6 Ways to Make a Difference in Your School District — According to a Former SpEd Administrator

Even with protective laws in place, children in special education are often excluded or treated with low expectations. Districts are frequently understaffed, or employees are not properly supported or trained, and the result is that our kids are not provided an equitable, meaningful, and accessible education. We as parents want to advocate for everything our kids need, which means being informed about our kids’ rights and how decisions about their education should be made.

During a live event, we asked former special education administrator, educational psychologist, and special education advocate Daphne Zacky Bold for insights about some of the biggest barriers in special education, the realities that administrators face while trying to implement change, and how parents and districts can work together to make things better for our kids.

“Parents have rights to ask questions,” Bold says. However, it can be easier said than done. Bold says parents share with her that they’re worried about upsetting school staff and having them take it out on their child. “I can't tell you how many times I hear that, and it breaks my heart.”

Here’s what Bold advises: “Number one is that they shouldn't be afraid. They should know that they have the right to ask questions. They have the right to know what's going on. They have a voice. They know their child best, and they should speak up as much as they want.”

One tip Bold offers is to always ask for assessment reports about a week prior to your IEP meeting so that you have a chance to review them and develop your questions. She says, “And if you have a question that could maybe be addressed before the IEP meeting, it will serve everybody better if that question can be emailed to the teacher and say, ‘Oh, I caught this. Was this an error?’ Sometimes it’s something that could have become a really big deal and blown up into a big problem at the IEP meeting. Maybe it was just an accident and could be fixed by a quick question prior to the IEP meeting.”

Bold acknowledges that “context doesn't come through on messages. A lot of communications between school districts and families are via email, so it can seem combative sometimes when all a parent is doing maybe is asking a question about their child, and then the district will then perceive that to be a threatening message, and they come back in a defensive way.” Keep in mind a collaborative and communicative approach when asking questions.

In addition to being unafraid to ask questions, one way for parents to improve transparency and communication, Bold says, is to agree on a set time and method of following up with your child’s teacher(s). “We know that teachers are overwhelmed,” she says. “They have a lot of students. They don't have a lot of hours in the day. So by knowing that they already have a system in place of when they're going to be communicating with the parent regarding the child's needs, and that they know that the parent is expecting this every week, I think it reduces the stress on everybody at the table and all year round.”

For some parents, advocating for transparency looks like requesting that their child’s 1:1 aide attend the IEP meeting. Bold says, “A parent can ask anybody to come to an IEP meeting that they would like. So if a parent wants the aide to come to the IEP meeting, they have the right to ask for that. A district may say no, and I recommend to parents that they push back and they ask them if there's a policy in place that says that the aid can't go, and if so, that they provide it to them. But there needs to be somebody on behalf of that aide, whether it's the supervisor from the agency or the aide themselves, if they are district employed, they should be there at that IEP meeting to speak in regards to the student’s performance.”

We frequently recommend that parents request to see the policy if they’re confused by something the district says.

You know your rights as a parent, but do the other IEP team members know your rights and why they’re so important in the IEP process? Bold says, “A lot of people at the table, sadly, don't know why these rules and why the IDEA came into place, and why we are here to protect these students, why we want to make sure that we discuss a child's strengths at an IEP. There is a process. The district needs to be providing more information to staff members, more training on implicit bias, more training on inclusivity in order to create a more collaborative IEP meeting.”

Advocating for more staff training is especially important for parents pushing for including their child in general education. Bold has seen districts that handle inclusion really well, but others focus their disability training only on the special education staff, so gen ed staff misses out. Bold says, “If they don't have the training, they aren't feeling supported, then they don't understand why they should be helping a child, why it is their role, if that's never explained to them, the benefits of how their role with a gen ed student is monumental in being able to support all kids. If the district isn't emphasizing that, then the gen ed teachers aren’t going to see any value in it.”

How do you ask for more training? You can request it in the IEP for staff members who work with your child, but you can also get involved in the school district PTA, a district special education committee, and other organizations that connect administrators with parents. Check out our step-by-step guide for some great ideas of where to get involved:

Bold admits that it’s often up to parents to be the “squeaky wheel” and advocate for what their kids need, and part of that is because schools are often reluctant to offer it in the first place. “The district tends to put so many constraints to the staff and the IEP meeting that it's easier to say no to everything because they don't know what the district is going to slap their hand for. And so sometimes it's just easier to deny it all and let the district handle it for them.”

Like we see often with insurance and public benefits systems, sometimes schools say no because they’re counting on parents giving up rather than persisting, either because it’s a lot of work or because parents don’t know their options. Bold says, “It's just easier not to have to do something, unless somebody really pushes for it and asks for it…It's easier for for districts to just not act on a need for a child and wait for the parents who are more informed and more knowledgeable to ask, and then just respond to those.”

While this behavior from school districts isn’t excusable, it can be helpful to remember that districts are always struggling with lack of resources in public education, and that’s where parents can step in to advocate for more. Bold explains in this clip how parents can get involved to change things not just for their own kids but for the whole system:

Thank you to Daphne Zachy Bold for sharing her insights and answering parent questions during our live event! Check out the full recording (with transcript available) here in our resource library.

We have more live Q&As with special education experts coming up soon. To stay updated on upcoming events and other helpful resources, join our free weekly newsletter list!