Special-education help for North Dakota families.

North Dakota's Early Intervention system (Health & Human Services) 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 in your home or community. There is no income test to qualify and no diagnosis required. This is the single best first call for a baby or toddler.

Right Track is North Dakota's free developmental screening and follow-along program for children birth to 3 — a no-cost way to check your child's development and get connected to Early Intervention if there's a concern. Contact HHS or call 2-1-1 to reach the regional program serving your county; they come to you.

North Dakota's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center gives free, one-to-one help understanding your rights, the evaluation, and the IEP/504 process. Trained parent specialists — many of whom have raised a child with a disability themselves — walk you through meetings and paperwork. Call before you pay any private advocate.

Family Voices of North Dakota is a free family-to-family support organization that helps parents navigate health care, early intervention, Medicaid, and special education — a warm, knowledgeable second resource alongside your PTI.

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

North Dakota Vocational Rehabilitation (Health & Human Services) provides free help for students with disabilities — starting as early as age 14 — to prepare for work, college, and independent living. Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) include career exploration, work-readiness, and social-skills training, and a student can receive Pre-ETS without even applying for full VR. Ask your VR counselor to join your child's transition IEP meetings.

North Dakota offers Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) 1915(c) waivers — including waivers for children and people with intellectual/developmental disabilities and the medically fragile — that can pay for therapies, respite, equipment, and in-home support for a child with significant needs. Slots and interest lists fill up, so the single most important move is to get on every list TODAY. Call North Dakota Medicaid or your regional Human Service Zone office to start the application.

Unlike some states, North Dakota does NOT offer a Katie Beckett/TEFRA option that ignores parent income. The path to Medicaid funding for a child with disabilities here runs through the HCBS waivers above (which look at the child's needs and level of care) and standard Medicaid eligibility. Don't let that discourage you — apply for the waivers and ask Family Voices or your PTI to help you find every program your child qualifies for.

You can ask your school district in writing for a special-education evaluation at any time. Once you give informed written consent, North Dakota school districts must complete the initial evaluation within 60 calendar days, then hold an IEP meeting to decide eligibility and services. Put the request in writing and date it — the clock starts when you consent. You have the right to information 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, state complaint, or due process). Your PTI above explains all of it for free.

The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) Special Education office sets the rules every district must follow, runs the state complaint, mediation, and due-process systems, and publishes guidance on evaluation, eligibility, and literacy/dyslexia. Start here to know exactly what the state requires of your school.

Use the ZIP finder to pull the nearest evaluators, therapists, and special-education resources to your address — and these statewide free programs are always shown, no matter how rural your town.

Telehealth is a lifeline in a state as rural as North Dakota — several reputable practices provide autism/ADHD evaluation and speech/OT/ABA by telehealth statewide. 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.