About the Conference
The PEAK Parent Center Conference on Inclusive Education brings together educators, families, self-advocates, and professionals from across Colorado and beyond for two days of learning, connection, and shared growth.
We’re excited to bring this year’s conference to Western Colorado, increasing access and welcoming new participants while continuing to connect communities across the state.
This year’s theme, We Belong Here: From Presence to Participation, reflects something we believe deeply: students with disabilities should not only be present in classrooms, but fully engaged, valued, and included as part of their school communities.
Together, we’ll explore what it means to move from presence to participation—and how to make that shift real in classrooms, schools, and communities across Colorado.
Registration & Rate
Join us for two days of learning, connection, and practical strategies that will inspire inclusive opportunities for every student.
Register by August 31 and save $25! Registration remains open through September 28, with rates increasing on September 1.
Included with Registration
Every conference registration includes a copy of Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by keynote speaker Rebekah Taussig
Ready to Join Us?
Why Attend?
Learn
Explore practical strategies, innovative ideas, and real-world approaches that support belonging, participation, and success.
Connect
Build relationships with families, educators, self-advocates, professionals, and community partners from across Colorado. Leave with new connections, fresh perspectives, and renewed encouragement.
Discover
Learn about resources, services, programs, and opportunities available to support students and families.
Grow
Leave inspired, informed, and connected to a statewide network of people committed to creating opportunities for students with disabilities.
You Belong Here
This conference brings together the people who shape opportunities for students with disabilities across Colorado.
Families
Connect with other families, gain practical tools and resources, and find encouragement alongside people who understand your journey. Learn strategies to support your child’s success in school and beyond, from navigating IEPs to building effective partnerships with schools.
Educators
Gain practical tools, fresh ideas, and real-world strategies you can use to
create engaging learning environments that support student success.
School & District Leaders
Explore strategies, build connections, and strengthen systems that support meaningful participation and positive outcomes for students.
Self-Advocates
Connect with peers, share your perspective, showcase your work, and help shape conversations about inclusion, belonging, and meaningful participation.
Related Service Providers & Professionals
Collaborate with colleagues from across Colorado, discover new resources, strengthen partnerships, and connect with the families and professionals you support.
Community Partners
Connect with families, educators, professionals, and advocates while sharing resources and building partnerships that strengthen schools and communities.
Organizations, Businesses & Exhibitors Increase your visibility, build meaningful connections, and engage with the people shaping opportunities for students with disabilities across Colorado.
Exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities are available.
Bring Your Team
The Conference on Inclusive Education offers valuable professional learning for educators, administrators, special education teams, related service providers, and family engagement staff.
Attending together creates opportunities for shared learning, collaborative planning, and meaningful conversations that can strengthen student engagement, belonging, and success.
Exhibitor Opportunities
The exhibitor fair offers a unique opportunity to engage with families, educators, self-advocates, professionals, and community partners from across the state who are committed to creating inclusive opportunities for children and youth with disabilities (birth through age 26).
We are seeking exhibitors who offer resources, services, products, or programs that support children and youth with disabilities, their families, and the professionals who work with them.
This includes, but is not limited to:
- Educational supports and advocacy services
- Disability-led businesses and self-advocate entrepreneurs
- Transition, employment, and post-secondary programs
- Community-based and family support organizations
- Assistive technology and accessibility resources
- Healthcare, therapy, and related services
Exhibiting at the conference allows you to:
- Share information about your organization
- Build meaningful relationships with families, educators, and community partners
- Increase awareness of your programs, products, and services
- Connect with potential partners and collaborators
- Demonstrate your commitment to opportunity, belonging, and participation
Because this year’s conference will be held on Colorado’s Western Slope, priority consideration will be given to organizations that currently serve, or have the capacity to serve, individuals and families in this region.
The Conference Committee reserves the right to determine the eligibility of all exhibitors and may decline applications that do not align with the conference’s purpose and audience. Exhibitor selection will also consider overall balance and variety to ensure a diverse and meaningful experience for attendees.
Partnership Opportunities
Together, We Shape Opportunity Across Colorado
Your sponsorship supports more than a conference…it supports a statewide network of families, educators, self-advocates, professionals, and community leaders working to create opportunities for students with disabilities across Colorado.
Conference partners help make this statewide gathering possible while building meaningful connections with the people shaping opportunities in schools, organizations, and communities throughout our state.
Customized partnership opportunities are available.
Have questions or are interested in a customized partnership? Contact us at conference@peakparent.org or 719-531-9400.
A Meaningful Year for PEAK
What began in 1986 as a grassroots effort by two mothers, Barbara Buswell and Judy Martz, seeking information and support for their own children with disabilities has grown into an organization that connects thousands of families, self-advocates, educators, and professionals each year.
Bringing our community together for the Conference on Inclusive Education during PEAK’s 40th year is especially meaningful. As we prepare, we look forward to welcoming both familiar faces and new voices from across Colorado to connect in person. This milestone year gives us an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come and look ahead to what’s possible when families, educators, self-advocates, professionals, and community partners come together.
Hotel & Travel Information
The 2026 Conference on Inclusive Education will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Grand Junction:
DoubleTree by Hilton Grand Junction
743 Horizon Drive
Grand Junction, CO 81506
A limited number of rooms are available at the conference rate. We encourage attendees to reserve early to take advantage of the discounted rate before the room block fills or the reservation deadline passes.
Block Rate Information:
2 Queen Beds – Mountain Views – Non Smoking – $139.00 per night
Book before: September 22, 2026
Registered attendees will receive additional information by email, including parking details, travel tips, and other helpful information to help you plan your visit.
Speakers & Sessions
Meet our Keynote Speakers
This year, we’re welcoming two nationally recognized leaders in inclusive education and disability advocacy. Together, they bring national leadership, lived experience, and powerful insights that will inspire families, educators, self-advocates, and professionals alike. Their keynote sessions will challenge assumptions, spark meaningful conversations, and reinforce this year’s theme, We Belong Here: From Presence to Participation.
Breakout Sessions
Discover ideas, strategies, and conversations that empower educators, families, and advocates to create environments where every student can belong, participate, and thrive.
One of the greatest strengths of our conference is the opportunity to learn from educators, advocates, and experts who are transforming inclusive education through practical strategies, innovative ideas, and real-world experience.
This year, we received an incredible response to our call for session proposals. We are grateful to every individual who took the time to share their knowledge, experience, and innovative ideas. Selecting this year’s sessions was no easy task, and the final schedule reflects a thoughtful balance of topics designed to support families, educators, self-advocates, and professionals.
Attendees can look forward to practical strategies, fresh perspectives, and meaningful conversations on a wide range of topics, including inclusive practices, IEPs and Section 504, family-school partnerships, early childhood, transition planning, student engagement, conflict resolution, and more—all designed to create opportunities, foster belonging, and build environments where students with disabilities can thrive.
In addition to her keynote presentation, Rebekah Taussig will lead a special breakout session, giving attendees an additional opportunity to learn from her in a more interactive setting.
We’re excited to introduce this year’s breakout sessions very soon. Stay tuned!
