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Office of Special Education

We administer both the state's Exceptional Children's Educational Act (ECEA) and the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for children with disabilities. This website is a resource for teachers, administrators, and parents of students with exceptional educational needs due to disability, or learners who are culturally and/or linguistically diverse or have some other special need. We are one of three offices within the Exceptional Student Services Unit (along with the Office of Facility Schools and the Office of Gifted Education).

Keep Your Contact Info Up to Date

AU SPED Director of Record
and Fiscal Contact Information

We must have current contact information for all state-level Special Education Directors and Special Education Fiscal Contacts. We communicate important updates and information through our listserv, so please be sure that we have accurate, updated information. Communications from this listserv will come from CDE_SPED.

Online Free Professional Development Options for Colorado Educators

Educators and paraprofessionals play a critical role in supporting students with disabilities. Recent legislation in Colorado established new professional development requirements for both groups—licensed educators must complete training in special education and behavioral health, and paraprofessionals must receive role-specific training to ensure they can effectively support students.

This document highlights a selection of free online professional development opportunities that may help meet these new requirements. The list is not comprehensive and does not represent an endorsement of any program or provider; it is intended as a starting point to explore available options.

Online Free PD Options for Colorado Educators (PDF)

Quick Links

ESSU
DMS

CDE Professional Development

ESSU
Listservs

ESSU
Responsibility List

Find Your Special Education Director

A-Z
Topic Index

Guidance & Technical Assistance Documents


Ways to Search this Site

  1. You can use the Google Search box (only searches CDE) at the top right side of the webpage and type in what you are looking for.
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  2. You can use our Topic Index - an alphabetical list of topics for the Office of Special Education.

Having trouble with this webpage? 

Email

If you have problems with broken links or accessing the content on this page, please contact the Exceptional Student Services Unit at ESSU@cde.state.co.us. Please copy the URL link for this page into the email when referencing the problem you are experiencing.

Contact Us

Exceptional Student Services Unit (ESSU)

ESSU Newsletter

Our primary form of communication, we publish monthly with info from our gifted education, special education, and facility schools offices.

ESSU Newsletter Sign-up

Archived ESSU Newsletters