Find your next step in Arizona

Choose the step that matches your child’s age and the help you need. Keep the program’s eligibility decision separate from your budget plans.

Early intervention

If your child is younger than 3, start with the Arizona Early Intervention Program (AzEIP). It serves Arizona children with a significant developmental delay or an established condition likely to cause a delay. Call 888-592-0140 to make a referral. DES referral flyer, revised March 2026.

AzEIP does not charge family fees, copays, or deductibles for its early intervention services. Existing insurance premiums remain your responsibility. Its funding guide also warns about possible longer-term effects of insurance benefit limits. Ask your service coordinator to explain those effects before consenting to private-insurance billing. AzEIP funding guide, pages 3-4.

AzEIP needs your written consent before billing private insurance or sharing protected early intervention records for that billing. You may decline or withdraw that consent without losing or delaying AzEIP services. AzEIP funding guide, pages 3-4.

School support

Send a written school evaluation request and keep a copy. The school must respond within a reasonable time, no later than 15 school days after receiving it. It must begin reviewing existing data or issue prior written notice refusing the evaluation. ADE school evaluation timelines.

The usual evaluation clock is 60 calendar days, including school breaks. It starts when the school receives your informed written consent and ends with the evaluation team’s eligibility decision. A 30-day extension requires the child’s best interests and written agreement from both you and the school. For reevaluations, an extension cannot exceed the separate three-year deadline. Federal initial-evaluation exceptions also apply when a parent repeatedly fails or refuses to bring the child. A transfer exception requires enrollment with another public agency after the clock starts and before the first agency decides eligibility. The new agency must make sufficient progress, and you must agree with it on a specific completion date. ADE timelines; 34 CFR 300.301(d)-(e).

Consent to an initial evaluation and consent to start special education services are separate. Reviewing existing records does not itself require parental consent. 34 CFR 300.300(a), (b), and (d).

For a child attending a nonprofit private elementary or secondary school, contact the public district where that school is located about Child Find. ADE’s November 2019 guidance also identifies the home district for homeschooled children and for-profit private students outside their home district. It recognizes parent requests for a home-district evaluation. Private preschool has a different legal classification, so confirm the responsible district before using the private-school route. ADE private-school guidance, pages 1-2.

ESA participation does not end the district’s Child Find duty. An ESA disability classification also does not automatically establish IDEA eligibility. ESA students do not have an individual right to the same special education services they would receive in public school. ADE IDEA and ESA memo, July 2023, pages 1-2.

ADE’s currently linked 2025-26 ESA handbook describes possible equitable services for eligible nonprofit private-school students. It excludes for-profit private-school students from those services. Ask the district which services it has designated for your child. This handbook is prior-year guidance, not a verified 2026-27 handbook. 2025-26 ESA handbook, PDF page 42.

DDD and ALTCS

DDD, the Division of Developmental Disabilities, uses different eligibility rules by age. After AzEIP eligibility, DDD can determine eligibility for a child under 3 with the family’s consent. For children aged 3 until the age-6 review, DES considers qualifying disabilities and specified risks of developing them. These include autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, epilepsy, and Down syndrome. Arizona residency and a voluntary application are also required. DES age-specific eligibility requirements.

From age 6, DDD requires a qualifying disability that began before age 18 and is likely to continue indefinitely. The person must also have significant limitations in at least three listed daily-life skill areas, considered for their age. Arizona residency and a voluntary application still apply. Get the eligibility packet or call 844-770-9500 for help. DES eligibility requirements and packet.

DDD eligibility and Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS) eligibility are separate decisions. DES recommends submitting a DDD referral before or alongside the ALTCS application. Its March 2026 flyer explains how the programs coordinate for young children. DES Birth-3 application guide, pages 1-2.

ALTCS is Arizona’s Medicaid long-term care program. It requires financial, nonfinancial, and medical eligibility. The medical assessment considers whether the person needs the level of care provided by a nursing facility or an intermediate care facility for people with intellectual disabilities. A person can qualify while living at home. Eligibility may include a share of cost. Start through Health-e-Arizona Plus or call 888-621-6880. AHCCCS application guide, revised December 2025.

