Special Education Comprehensive Guides

The Office of Indian Education is excited to share the Indigenous Family Special Education Comprehensive Guide (Updated, October 2026), the full Mini-Guide Series, and the District and ESD Implementation Guides are now complete and ready to share with tribal partners, districts, ESDs, and most importantly – our Native families.

This has been a significant lift for the Office of Indian Education, representing years of work to ensure Indigenous families have clear, culturally grounded, and legally accurate information about their students’ special education rights and services. These resources are the first of their kind in our State and reflect OIE’s collective effort to bring visibility, understanding, and advocacy support to Native families navigating complex systems.

This project represents more than a deliverable—it’s a commitment to healing, agency, and equitable access for Native families who have too often been underserved or misunderstood in special education. Thank you all for the feedback, guidance, and heart that went into shaping these final products.

Included in the series:

• The Comprehensive guide: The Journey to Ensure a Free and Appropriate Public Education for Students with Disabilities: A Guide for Indigenous Families (Updated, October 2026).
  
• Mini Guides - Each mini-guide connects directly to the comprehensive guide and follows relatable family stories—grounding technical information in real experiences and plain-language explanations. You will get to meet one Indigenous family: Talia, a Native mom who represents so many of our families navigating Special Education processes. You will also get to meet Eli, her son, who comes from a close-knit community where family and cultural traditions play a big role in his daily life. Though Eli is eager to learn, he has been struggling in school, especially with reading and math.
  

At the end of each guide we included some common questions and answers on the topic presented.

• Mini Guide 1 - Getting Started with Special Education (Updated, October 2026) - Navigating the Special Education Referral Process
  • Miniguide 1 shares one family’s experience with the special education referral process.
• Mini Guide 2 - Parent/Caregiver Rights in Special Education
  • Miniguide 2 shares one family’s experience understanding their rights in the special education process.
• Mini Guide 3 - Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
  • Miniguide 3 shares one family’s experience building an individualized education program, or IEP, for their child.
• Mini Guide 4 - Discipline for Students in Special Education
  • Miniguide 4 shares one family’s experience when their child receives multiple suspensions for their behavior. It helps parents understand their rights while navigating the discipline process when a child has an IEP.
• Mini Guide 5 - Seeking the Right Support: Understanding IEPs and 504 Plans
  • Miniguide 5 shares one family’s experience working with staff to determine which plan might best meet the needs of their child
• At-a-Glance Resources
  • Quick Summary - Centering Indigenous Ways of Knowing in Special Education
  • Quick Summary - IEP At-a-Glance
  • Quick Summary - Parents Rights in Special Education: At-a-Glance

Support for School Districts and ESDs

The Office of Indian Education has created Implementation Considerations for School Districts and ESDs to provide support to how these guides are utilized with families. There are four phases a district can follow to implement the guides based on your district context (size, staffing, capacity, Native Education programming, etc) and vision for their use based on student needs. There is also guidance for how ESDs can support districts in the implementation of these guides.

For more information about these guides or how to bring a training to your community, please email Stacy Parrish, Indian Education Specialist at stacy.parrish@ode.oregon.gov

February 2026 Guides Launch with Title VI Indian Education Staff and Special Education Directors 

Contact us:

ODE.IndianEd@ode.oregon.gov