request by a parent or the PEA to review an existing IEP, the review “shall take place within 45 school days of the receipt of the request” at a mutually agreed date and time. A.A.C. R7-2-401(G)(7) (note: school days). Sources: A.A.C. R7-2-401 (Justia); ADE FAQs: IEP Team Meeting; ADE FAQs: Timelines.