Special education in Colorado

What Colorado calls special education, how long each step takes, who to call, free help, paying for services, and how the state scores.

Special education in Colorado

Special education is called

Special Education (CDE Exceptional Student Services Unit)

The IEP meeting

IEP team meeting

Eligibility team

Multidisciplinary team / IEP team

Evaluation timeline

60 calendar days. From consent to eligibility (ECEA Rules 4.02)

IEP timeline

IEP within 30 days of eligibility; secondary source cites 90 calendar days from consent

Transition planning starts

15 (verified CDE)

Rights transfer to the student at

Developmental delay category

3 to 8 (child count)

Dyslexia law

yes: SB 25-200: annual K-3 dyslexia screening beginning 2027-28 (not yet in effect)

State categories

Serious emotional disability term; gifted under ECEA but separate from IDEA

Find your district and schools

273 districts and charter districts. 17 special education schools and 258 public charter schools.

Get your Hall Pass Schools in Colorado Services for children in Colorado (on Disability Atlas)

The state office and your options when you disagree

State special education office

Colorado Department of Education, Exceptional Student Services Unit (303) 866-6889

Procedural safeguards (your rights notice)

Read the state's notice

Mediation

Ask for mediation

State complaint

File a state complaint

Due process

Ask for a due process hearing

Free help for families

Parent centers

PEAK Parent Center
Parent Training and Information Center (PTI), Colorado Springs
(719) 531-9400
Show and Tell
Community Parent Resource Center (CPRC), Aurora
(303) 632-6840

Disability rights agency

Disability Justice
Protection and Advocacy Agency, Denver
(303) 722-0300

Advocacy groups in Colorado

Paying for it

Medicaid for children

Health First Colorado

CHIP

Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+)

Apply

Apply for coverage

Medicaid for children with disabilities, whatever the family's income

yes: Health First Colorado Buy-In Program for Children with Disabilities; Children's Home and Community-Based Services waiver (CHCBS)

Schools bill Medicaid for health services

yes

Autism insurance law

yes. children; cap not listed

Scholarship or ESA for students with disabilities

none

How school, Medicaid and insurance fit together

How Colorado scores

First edition. These grades are new (November 2026) and the weights may still change. Texas graduation data is being confirmed with the state.

State of Schools

C-

Rank 29 of 51

State of Support

C+

Rank 22 of 51

Combined

Rank 23 of 51

Pillar	Grade
Following the law	D
Learning together	B
Results	C+
School funding	D+
Family protections	C
Options and transition	D+

IDEA determination 2026: Needs Assistance (2 or more years). How we grade.

Sources for this page are listed in the K12 Atlas research tables (state terms, state help, paying for it). Items marked "being checked" are waiting on a primary source.

Last reviewed: November 2026. Rules, programs and phone numbers change. Check with the office named on this page. Report outdated or wrong information.