Accessibility Guidelines: Selecting, Administering, and Evaluating Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment
This document addresses accommodation selection and accessibility decisions for instruction and statewide assessment. The action steps serve as a reference to guide the process of selecting, administering, and evaluating instructional accommodations for use by English Learners (ELs), students with disabilities, and EL students with disabilities.
Publication Date: September 2023
Publisher: Arizona Department of Education
ADA Requirements: Testing Accommodations
This guidance document discusses the obligation of testing entities, both private and public, to ensure that the test scores of individuals with disabilities accurately reflect the individual's aptitude, achievement, or the skill that the exam purports to measure, rather than his or her disability.
Publication Date: Updated February 2020
Publisher: U.S. Department of Justice
A History of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
This landmark law’s name changed to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, in a 1990 reauthorization. The law was last reauthorized in 2004, and the department has periodically issued new or revised regulations to address the implementation and interpretation of the IDEA.
Publication Date: March 2022
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
Arizona’s Alternate Assessment
This document addresses accessibility and accommodations for the Multi-State Alternate Assessment (MSAA), a comprehensive assessment system designed to promote increasingly higher academic outcomes for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in preparation for a broader array of post-secondary outcomes.
Publication Date: November 2024
Publisher: Arizona Department of Education
Early Childhood Special Education
This webpage provides information regarding Early Childhood Special Education, a state and federally mandated program for children aged 3–5 who meet eligibility requirements because they are experiencing developmental delays.
Publication Date: Revised February 2025
Publisher: Arizona Department of Education
Evaluation Process
This AZ-TAS document provides a step-by-step guide to decision making and procedures for use throughout the evaluation process, including reviewing existing data, determining the need for additional data, obtaining parent consent, conducting any needed assessments, and determining eligibility.
Publication Date: Updated August 2024
Publisher: Arizona Department of Education
Frequently Asked Questions about Graduation of Students with Disabilities in Arizona’s Schools
This document serves as technical assistance for special education stakeholders and is written in question and answer format. It will outline what it means to graduate from high school in Arizona.
Publication Date: January 2020
Publisher: Arizona Department of Education
Frequently Asked Questions about Prior Written Notice
This AZ-TAS document provides school personnel and parents with information, clarification, and guidance relating to using the Prior Written Notice (PWN). It outlines when and how the PWN must be provided and how the PWN fits into the overall special education process and suggests general tips to aid in writing effective, compliant PWNs.
Publication Date: Revised January 2025
Publisher: Arizona Department of Education
How Can We Ensure IEP Teams Provide the Most Intensive Supports?
This resource provides information about how data-based individualization can support IEP implementation and provides a table with key considerations for teams working across the MTSS system.
Authors: Steve Goodman and Teri Marx
Publication Date: July 2018
Publisher: American Institutes for Research
IDEA Statute Part A
Part A outlines IDEA’s general provisions, including the purpose of IDEA and the definitions used throughout the statute.
Last Modified: November 2019
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
IDEA Statute Part B
Part B includes provisions related to formula grants that assist states in providing a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment for children with disabilities ages three through 21.
Last Modified: November 2019
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
IDEA Statute Part C
Part C includes provisions related to formula grants that assist states in providing early intervention services for infants and toddlers birth through age two and their families.
Last Modified: November 2019
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
IDEA Statute Part D
Part D includes provisions related to discretionary grants to support state personnel development, technical assistance and dissemination, technology, and parent-training and information centers.
Last Modified: November 2019
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
This document explains the federal law that mandates schools meet the needs of children
with disabilities and provides them a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment.
Publication Date: Updated January 2024
Publisher: National Center for Learning Disabilities
Laws, Regulations, and Guidance
This webpage offers information regarding IDEA Statutes, Arizona Revised Statutes, Section 504 Regulations, Office of Special Education Programs, Office for Civil Rights and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Publication Date: March 2022
Publisher: Arizona Department of Education
Principles for SLD Eligibility: Practice & Policy Considerations for States and School Districts
This document describes school-level practices and policy considerations for states and school districts to encourage comprehensive, timely evaluations for special education for children suspected to have a specific learning disability.
Publication Date: December 2023
Publisher: National Center for Learning Disabilities
Process for Developing Individualized Education Programs
This AZ-TAS document provides administrators, teachers, students, parents, and other IEP team members with practical information about the development and implementation of an IEP that meets the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Arizona Revised Statutes, and the Arizona State Board of Education rules.
Publication Date: August 2017
Publisher: Arizona Department of Education
Restraint and Seclusion: Resource Document
To support schools in fulfilling that responsibility, the U.S. Department of Education developed this document that describes 15 principles for States, school districts, schools, parents, and other stakeholders to consider when developing or revising policies and procedures on the use of restraint and seclusion.
Publication Date: May 2012
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
Special Education Legal Guidelines: Students with Disabilities and the Use of Restraint and Seclusion in K-12 Public Schools
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) partnered with the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) for this webinar as technical assistance to both support children with disabilities and support the needs of those within school systems serving students. This tool is a helpful resource and valuable technical assistance on how federal laws apply to the use of restraint and seclusion.
Publication Date: January 2020
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
Students in Foster Care Receiving Special Education
This document was developed to provide information, clarification, and guidance that relate to students in foster care who receive special education to school personnel, agencies, and parents.
Publication Date: Revised July 2025
Publisher: Arizona Department of Education
The Special Education Handbook: A Brief Overview of the History and Requirements of Part B of the IDEA
This handbook provides an explanation of federal and state special education requirements in a readable format that includes relevant citations.
Authors: Kacey Gregson and Shannon Chavez
Publication Date: January 2018
Publisher: Arizona Department of Education