Child Find in Colorado: free school evaluations and special education

How to ask the school district for an evaluation

Contact Child Find in the district where your child lives, or ask your child's school. Colorado's Department of Education says "Referrals to Child Find can be from any source," and "Child Find is provided at no cost to families."

• Put it in writing and use the words "special education evaluation". Colorado's rules say a special education referral is different from a school's screening or building-level referral, and the 60-day clock starts only with the first.
• A parent can ask directly; no one else has to refer your child. Parent consent is not needed for someone else to refer, but you take part in the evaluation.
• If the school refuses, it must say so in writing and explain why (Disability Justice, Colorado's protection and advocacy organization).

The timeline in Colorado

1. 1
   Written referral

   You ask the district in writing, or the school refers your child and tells you.

2. 2
   Your written consent

   The clock starts when you sign consent for the evaluation.

3. 3
   Evaluation within 60 days

   "The initial evaluation, shall be completed within 60 calendar days from the point of initiation of the special education referral."

4. 4
   Eligibility meeting

   Held "within a reasonable time" after the evaluation.

5. 5
   First IEP within 90 days

   The initial IEP is written within 90 calendar days of your consent to evaluate.

6. 6
   Re-evaluation

   At least every three years, unless you and the school agree it is not needed.

Child Find contacts by district

As each district prints them on its own Child Find page. Where a district has no page of its own, the row links to the state's Child Find directory.

Any other district: CDE's Child Find directory. A district that spans counties appears under each.

What Child Find is

Child Find is how Colorado's public schools find children who may need special education. "Starting at age three, school districts and/or Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) are responsible for the Child Find process."

• It runs from age 3 to 21, so it covers preschoolers who are not in school yet and students in any grade.
• Steps can include information from your family, earlier screenings, a screening and an evaluation.
• If the team, which includes you, finds your child eligible, it writes an Individualized Education Program (IEP).

A diagnosis is not the same as school eligibility

Child Find decides "if there is an educational disability that requires special education and related services." A medical autism diagnosis helps, but the school team decides eligibility, and "Decisions by the IEP or 504 Team cannot be based upon one source of information."

Autism is one of the federal disability categories, judged by its effect on learning at school. You can share outside evaluations, at your own cost, and if you disagree with the school's results you can ask for an Independent Education Evaluation (IEE).

IEP or 504 plan: which one

Coming from Early Intervention at age 3

Children become eligible for school services on their third birthday, and the district must have an IEP in place by then for a child moving from Early Intervention who qualifies. The district joins a transition conference before the birthday.

A child with an IEP gets a Universal Preschool program aligned to that IEP, according to the Colorado Department of Early Childhood. The Early Intervention side of the move.

Can an outside ABA therapist work with my child at school?

You can ask. Colorado's HB22-1260 requires every district to adopt a policy on how a student with a prescription for medically necessary treatment gets it at school, including how a private provider may observe, work with staff and treat the student there when Section 504 and the ADA require it.

• Medicaid behavioral therapy providers count as private providers under the law.
• CDE says a request is an HB22-1260 request "if the parents label it as such." Say so in writing.
• The policy must be on the district's website and must explain how to appeal a decision.
• Districts report how many requests they got and granted to CDE each July.

How often districts said yes, as reported by Chalkbeat Colorado in October 2024:

Denver told Chalkbeat its rate leaves out a second process for therapy during non-instructional time, such as recess, which it does not track. Separately, Health First Colorado no longer covers 40 hours in a clinic when a child has school hours, unless the district shows the child cannot be served in a classroom.

Budding Futures ABA Therapy provides school-based ABA:

Any provider on the state list can ask under the district's policy.

Who helps parents with school

• PEAK Parent Center, 719-531-9400: Colorado's Parent Training and Information Center, with trained parent advisors.
• CDE Office of Special Education, for parents: 720-926-1453, Parents_ESSUquestions@cde.state.co.us.
• Disability Justice: Colorado's protection and advocacy organization, with guides on IEPs and 504 plans.
• Your county's Arc chapter, listed on each county page.

If you disagree with the school

• Evaluation results: ask for an Independent Education Evaluation.
• The IEP: file a due process complaint with the state.
• A 504 plan: file a grievance with the district or a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.
• An HB22-1260 decision: appeal under the district's own policy.

Questions parents ask about Child Find and special education

Sources and dates

Read 9 November 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

1. CDE: Child Find for children ages 3 through 5
2. CDE: Child Find directory
3. CDE: special education for parents
4. Colorado rules, 1 CCR 301-8 (special education)
5. CDE: HB22-1260 guidance
6. Chalkbeat Colorado, 2 October 2024
7. Disability Justice: IEPs and 504 plans
8. PEAK Parent Center
9. CDEC: Universal Preschool and special education
10. HCPF Policy Memo PM 25-005
11. Poudre School District (Poudre R-1), Child Find
12. Thompson School District (Thompson R2-J), Child Find
13. Estes Park School District (Park (Estes Park) R-3), Child Find
14. Greeley-Evans School District 6, Child Find
15. Weld RE-4 (Windsor-Severance), Child Find
16. Johnstown-Milliken Weld RE-5J, Child Find
17. Boulder Valley School District (Boulder Valley RE-2), Child Find
18. Estes Park School District (Park (Estes Park) R-3), serves part of Boulder County, Child Find
19. Jeffco Public Schools (Jefferson County R-1), Child Find
20. Denver Public Schools (Denver County 1), Child Find
21. Cherry Creek School District (Cherry Creek 5), Child Find
22. Aurora Public Schools (Adams-Arapahoe 28J), serves Arapahoe and part of Adams, Child Find
23. Englewood Schools (Englewood 1), Child Find
24. Academy School District 20, Child Find
25. Falcon School District 49 (District 49), Child Find
26. Colorado Springs School District 11, Child Find
27. Harrison School District 2, Child Find