Arizona Child Find, Early Intervention, and Special Education Preschool

Your two-year-old is receiving early intervention services and their third birthday is approaching. You have heard that services change at age three — but no one has clearly explained what happens, who is responsible, or what you need to do to make sure your child does not fall through the gap. Or perhaps your four-year-old is at a private preschool and the teachers are raising concerns about development, but the school says it cannot evaluate because the child is "not old enough" or "not enrolled in the public school." Both of these situations involve one of the most important and least-understood obligations in Arizona special education: Child Find.

What Child Find Requires Arizona Schools to Do

Child Find is not a parent's responsibility to initiate. Under IDEA Part B and A.A.C. R7-2-401, Arizona school districts and charter schools have an affirmative, proactive obligation to locate, identify, and evaluate all children aged birth through 21 who reside within the district and may have a disability requiring special education or related services. This obligation does not depend on whether the child is enrolled in public school, whether the parent has made a request, or whether the child is on a waiting list for an evaluation.

The Child Find obligation extends to children who are:

• Enrolled in public school and struggling
• Attending private preschools or private schools within the district's geographic boundaries
• Homeschooled
• Enrolled in charter schools
• Receiving Arizona ESA funds (with significant limitations on what services will be provided)
• Not enrolled anywhere

For parents of young children, this means the district is supposed to be screening and identifying children with developmental delays or disabilities even before the family has thought to request an evaluation. In practice, Child Find is primarily triggered by referrals from parents, pediatricians, preschool teachers, and community programs. If you have concerns about your child's development and no one has contacted you about a screening, you can and should initiate the process yourself.

Arizona Early Intervention (AzEIP) and the Transition to Age Three

For children from birth to three years old, services in Arizona are delivered through the Arizona Early Intervention Program (AzEIP), which is funded under IDEA Part C. AzEIP coordinates evaluations and services for infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities. Services under Part C are delivered in the child's natural environment — typically the home or a daycare setting — and are designed to support the family in promoting the child's development.

The critical transition point is the child's third birthday. At age three, the legal authority for early intervention shifts from AzEIP (Part C) to the school district (IDEA Part B). This is not an automatic continuation of services. It requires:

A transition planning meeting. AzEIP is required to convene a transition planning meeting at least 90 days before the child's third birthday (and ideally earlier). This meeting includes the AzEIP service coordinator, the family, and — importantly — a representative from the school district that will be responsible for the child going forward. The purpose of the meeting is to plan for the transition, discuss whether the child may be eligible for special education preschool, and determine what evaluation data is needed.

Referral to the school district. AzEIP must refer the child to the appropriate school district before the child's third birthday. If the referral is delayed or not made, the family should contact the school district directly.

A new evaluation under Part B standards. The Part C evaluation that established eligibility for early intervention is not automatically transferable to Part B eligibility. The school district must conduct its own evaluation using IDEA Part B criteria. The eligibility standard under Part B requires that the child have a disability that adversely affects educational performance — which is interpreted differently for preschool-age children than for school-age children.

The 60-day evaluation clock begins when the district receives written parental consent to evaluate. The district must complete the evaluation and, if the child is eligible, develop an IEP — all within the 60-day window. The IEP must be in effect on the child's third birthday, which requires that the evaluation and IEP process begin well in advance of that date.

Families often do not receive clear guidance from AzEIP about how much lead time is needed. If your child's third birthday is four months away and no transition planning meeting has occurred, contact your AzEIP service coordinator and the local school district's special education department immediately — in writing.

What Arizona Special Education Preschool Provides

Arizona's public school system provides special education services to eligible children beginning at age three. The program is distinct from general preschool — it is a special education service, not a childcare or enrichment program. Children who qualify receive an IEP and specialized instruction designed to address their developmental needs in preparation for kindergarten.

Arizona uses a specific disability category called "Preschool Severe Delay" for children aged three to five who exhibit significant developmental delays. This category acknowledges that young children may have substantial delays across multiple developmental domains without meeting the criteria for a more specific disability category. Using this category avoids prematurely labeling a child with a specific diagnosis while still ensuring the child receives necessary services.

What Arizona special education preschool actually looks like varies by district. Some districts operate dedicated preschool special education classrooms at specific school sites. Others use a "blended" model in which students with IEPs attend alongside typically developing peers, with special education supports provided in that inclusive setting. The placement decision — like all IEP placement decisions — must be based on the child's individual needs and the Least Restrictive Environment requirement.

The Arizona IEP and 504 Advocacy Playbook covers the full early intervention to preschool IEP transition process, including what to do if the school district is slow to schedule the evaluation or attempts to significantly reduce services compared to what AzEIP was providing.

Child Find and Children Attending Private Schools or Charter Schools

Child Find applies to every child residing in the school district's geographic area — including children attending private preschools, charter schools, and schools outside the district. Charter schools are independent LEAs with their own Child Find obligations. However, the geographic district where the child resides also maintains responsibility for children who attend charter schools, private schools, or no school at all.

For children attending private preschools where the teacher has raised developmental concerns, the family does not need to withdraw the child from the private school to access a public school evaluation. The family can contact the local school district, explain the concerns, and request an evaluation. The district must evaluate the child within 60 days of receiving written consent, regardless of where the child is enrolled.

What happens if the evaluation finds the child is not eligible for special education? The district's obligation to provide special education ends, but the district may offer a 504 plan if the child has a disability that does not adversely affect educational performance in the way IDEA requires but does create barriers to access. For children at private preschools who are found ineligible for an IEP, Section 504 protections are more limited since Section 504 obligations in the private school context depend on whether the school receives federal financial assistance.

Preventing Service Gaps Around the Third Birthday

The most common failure in the transition is timing. If the transition meeting happens late, the referral is delayed, or the evaluation runs to the full 60-day limit, the child may arrive at age three without a valid IEP — losing early intervention services while the new process is still pending.

To prevent this: request the transition planning meeting at least four months before the third birthday. Follow up with the school district in writing to confirm receipt of the referral. If consent forms do not arrive within two weeks of the referral, contact the special education department directly. Request the IEP meeting before the child's birthday, not after.

Early intervention services have a clear endpoint. Your advocacy does not.

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