Resource Links
This is a collection of links to Federal, State, and Regional websites containing information and resources. It’s broken down into official .gov websites, Non-governmental websites, and a list of organizations and governmental sites that IPUL partners with in varying degrees.
Federal .gov Websites
National Council on Disability Resources Page
US Department of Labor Disability Topics Page
US Department of Labor Disability Resources Page
US Department of Education IDEA Page
USA.Gov Disability Services Page
Health and Human Services – Programs for People with Disabilities
ADA.Gov – Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act
US Department of Education – Office of Special Education Programs
Health Resource Services Administration
Idaho .gov Websites
State of Idaho Disability Page
Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities
Idaho Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Infant Toddler Program
Idaho Department of Labor Disability Determination Information Page
Idaho State Department of Education
Idaho State Department of Education – Special Education
State Independent Living Council
Idaho Sound Beginnings Early Hearing Detection and Intervention
Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Idaho Commission on Aging – Aging and Disability Resource Center
Idaho Commission on the Arts
Idaho National Guard Family Programs
Idaho Medicaid Health Plan Booklet (English and Spanish)
National Organizations
National Family Voices
Family Voices is a national family-led organization of families and friends of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and disabilities. They connect a network of family organizations across the United States that provide support to families of CYSHCN.
Center for Parent Information and Resources
A Central hub of information and products created for the network of Parent Centers serving families of children with disabilities.
PACER center
PACER offers more than 30 programs for parents, students, professionals and other parent organizations, the original philosophy of “parents helping parents” remains the foundation upon which PACER has grown. Whether addressing the issues of early childhood or assisting youth in making the transition from high school to work, parents on PACER’s staff share their experiences and their knowledge with others so that all Minnesota’s children with disabilities may have a better future.
American Association on Health and Disability Resource Center Page
The purpose of the NDPHRC is to provide relevant and contemporary information on topics impacting children and adults with disabilities. The end users of the NDPHRC are people with disabilities, family members, researchers, policy analysts and public health and health care professionals.
Western States Regional Genetics Network
The Western States Regional Genetics Network is a federally-funded, multi-state project that seeks to increase access to genetic services and education for medically underserved populations.
United for ALICE – information regarding people who are living asset limited, income constrained, employed
Statewide Organizations:
Find Help Idaho
A tool for locating financial assistance, food pantries, medical care, and other free or reduced-cost help.
fyidaho
fyidaho is committed to improving, preserving, and restoring the mental health of youth and families. (Formerly Idaho Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health)
DisAbility Rights Idaho
Protection & Advocacy for Individuals with Disabilities
Idaho Assistive Technology Project
Provides support for individuals with disabilities and older persons in their personal selection of assistive technology as they live, work, and play in their communities.
Idaho Legal Aid Services, Inc.
Idaho Legal Aid Services, Inc. is a nonprofit statewide organization dedicated to providing equal access to justice for low-income people through quality advocacy and education.
Wrightslaw Idaho Yellow Pages For Kids
Find educational consultants, psychologists, educational diagnosticians, health care providers, academic therapists, tutors, speech language therapists, occupational therapists, coaches, advocates, and attorneys for children with disabilities on the Yellow Pages for Kids.
Idaho Training Clearinghouse
The Idaho Training Clearinghouse (ITC) connects ALL IDAHO EDUCATORS and parents with hundreds of special education resources.
Libraries Linking Idaho
LiLI.org is the gateway for Idaho residents for free access to online tools for their educational, business, and recreational needs. The LiLI databases provide easy online access to the full text of thousands of magazines, professional journals, reference materials, and newspapers. Also included are personal and professional development databases, including auto repair, readers’ advisory, health information, language learning, genealogy, scholarly research, computer and software literacy, practice tests for college and occupational entrance exams, and much, much more!
Idaho Caregiver Alliance
The Idaho Caregiver Alliance is a coalition of individuals and organizations focused on expanding opportunities for respite as well as other caregiver supports across the lifespan.
Idaho Smiles – MCNADental
Idaho Smiles (MCNA Dental) is the Medicaid dental plan for the entire state of Idaho.
Idaho Parents Unlimited’s Partners And Funding Agencies:
US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is dedicated to improving results for infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities ages birth through 21 by providing leadership and financial support to assist states and local districts.
Health Resources & Services Administration
HRSA is the primary federal agency responsible for ensuring access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable,
Family Voices
Family Voices is a national family-led organization of families and friends of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and disabilities. We connect a network of family organizations across the United States that provide support to families of CYSHCN.
We promote partnership with families at all levels of health care–individual and policy decision-making levels—in order to improve health care services and policies for children.
Idaho Caregiver Alliance
The Idaho Caregiver Alliance is a coalition of individuals and organizations focused on expanding opportunities for respite across the lifespan.
The Family Caregiver Navigator Project
Sponsored by the Idaho Caregiver Alliance, the program helps caregivers connect with resources throughout Idaho to improve their quality of life
Idaho Commission on the Arts
The Commission, funded primarily by the state of Idaho and the National Endowment for the Arts is both a service organization with a professional staff offering technical assistance and training, and a funding organization providing financial assistance.
Idaho State Department of Education
The State Department of Education is responsible for implementing policies, distributing funds, administering statewide assessments, licensing educators, and providing accountability data.
Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
The mission of the Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities is to promote the capacity of people with developmental disabilities and their families to determine, access, and direct the services and/or support they need to live the lives they choose, and to build the communities ability to support their choices.
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
Divisions of: Medicaid, Behavioral Health, Family and Community Services, The Idaho Infant Toddler Coordinating Council, The Regional Early Childhood Committees, Title V – Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Children’s Mental Health
Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities
The mission of the Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities is to promote the capacity of people with developmental disabilities and their families to determine, access, and direct the services and/or support they need to live the lives they choose, and to build the communities ability to support their choices.
Idaho State Rehabilitation Council
The Idaho State Rehabilitation Council works to help people with disabilities in Idaho. They want to make sure that everyone, including consumers and service providers, can have a say in improving Vocational Rehabilitation services. They want to make these services better for the residents of Idaho.
Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Our mission is to empower persons who are blind or visually impaired by providing vocational rehabilitation, skills training, and educational opportunities to achieve self-fulfillment through quality employment and independent living.
Idaho Assistive Technology Project
Provides support for individuals with disabilities and older persons in their personal selection of assistive technology as they live, work, and play in their communities.
Disability Rights Idaho
Protection & Advocacy for Individuals with Disabilities
Western States Genetics Services Network
The Western States Regional Genetics Network is a federally-funded, multi-state project that seeks to increase access to genetic services and education for medically underserved populations.
Act Early Idaho
Act Early Idaho helps families and professionals monitor children’s development and identify concerns early.
FYIdaho
FYIdaho is committed to improving, preserving, and restoring the mental health of youth and families. (Formerly Idaho Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health)
State Independent Living Council
(SILC) actively engages in activities that help provide Idahoans with disabilities a greater voice in obtaining services that are consumer responsive, cost effective and community based.
Idaho Centers for Independent Living:
Centers for Independent Living provide resources for people with disabilities such as legal assistance, housing vouchers, and other non-ADA disability-related information.
LIFE – Serving Eastern | Southern Idaho
LINC – Serving Southwestern Idaho
DAC-NW – Serving Northern Idaho
Idaho State Department of Education Special Education Manual
This is a link to the Idaho State Department of Education’s Special Education Manual. The Manual has been created to meet the needs of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as well as be consistent with state and federal laws, rules, regulations and legal requirements.
http://www.sde.idaho.gov/sped/sped-manual/
Special Education Forms
These forms on the Idaho State Departement of Education website are templates to be used for various compliance documents required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Professional Standards Commission – Educator Code of Ethics
This version of the Code of Ethics for Idaho Professional Educators was revised by the Professional StandardsCommission and approved by both the State Board of Education and the Idaho legislature. (IDAPA 08.02.02.076)
Click here to view or download the Code of Ethics for Professional Educators in PDF form.
Idaho Content Standards
All students graduating from Idaho public high schools must meet state adopted content standards. These standards are to be used as a minimum threshold by every school district in the state in order to establish some consistency in academic content statewide.
Special Education and Alternate Assessments
One element of having high expectations for students with disabilities is having them participate in statewide assessments. The expectation is that every student with a disability participate in all statewide assessments. This expectation focuses an IEP team’s assessment participation decision not on IF the student will participate, but HOW the student will participate. A student with a disability can participate in statewide assessments in one of three ways:
- Regular assessment without accommodations.
- Regular assessment with accommodations.
- Alternate assessment, intended only for those students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, representing about 1.0% of the total student population.
- The ISAT alternate assessment is known as the Idaho Alternate Assessment (IDAA)
- The ACCESS for ELs alternate assessment is known as the Alt-ACCESS.
Idaho Special Education and Alternate Assessments Website
CADRE Advocacy Information
From CADRE (the national center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education) we have 2 PDF handouts about advocacy.
The first handout covers collaberative advocacy’s guiding principles:
“Collaborative Advocacy is an approach to advocating for children with disabilities that utilizes collaborative problem-solving skills and relationship-strengthening strategies to resolve disagreements. This approach can be used by anyone serving as a third-party advocate to focus on improving educational and developmental outcomes for students with disabilities.”
Download the PDF on Collaberative Advocacy’s Principles here.
The second handout is a guide for parents in selecting an Educational Advocate:
“An educational advocate, also known as a parent advocate, child advocate, student advocate, or independent advocate, assists parents of students with disabilities in navigating the complex world of special education. For a fee, professional advocates provide information, guidance and support throughout the IEP process to encourage decisions that meet the needs of the student.”
Download the PDF flyer on selecting an Educational Advocate here.
Foster Care and Education
Questions to ensure that the educational needs of children and youth in foster care are being addressed can be found in the following checklist:
Wrightslaw Yellow Pages for Kids
This is a listing comprised by a third party, of resources available in the State of Idaho for children. IPUL Provides this as a resource only, we do not endorse these products or services.
Wrightslaw Yellow Pages for Kids
OSEP English to Spanish Translation Glossary
OSEP English to Spanish Translation Glossary
Culturally Diverse Families – Working with children and families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds poses special challenges to early childhood educators. This article adresses the challenges and the keys to developing effective and collaborative relationships with culturally diverse communities.
Idaho Content Standards and Students with Disabilities – this guide is designed to help parents better understand Idaho’s content standards.
A guide to the Ten Basic Steps in Special Education that goes over the process of creating an IEP
