A diagnosis is important information for the MET team to have, but it does not automatically make a student eligible for an IEP.
Arizona law requires two things: the child must meet the criteria for at least one qualifying disability, and because of that disability, the child must need special education and related services. If the student can be appropriately supported without specially designed instruction, a diagnosis by itself does not create Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) eligibility.
Why do you see 13 categories in one place and 14 in another?
IDEA is commonly described as having 13 federal disability categories. Arizona does not copy that list word for word. A.R.S. § 15-761 contains 14 numbered disability entries for Arizona special education eligibility for preschool to 12th grade.
There is another wrinkle. One of Arizona’s 14 statutory entries is “mild, moderate or severe intellectual disability.” ADE’s reporting codes track mild, moderate, and severe intellectual disability separately. If you count the substantive disability labels used in that reporting system, you can encounter 16 eligibility categories. That does not mean the law changed from 14 to 16. It means the statute and the state reporting system organize some categories differently.
For parents, the useful point is not the number. It is knowing which criteria the MET is applying to your child and why.
Arizona’s 14 statutory eligibility categories
Autism
A developmental disability affecting communication and social interaction that adversely affects educational performance.
Developmental delay
An Arizona category for children who are at least age 3 but under age 10 and meet the state criteria for significant delay across developmental areas. Children can no longer be under the developmental delay eligibility after turning 10 years of age.
Emotional disability
A condition involving specified emotional or behavioral characteristics that occur over time, to a marked degree, and adversely affect educational performance.
Hearing impairment
A loss of hearing acuity that interferes with performance in the educational environment and requires special education and related services.
Other health impairment
Limited strength, vitality, or alertness due to chronic or acute health problems that adversely affect educational performance. ADHD is one condition that may be considered under OHI when it results in limited strength, vitality, or alertness and adversely affects educational performance.
Specific learning disability
A disability involving one or more of the basic psychological processes used in understanding or using spoken or written language. The MET applies specific evaluation requirements when considering SLD.
Mild, moderate, or severe intellectual disability
Arizona places these three levels in one numbered statutory entry, but defines them separately and ADE tracks them separately in state reporting. An Arizona MET report may therefore identify mild intellectual disability, moderate intellectual disability, or severe intellectual disability separately on the eligibility determination page.
Multiple disabilities
A combination of qualifying disabilities that creates learning and developmental needs that cannot be adequately addressed in a program designed for a less complex disability profile.
Multiple disabilities with severe sensory impairment
An Arizona category involving multiple disabilities that include severe visual impairment, severe hearing impairment, or both, in the combinations defined by state law.
Orthopedic impairment
A severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects performance in the educational environment.
Preschool severe delay
An Arizona preschool category for a child who meets the state criteria for a severe developmental delay. This category applies to preschool children, not school age students generally.
Speech/language impairment
A speech or language impairment that meets the applicable Arizona or federal criteria and affects the child’s educational needs.
Traumatic brain injury
An acquired brain injury caused by an external physical force that results in functional or psychosocial impairment and adversely affects educational performance.
Visual impairment
A visual impairment, including blindness, that meets the applicable criteria and affects the child’s educational needs.
A diagnosis and an eligibility category are not the same thing
Parents are sometimes surprised when a private diagnosis does not lead automatically to an IEP. The school must consider outside information, but the MET still has to answer the educational eligibility question. The MET team reviews multiple data points from varying data sources in order to determine if the disability impacts the student’s educational performance and requires specially designed instruction. If the evaluation does not show both a qualifying disability and a need for specially designed instruction, the student would not be eligible under IDEA.
The reverse can also happen. A child does not need a particular medical diagnosis before the school can identify a qualifying educational disability if the evaluation supports eligibility under IDEA and Arizona law.
When you read the MET report
Look for the category the team considered, the data used to apply the criteria, the educational needs identified by the evaluation, and the explanation of why those needs do or do not require special education. That information should clearly support the MET team decision and outline the ‘why’ for the decision.