News and Events
Welcome to Alliance Education Advocacy’s News and Events page featuring our latest blog entries, helpful resources and information about upcoming events. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to get the latest updates.
A Parent’s Guide to Surviving the Special Education Process
Like many parents, my first special education meeting did not go as planned. Despite knowing I am an attorney, school officials told me that they could not evaluate my daughter for special education eligibility until she was two grade levels behind. They also told me...
3 Ways Parents Sabotage Their Child’s Special Education Case
Oops! Most parents would never intentionally sabotage their child’s education; they want to help their kids succeed in school. For special education parents, that drive to help their children obtain appropriate services to address their kids’ disabilities is even...
What Is an Independent Educational Evaluation, and How Do I Get One?
Your child’s school district must evaluate your child “in all suspected areas of disability,” according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Furthermore, schools must re-evaluate at least every three years, which is often referred to as a...
What To Do This Summer: Activities For Kids with IEPs To Help Prevent Summer Slide
Children with learning disabilities are vulnerable to learning loss during the summer without the instructional support they receive throughout the school year. Research shows that in some cases “summer slide” can place students with learning differences as much as...
Goal or Garbage? How to draft meaningful, measurable IEP goals
A common complaint I hear from parents is “my child has had an IEP for __ years but hasn’t made any progress.” One of the first things I ask parents is, “what do the IEP goals look like?” What typically happens is parents end up with vague, unmeasurable goals in...
Succeeding in College with a Disability: A Student’s Guide to Accommodations (Part 2)
Today’s blog post is Part 2 in the three-part series, Succeeding in College With Disabilities: A Student’s Guide to Accommodations. In Part 1, we discussed laws protecting college students with disabilities and common accommodations. In today’s post, we will go...
Succeeding in College with a Disability: A Student’s Guide to Accommodations (Part 1)
As a Special Education attorney and advocate, I spend a lot of time talking about Individualized Education Plans, Least Restrictive Environment, and interventions for children with learning disabilities. But what happens when students head off to college or...
3 Tips for A Successful IEP Meeting
Oh, the dreaded IEP meeting! You are outnumbered, anxious, and just plain stressed out. IEP meetings can be difficult, but there are some things you can do to increase your chance of success and reduce stress. Tip #1: Be Prepared First, and foremost, you need to...