Special-education help for Arizona families.

AzEIP, run by the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), gives free developmental evaluation and services — speech, occupational, physical, and developmental therapy — to any child from birth up to age 3 with a delay or qualifying condition, anywhere in the state, delivered in your home or community. There is no income test to qualify and no diagnosis required. This is the single best first call for a baby or toddler. (Arizona serves Part C up to a child's third birthday; for age 3 and up, the school district takes over with a free preschool evaluation.)

AzEIP is delivered through DES and local service-providing agencies across Arizona — use the AzEIP site or call the statewide Central Referral line to start, and they will connect you to the program serving your area. They come to you.

Arizona's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center gives free, one-to-one help understanding your rights, the evaluation, and the IEP/504 process — with strong Spanish-language support. Trained parent specialists, many of whom have raised a child with a disability themselves, will even help you prepare for and attend IEP meetings. Call before you pay any private advocate.

In the Tucson area and southern Arizona, Pilot Parent Partnerships offers free bilingual parent-to-parent mentoring, workshops, and IEP support — a warm local complement to the statewide PTI.

Arizona's federally mandated protection & advocacy agency provides free legal information and advocacy when a child's special-education rights are being denied — including help with disputes, restraint/seclusion, discipline, and discrimination. A powerful no-cost resource before you hire a lawyer; Spanish-language help is available.

Arizona's Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), part of DES, provides free Vocational Rehabilitation for students with disabilities. Through Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS), students ages 14–22 with an IEP or 504 plan get career exploration, job-readiness training, work-based learning, and counseling — to prepare for work, college, and independent living. Ask your VR counselor to join your child's transition IEP meetings, and start early.

Arizona does NOT use a separate Katie Beckett/TEFRA pathway. Instead, the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) and the Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS) do the same job: a child with a qualifying developmental disability (autism, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, or epilepsy) who meets the medical/functional level-of-care test can get Medicaid-funded therapies, respite, habilitation, and attendant care — and eligibility is based on the child's needs, NOT family income. Arizona's big advantage: once your child qualifies through DDD, there is no separate HCBS waiting list. Apply through DDD today — the eligibility process itself takes time, so don't wait.

For children already on AHCCCS (Arizona Medicaid) or KidsCare (CHIP), the EPSDT benefit covers medically necessary speech, OT, PT, and behavioral health — including autism services — an immediate path to therapy. If your child isn't enrolled, apply at AHCCCS; KidsCare offers low-cost coverage for families over the Medicaid income line.

You can ask your school district in writing for a special-education evaluation at any time. Once you sign informed written consent, Arizona schools must complete the evaluation — through the Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET) eligibility determination — within 60 calendar days, then hold an IEP meeting within 30 calendar days of eligibility. Put the request in writing and date it — the clock starts when the school receives your signed consent. You have the right to everything in your language, to bring anyone to the meeting, and to disagree.

Under IDEA you have the right to a free, appropriate public education (FAPE), to a full evaluation at no cost, to be an equal member of the IEP team, to an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) if you disagree, and to dispute resolution (mediation/due process/state complaint). Your PTI above explains all of it for free.

The Arizona Department of Education's Exceptional Student Services division sets the rules every district and charter school must follow, runs the state complaint, mediation, and due-process systems, and publishes Arizona's dyslexia guidance (Arizona law requires dyslexia training for K–3 teachers and screening support). Start here to know what the state requires of your school.

Use the ZIP finder to pull the nearest evaluators, therapists, and special-education schools to your address, plus your metro's full directory — and these statewide free programs are always shown, no matter how rural your town or tribal community.

Several reputable practices provide autism/ADHD evaluation and speech/OT/ABA by telehealth across Arizona — vital for rural and tribal families far from a clinic. Nationally, COPAA (advocates/attorneys), the Academy of Orton-Gillingham (dyslexia), ABPP (board-certified evaluators), BHCOE (ABA), and Bookshare (free accessible books) round out your options.