Tools for Becoming an Effective Advocate

Charles Fox combines his legal expertise and his insight as a parent of a child with special needs in developing sixteen basic principles of effective special education advocacy.  Click on the link below to learn how to effectively advocate for your child.

Sixteen Basic Principles of Effective Advocacy
By Charles P. Fox, Attorney at Law

1.  You must have a vision for your child's future around which your advocacy is organized.  For instance, the district may view your child as strictly a non-verbal communicator, when, in fact, it is your view based on empirical evidence, that given the right placement and services, your child may show abilities that the district may not readily acknowledge.  It is remarkable how early and how easily children get categorized as one type of child or another.  You as a parent must put forth your vision of your child and fight to realize your child's potential.
2. Vigilance is absolutely crucial.  It is essential to maintain regular communication with the teacher and related service personnel, and to keep tabs on implementation of the IEP.
3. Records are central to the whole process.  You need to view the special education process as one that is highly legalistic.  Keeping your IEPs, evaluations and all other documents can be the difference between effective advocacy and failure.  Sometimes the small note, card, or newsletter that does not seem relevant at the time can become highly relevant later.  Keep it!
4. Policies and procedures must be known.  Schools are government agencies.  They have a policy and procedure for everything.  Ask for it and insist that you receive it.  You will go into meetings more confident, and you will be able to keep the district "honest" in meetings and during other contacts.  Be certain to receive the behavior policy of the school.  Understand the procedures that should be followed, but do not get hyper technical on matters that have no substantive effect.  In addition, ask to see sample report cards and curriculum so you can address areas of need and write goals.
5. Know how to use FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and the ISRRA (Illinois Student Records Review Act).  Use FOIA to seek general information regarding policies, procedures, and other data that the district is otherwise refusing to give you.  Please note that a FOIA request will be viewed as a highly contentious and belligerent communication, and it should only be used when litigation seems imminent.  ISSRA requests are more common and should be initiated at regular intervals (i.e., annually or biannually) to check and see what is in your child's file.
6. Supporting the teacher will reap dividends for your child.  The teacher cannot always ask for the resources that you request to enable him or her to teach your child.  The more support the teacher gets, the better the educational experience.  Never betray a teacher's confidence; you will lose him or her as an ally and may get the teacher fired.
7. Know exactly what evaluations are planned for your child.  Review the protocol, the test format, the location, the time of day and all other factors that may be relevant to your child's performance.  Meetings must be scheduled to allow you to assimilate the reports and share it with your professionals.   Insist on reviewing all test results days before a meeting is scheduled.  You cannot expect to simultaneously read test results, digest highly technical material and be a meaningful participant.
8. Gather and collect both objective and subjective data on your child.  You will be a more effective advocate if you walk into an IEP meeting with notes or details on your child's learning style, progress, regression, abilities and needs.  The data can come in part from you, but you will need to bring professional reports to support, amplify and define your child's needs.  Remember, the IEP is a needs driven process; you must help define those needs or the district will define those needs for you.
9. You are not "just a parent", you are an expert on your child.  You have a legal right to sit at the table and to discuss and define your child's IEP.  The district is not doing you a favor by giving you a role.  The process at an IEP is collaborative and governed by consensus -- it is not a majority vote of all those at the table.  Nor is the process the type where either side has a veto over the other side.  Do not worry that the district will not like you or will "take it out on your child".  Effective advocacy means getting results for your child, not making friends.
10. Time is the friend of school districts and the enemy of your child.  Schools have existed for centuries as an institution, but your child's time to receive an education is short and fleeting.  Do not allow matters that seem relevant and urgent to be put off to another day.  Always set deadlines in the IEP regarding when things will occur or when you will hear back on a topic of concern, and then follow through.  You do not get time back, and compensatory education is a pale substitute for getting it right the first time.
11. Men must attend IEP meetings!  It does not matter if the man is a husband, father, brother, friend, or neighbor.  The simple reality is that districts speak differently and act differently when a man is present than when a woman is there alone.  A related principle is never go to a meeting alone.  Schools will bring many people who are on their payroll and are sympathetic to their view.  Being at a meeting alone is a certain path to being overwhelmed.  Bringing another person means you will have a witness if matters end up in due process.
12. Get it in writing.  IEPs are binding legal documents, but if it is not in the document, you do not get the service discussed.  In addition, if you do not agree, insist that your dissent is written down and the district's rationale is written down.  If they refuse to write your dissent down, or their rationale is to send a letter by certified mail, ask that the letter be attached to the IEP.
13. Individualized education planning is at odds with the school's mission.  Schools are factory operations in a certain sense, trying to deliver a relatively uniform education to all students.  An IEP requires the school to tailor its programming to the needs of one student.  Even in the best schools there will be an underlying tension between the individualization called for in the special education laws and the mass service model that are schools.  Recognizing this tension will give you an insight into the school's perspective, and it will make you a more effective advocate as you better understand how the district sees the world.
14. Do not threaten due process.  Districts have heard this threat so often that it lacks credibility and seems like you are crying wolf.  Moreover, after the meeting is over, you may decide that you do not want to file, but you have already threatened it.  Such threats will not serve you well and squander one of your most important resources--your credibility.  Related to this point, you must always and at all costs remain calm and not show that the process is getting to you.  The common perspective of school districts is that parents are unreasonable, unstable, and arbitrary.  Outbursts will only erode your ability to advocate.
15. Costs and/or availability of services are not generally relevant considerations in an IEP.  The reality is that the less costly and more available a service or product, the less likely there will be a fight or the more likely an early settlement will be reached.  Cost underlies many decisions, although often times it is not an explicit consideration.
16. Never stop fighting for your child.  The stakes are too high!

Comments

[Kathy Whitson]

Thank you Charlie Fox for putting this information out there. I wish I had it 2 years ago. However, I have several friends whose children will benefit from the knowledge, and I will pass it on!

I am a case worker and attend IEPs with families. I am very offended that you state men must attend these meetings. The reality is that the meetings are primarly run by women. In today's society women have left the kitchens and are working in all areas. Yes, adminstration continues to have more men than women but to say a women can't hold her own is absurd.

[Anna]

I am a parent with years of IEP experience. This is the best short list of IEP how-to's I've read after countless hours of internet research. By the way, I disagree strongly with last commenter about having men present. It's crucial if a man is close within and present in the child's life. Women (most often team members of IEP) perceive male comments not with more value, but differently. That's invaluable when the conversation around IEP children often encompasses the narrow definitions of the special ed system and the "made-to-order" views of some who administer within it. Great points!