Special-education help for Florida families.

Early Steps is Florida's IDEA Part C program, run by the Florida Department of Health (Children's Medical Services). It gives free developmental evaluation and services — speech, occupational, physical, and developmental therapy — to any child birth to 3 with a delay or qualifying condition, anywhere in the state, delivered where your child lives, learns, and plays. There is no income test and no diagnosis required. This is the single best first call for a baby or toddler.

Early Steps is delivered through 15 local programs across Florida — use the Florida Department of Health Early Steps site to find the office serving your county, or call 2-1-1. They come to you.

Florida's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center has supported families of children with disabilities for over 35 years. Through its Parent Education Network (PEN) for South Florida and POPIN for North Florida, FND gives free, one-to-one help understanding your rights, evaluations, and the IEP/504 process — with Spanish-language support. Trained parent specialists who've been through it themselves. Call before you pay any private advocate.

FDLRS is a statewide network of centers that supports families and schools with child find, evaluation services, and parent training — a free resource that complements your PTI and your district.

Florida's federally mandated protection & advocacy agency provides free legal information and advocacy when a child's special-education rights are being denied — including help with disputes, restraint/seclusion, discipline, and transition. A powerful no-cost resource before you hire a lawyer.

Florida's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (within the Department of Education) provides free Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) for every student with a disability ages 14–21 — job exploration, work-readiness training, work-based learning, postsecondary counseling, and self-advocacy. Students can take part in Pre-ETS without even applying to VR. Ask your VR counselor to join your child's transition IEP meetings.

The iBudget Home and Community-Based Services Waiver, run by Florida's Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), can pay for therapies, behavior services, respite, and supports for a child with a developmental disability — and once enrolled, eligibility counts the child's income, not the parents'. The waiting list is years long and tens of thousands deep, so the single most important move is to apply and get on the APD list TODAY. Important: unlike many states, Florida does NOT offer a true Katie Beckett (TEFRA) pathway — its only related option is a tiny Model Waiver (about 20 slots) for medically fragile children, so do not wait on Katie Beckett. Get on every list now.

For children already on Medicaid, Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration covers medically necessary speech, OT, PT, and behavior analysis (ABA) under EPSDT — an immediate path to services while you wait on a waiver list. Children under 3 can also get Medicaid-reimbursed early intervention through Early Steps.

You can ask your school district in writing for a special-education evaluation at any time. Under Florida Rule 6A-6.0331, once you sign consent the district must complete the initial evaluation within 60 calendar days (school holidays and summer breaks don't count), and once your child is found eligible the IEP team must develop the IEP within 30 days. Put the request in writing and date it — the clock starts then. You have the right to everything in your language, to bring anyone to the meeting, and to disagree.

Under IDEA you have the right to a free, appropriate public education (FAPE), to a full evaluation at no cost, to be an equal member of the IEP team, to an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) if you disagree, and to dispute-resolution (mediation/due process). In Florida, special education is called Exceptional Student Education (ESE). Your PTI above explains all of it for free.

The Florida Department of Education's Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services sets the rules every district must follow and runs the state complaint, mediation, and due-process systems (it must answer a written state complaint within 60 days). Dyslexia is recognized in Florida as a specific learning disability that can qualify a child for services. Start here to know what the state requires of your school.

Use the ZIP finder to pull the nearest evaluators, therapists, and special-education schools to your address, plus your metro's full directory — and these statewide free programs are always shown, no matter how rural your town.

Several reputable practices provide autism/ADHD evaluation and speech/OT/ABA by telehealth across Florida — vital for rural families. Nationally, COPAA (advocates/attorneys), the Academy of Orton-Gillingham (dyslexia), ABPP (board-certified evaluators), BHCOE (ABA), and Bookshare (free accessible books) round out your options.