If you are moving to Arizona and need a residential placement, check availability before making plans. DES warns that placement is not guaranteed and may be unavailable because of limited capacity and member waiting lists. DES guidance for out-of-state applicants.

ESA for 2026-27

ADE was accepting ESA applications for 2026-27 when checked on September 12, 2026. The universal route covers kindergarten through grade 12. The student and applying parent or guardian must live in Arizona. An entering kindergartner must be 5 by January 1 of the contract year. The application requires identity and residency documents. ADE application and eligibility requirements.

The preschool disability route has separate requirements. ADE lists a current Arizona public-school evaluation report, IEP, or 504 plan, plus Arizona residency for the child and applicant. The applicant must be the legal parent or guardian. Children must be at least 3 and below kindergarten age, with a stated exception within 90 days of their third birthday. This route has no 45-day public-school attendance requirement. ADE preschool disability application requirements.

A.R.S. 15-2402(C) sets the ESA funding formula at 90% of the sum of the student’s base support level and applicable charter-school additional assistance. This formula is not a fixed dollar award. Arizona ESA funding statute.

The funding chart linked from ADE’s support page during this review is labeled 2025-26. We have not verified a 2026-27 dollar table or an individual 2026-27 award. Use an award confirmed by ADE when planning your budget. ADE ESA Support; 2025-26 funding chart.

The currently linked 2025-26 handbook warns that a new disability evaluation may increase or reduce an award. That prior-year statement does not establish a 2026-27 amount. Before paying for an evaluation, ask ADE how your child’s documents affect the current award. 2025-26 ESA handbook, PDF page 43.

A.R.S. 15-2403(H) requires an award letter for eligible applicants within 30 days after ADE receives a completed application and all required documents. This is an award-letter deadline. For an eligible application completed after March 31 and before July 1, enrollment starts on or after July 1. An advance application may request a later start. That start cannot fall more than two fiscal quarters after the completion quarter, or after March 31 and before July 1. These rules do not establish a bank-deposit date. Arizona ESA administration statute, subsection H.

ESA funding cannot be received while the student is enrolled in a public district or charter school. The ESA spending statute separately allows public-school services, including individual classes and extracurricular programs. ADE also says students cannot receive an STO tuition tax-credit scholarship at the same time as ESA funding. Confirm these enrollment and funding conditions before signing. For ESA application help, call 602-364-1969. A.R.S. 15-2403(H); A.R.S. 15-2402(B)(4)(k); ADE ESA Support; ADE application help.

Insurance help

Check the specific policy before assuming a therapy is covered. DIFI, Arizona’s Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, says treatment coverage depends on policy benefits and medical-necessity rules. Ask the plan about coverage and prior authorization for the service you need. DIFI mental health insurance guidance.

For a denial stating that a service is not covered or not medically necessary, DIFI directs consumers to appeal to the insurer. Other insurance problems may call for a DIFI complaint. Its Consumer Protection Division can help at 602-364-3100 or insurance.consumers@difi.az.gov. DIFI appeal and complaint guidance.

Ask your employer’s benefits office whether the plan is self-funded. DIFI says these employer plans are generally overseen by the U.S. Department of Labor. Its guidance directs AHCCCS plan problems to AHCCCS. DIFI plan-specific help routes.

Current unknowns

Current ESA dollars remain an open item. The preserved original chart and handbook both name 2025-26. A 2026-27 source or an ADE award confirmation is needed before quoting current amounts. Prior-year chart; prior-year handbook.

This review did not establish a separate Arizona TEFRA or Katie Beckett application route, or verify claims about why Arizona uses ALTCS. Use the documented ALTCS application route above while those claims remain unresolved.

This review also did not verify clinic wait times, available therapy hours, or an individual family’s eligibility, insurance coverage, or cost. Confirm those details with the program or provider before committing to a school, service, or budget.