Special Education Resources

Students with disabilities, gifted students, and culturally/linguistically diverse students are among the populations served by special education.  Whether you are an educator or a parent/family of an exceptional/special needs student, the Colorado Department of Education has many resources on their Special Education website that can help you navigate the special education process.  Our library also has a number of resources on special/exceptional education.  Some highlights include:

• Annual Performance Report for Special Education 
• Chart a Course for the Future
• Colorado Accommodations Manual
• The Colorado Autism Manual for Teachers, Service-Providers, and Parents
• Colorado Charter Schools Special Education Guidebook 
• Colorado Continuous Improvement and Monitoring Process Manual
• Colorado K-12 Speech or Language Impairment Guidelines for Assessment and Eligibility
• Colorado Options:  A Handbook of Post Secondary Educational Services for Students with Disabilities 
• Colorado Resource Guide for Families of Children who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing in Colorado / Spanish version 
• Colorado State Improvement Plan for Exceptional Children and Youth
• Cooperative Planning Handbook for Youth with Developmental Disabilities 
• Critical Questions About the Special Education Process for Culturally and/or Linguistically Diverse Learners 
• Current Issues in Special Education
• Educational Interpreter Handbook
• Gifted Education in Rural and Small Districts 
• Gifted Students’ Learning and Growth 
• Guidelines for the Educational Evaluation of Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Guidelines for Identifying Students with Perceptual/Communicative Disabilities
• Keeping in Touch
• Linking General Education and Special Education
• An Overview of the Special Education Process (DVD)
• Parent and Child Rights in Special Education 
• The Power of Partnership:  A Guide for Local Special Education Advisory Committees (SEACs) in Colorado 
• Response to Intervention (RtI):  Meeting the Needs of All Students (DVD)
• The Role of Clinical Diagnoses in the Educational Identification of Disabilities
• Secondary Education for Youth with Disabilities
• Special Education:  Focus on Accountability 
• Special Education:  Focus on Funding
• Special Education Fiscal Advisory Committee Report
• Special Education Law / Spanish version
• Special Education Services in Charter Schools
• Transition at Age Three:  Transitioning Eligible Children from Early Intervention to Preschool Special Education
• Twice-Exceptional Students:  Gifted Students with Disabilities 
• Update on Special Education Funding 
• What are the Minimum Standards of a Student Health Assessment for a Student Being Considered for Special Education Services? 

Publications listed above that lack hyperlinks can be checked out in hardcopy from our library.  For more resources search our web catalog using keywords such as:

• accommodations
• child identification; early intervention; intervention
• culturally or linguistically diverse
• exceptional children; exceptional education; exceptional students; exceptional student services
• Exceptional Children’s Education Act (ECEA); Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• gifted; gifted and talented; gifted students; twice exceptional
• handicapped children; handicapped students (if searching for older information)
• learning disabilities; students with disabilities
• special education; special needs
• specific disabilities, i.e. autism; deaf; deafblind; dyslexia; speech-language pathology; visually impaired
• transition planning; transition requirements