Special education in Idaho

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

Special education in Idaho

Special education is called

Special Education

The IEP meeting

IEP team meeting

Eligibility team

Evaluation team

Evaluation timeline

60 calendar days. Current manual: 60 calendar days from consent, excluding periods school is not in session for 5 or more days. A 2026 pending rule would make it a strict 60 calendar days with no exclusions (verified in IDE summary of changes). A secondary source's claim of 45 school days was not supported

IEP timeline

30 days (federal)

Transition planning starts

16 (being checked)

Rights transfer to the student at

Developmental delay category

3 to 9 (child count; pending rule adds guidance for DD students turning 10)

Dyslexia law

yes: HB 731 (2022), Idaho Code 33-1810/33-1811: IRI K-3 screening incl. characteristics of dyslexia

Find your district and schools

191 districts and charter districts. 18 special education schools and 84 public charter schools.

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

The state office and your options when you disagree

State special education office

Idaho State Department of Education, Special Education (208) 332-6800

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

Idaho Parents Unlimited, Inc. (IPUL)
Parent Training and Information Center (PTI), Boise
(208) 342-5884

Disability rights agency

DisAbility Rights Idaho
Protection and Advocacy Agency, Boise
(208) 336-5353

Advocacy groups in Idaho

Paying for it

Medicaid for children

Idaho Medicaid

CHIP

Idaho CHIP (part of Idaho Medicaid)

Apply

Apply for coverage

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

yes: Katie Beckett (TEFRA), Home Care for Certain Disabled Children

Schools bill Medicaid for health services

Autism insurance law

no. ASHA lists Idaho as having no autism insurance mandate

Scholarship or ESA for students with disabilities

universal: Parental Choice Tax Credit (2025 refundable credit, universal eligibility, capped)

How school, Medicaid and insurance fit together

How Idaho 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

D+

Rank 48 of 51

State of Support

B-

Rank 20 of 51

Combined

Rank 31 of 51

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

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

Sources for this page are listed in the SPED 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.