What is a Special Education Advocate?
Special education advocates specialize in supporting students with disabilities, and their families, for children in preschool through to the end of high school. An advocate helps a family identify, obtain and participate in appropriate educational services for their child.  An Advocate has knowledge and expertise concerning special education and its applicable federal and state laws and works within the bounds of these laws. An Advocate protects the civil rights of children with special needs, their rights to due process, and their rights to equal access to equitable public school education.  There is currently no minimum training requirement to become a special education advocate.

Many special education advocates have specialized degrees and experience in related occupations, like education, legal studies, mediation and social work. Advocates may have specialized training, such as COPAA’s SEAT program. In other cases, they may have attended available training programs and accumulated valuable experience advocating for their own child and for others. Many special education advocates are a parent or family member of an individual with a disability. Some specialize by disability, age group, geographical area, or other specific criteria.

The COPAA Annual Conference includes four (4) days of valuable training for Special Education Advocates and is the premier opportunity to learn from skilled Special Education Advocates.

Core Skills of a Special Education Advocate
One basic skill an advocate should have is modeling effective communication with a client and on behalf of their client. Advocates also help families understand their options so they can make truly informed choices for their child, over time. An advocate can improve their client’s understanding of educational rights and clarify expectations about public education and the IEP process.  An advocate can help a family leverage their strengths and improve the effectiveness of their child’s ‘team’. 

What does Special Education Advocacy Look Like?
Because each student and each family is unique, effective special education advocacy will depend on your family goals. Some advocates may assist a family in a long-term capacity; organizing their record-keeping, monitoring and responding to progress, referring them to outside providers and evaluators, reviewing correspondence, preparing for and attending IEP meetings, and referring them to attorneys for legal advice.  Others may only of support parents in IEP meetings or for a specific task or time period. Other advocates may feel comfortable providing certain support activities and not others.

Where do Special Education Advcoates Work?
Advocates may be self-employed and charge an hourly fee. Other advocates may be employees of your local ARC, Mental Health Association, State Protection and Advocacy Organization (P&A), Parent Information and Training Center (PITC), legal aid, and other public service organizations, listed in the phone book yellow pages. 

If you are a military family, Specialized Training of Military Parents (STOMP) available to help you with special education issues.

Become a special education advocate member of COPAA today!