IEP/ 504 Advocacy

 
 

We assist

We assist you with understanding special education procedures in your state and getting the most appropriate academic, behavioral, and social/emotional support for your child within the educational setting.

 

Educational Plan Advocacy

We can help identify and advise parents about services, programs, and accommodations that meet their children’s individual needs.

Trauma Informed Schools

We can help teach educators, administrators, and parents about the impact of trauma on learning and the need for trauma-sensitive schools.

Review and Interpret Paperwork

We can check and review special education documents for accuracy and completion both before and after IEP and 504 meetings.

Inclusion is not simply about physical proximity. It is about intentionally planning for the success of all students.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Special Education Advocate

Advocates4kids help parents make sure a child’s special needs are met by helping parents understand available services, interpret test results and work with schools to plan individualized education programs (IEPs).

For a student with special needs, learning concerns take many forms.  As an advocate, we would help your family address previously identified learning challenges, as well as pinpoint overlooked factors that may be affecting a child’s ability to learn.

Advocates from Advocates4kids take on many responsibilities when working with families:

Advising parents about services, programs, and accommodations that meet their children’s individual needs

  • Helping parents interpret reports and evaluations, as well as explaining their implications

  • Drafting requests, responses, and complaints to schools

  • Assisting parents with submitting written requests

  • Preparing parents for IEP and 504 meetings (meetings that outline the services and accommodations students will receive and how schools will remove barriers to learning, such as providing a talking calculator to students with dyscalculia), which may include suggesting support materials or prioritizing goals and objectives

  • Checking special education documents for accuracy and completion both before and after IEP and 504 meetings

  • Accompanying parents to IEP and 504 meetings to offer advice and assistance

  • Advising parents about the strength of their cases before review and offering referrals to special education attorneys when appropriate

  • Assisting parents who may feel emotionally overwhelmed by the process of a specialized education plan

  • Helping parents gauge their children’s progress. In situations when parents believe their children may be stalling or even regressing, special education advocates guide parents through the steps to address the situation.

Navigating policies and regulations

We help families navigate the complex system of federal, state, and local laws, plus policies and regulations, oversees special education. These laws, policies, and regulations detail:Students’ eligibility for special servicesParents’ rights and protections regarding participation in their children’s educationServices and accommodations available

Parents often lack knowledge of these systems, laws, and best practices. Furthermore, schools use a litany of terms and abbreviations—for example, CSE (committee on special education) or IFSP (individualized family service plan)—that can leave parents struggling to keep up in discussions about their children’s special needs. Special education advocates fill in parental knowledge gaps.