• an intellectual disability;
• autism spectrum disorder;
• a speech impairment;
• a language impairment;
• an orthopedic impairment;
• an other health impairment;
• traumatic brain injury;
• a visual impairment;
• an emotional or behavioral disability;
• a specific learning disability, including, but not limited to, dyslexia, dyscalculia, or developmental aphasia;
• students who are deaf or hard of hearing or dual sensory impaired;
• students who are hospitalized or homebound;
• children with developmental delays ages birth through nine years or through the student's completion of grade 2, whichever occurs first; and  
• children ages birth through two years, with established conditions that are identified in State Board of Education rules pursuant to s. 1003.21(1)(e), Florida Statutes.

• transportation;
• diagnostic and evaluation services;
• social services;
• physical and occupational therapy;
• speech and language pathology services;
• job placement;
• orientation and mobility training;
• braillists, typists, and readers for the blind;
• interpreters and auditory amplification;
• services provided by a certified listening and spoken language specialist;
• rehabilitation counseling;
• transition services;
• mental health services;
• guidance and career counseling;
• specified materials, assistive technology devices, and other specialized equipment; and
• other such services approved by the rules of the State Board of Education.

• Presentation—How students receive information.
• Responding—How students show what they know.
• Setting—How the environment is made accessible for instruction and assessment.
• Scheduling—How time demands and schedules may be adjusted.

The McKay Scholarship Program was established to provide an option for eligible students who wish to attend a public or private school of their choice. Eligible students include those with an IEP or a 504 accommodation plan. Effective July 1, 2022, the McKay Scholarship Program joins the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program under the Unique Abilities category. For more information on these programs, please refer to the Choice Scholarship Programs profile.

A gifted student is defined as having superior intellectual development and being capable of high performance. Once a district identifies a student as gifted, district and school personnel work with parents to develop an Educational Plan (EP), which includes a detailed statement of the student's present levels of performance, short and long term goals, the student's needs beyond the general curriculum, and the specially designed instruction to be provided to the student. The EP must also contain a projected date for the beginning of services, and the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of services.

Once an EP is finalized, the school will deliver specially designed instruction to the gifted student according to his or her EP. Most students who are identified as gifted spend the majority of their school day in general education classrooms; however, some students leave the general education classroom for part of the day to receive services in a gifted education class and a few children may spend all day in a gifted class. For more information on gifted programs, please see the Department of Education's website.

State Board of Education. As the chief policymaking body for education in Florida, the State Board of Education establishes the rules governing the ESE Program. The board's rules contain criteria based on federal and state laws for identification and assignment of exceptional students.

Department of Education. The Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services is required to examine and evaluate procedures, records, and programs of exceptional student education; provide information and assistance to school districts; assist the districts in operating effectively and efficiently; and ensure district compliance with state and federal requirements.

School Districts. Local school districts implement ESE programs as prescribed by the State Board of Education. School district personnel identify eligible students and provide special education programs including specially designed instruction and related services. Districts provide ESE services to students ages 3 though 21 based on students' individual needs.

The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind. The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB) is a state-supported residential public school for sensory impaired students in preschool through twelfth grade who meet the school's eligibility criteria. FSDB provides educational programs and support services to meet the education and related evaluation and counseling needs of hearing-impaired and visually-impaired students. In addition to educational services, FSDB provides meals, boarding, and transportation to enrolled students.

• Students may apply to any college or university as any traditional student would, and postsecondary institutions' disabilities offices can assist students in receiving accommodations, if needed, during their time enrolled at a college or university. The Florida College System and Board of Governors provide additional information on these opportunities in Florida.
• Section 1004.6495, Florida Statutes, establishes the Florida Postsecondary Comprehensive Transition Program Act, which aims to increase independent living, inclusive and experiential postsecondary education, and employment opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities through degree, certificate, or non-degree programs. The act creates an approval process for postsecondary institutions to offer education programs tailored to the needs of students with intellectual disabilities. Florida's Postsecondary Comprehensive Transition Programs (FPCTP) are to be offered at various postsecondary institutions throughout the state. The act also establishes a FPCTP Scholarship for eligible students who are enrolled in eligible programs. Finally, the act establishes the Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities at the University of Central Florida for statewide coordination of information regarding programs and services for students with disabilities and their parents. The center is responsible for coordinating, facilitating, and overseeing the statewide implementation of the FPCTPs and disseminating information about available programs, supports, employment opportunities, and other services to students with disabilities and their parents.

Public School Student Progression for Students With Disabilities. The 2023 Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-91, Laws of Florida, which allows the parent of a student with disabilities who is enrolled in a state-funded public school prekindergarten program at the age of four, the authority, in consultation with the individual education plan team, to retain their child. If such student is retained, and the student demonstrates a substantial deficiency in early literacy skills, the law requires the student to receive instruction in such skills. The law also revises the good cause exemptions from mandatory retention by allowing a student in grade 3, with a learning disability and who is severely below grade-level, be promoted to grade 4, if the student was retained in a prekindergarten program.

Individual Education Plans. The 2023 Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-96, Laws of Florida, which requires school districts to provide certain information to a student with a disability and his or her parent at least one year before the student turns 18, as a part of the transition portion of an individual education plan (IEP). The information concerns issues of self-determination and the legal rights and responsibilities regarding educational decisions that transfer to the student upon attaining the age of 18. The information provided must include ways in which the student may provide informed consent to allow his or her parent to continue to participate in educational decisions, including the permission for parents to access confidential records protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act; powers of attorney; guardian advocacy; and guardianship.

Restraint of Students With Disabilities in Public Schools. The 2022 Legislature enacted Ch. 2022-20, which prohibits the use of mechanical restraint on students with disabilities by school personnel, except for school resource officers, school safety officers, school guardians, or school security guards, who may use mechanical restraint in the exercise of their duties to restrain students in grades 6 through 12.

Children With Developmental Delays. The 2022 Legislature enacted Ch. 2022-24, which modifies the definition of a developmental delay by extending the upper age limit for the identification of a student as having a developmental delay from age 5 to age 9, the maximum age authorized by federal law, or through the completion of grade 2, whichever comes first. Under the law, a student with a developmental delay up to age 9 or grade 2 may be included in the definition of an “exceptional student” and eligible for admission to public special education programs.  Accordingly, the law requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules for the identification of developmental delays in students up to age 9 or grade 2, whichever comes first, who are eligible for admission to public special education programs and for related services.

Other Reports
The Auditor General reports on school district operations are available on its website

Websites of Interest
Florida Department of Education, Exceptional Student Education
Florida Department of Education, School District ESE Contacts
Florida Diagnostic & Learning Resources System
Project 10: Transition Education Network
Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities
Think College Institute for Community Inclusion
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Performance Information

Department of Education hyperlinked index of Florida statutes and State Board of Education Rules related to exceptional student education

Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services, 850-245-0475, email BESEsupport@fldoe.org
Website