Special Education Advocates

A special education advocate is someone who works on behalf of a student and student's family to help the family obtain special education services. Some advocates are available to families at no charge; others are paid professionals. They have varying levels of experience and training.

Over the years SECAC has worked with many special education advocates both as participants in our advocate nights and as speakers at our meetings. Here is a list of those individuals and organizations.

Community Advocates for You - https://advocates4you.org/

Education Team Allies - https://educationteamallies.com/

Education Due Process Solutions - https://www.educationdps.com/

Loud Voices Together - https://loudvoicestogether.org/

Cara Phillips - https://caralphillips.com

Any services provided by and costs of these advocates to families are between the advocate and the family. This is merely a place for families to come to find quality special education advocate that we have worked with.

Links

Maryland State Department of Education (MDSE)

The MDSE division of Early Intervention and Special Education Services provides leadership and guidance for all local school systems. Their publications and technical assistance bulletins are available for parents and staff to learn about best practices and latest research.

Maryland Assessment, Accessibility, & Accommodations Policy Manual

Transition Planning Guide For Individuals with Disabilities

HCPSS Department Special Education

The HCPSS Department of Special Education website contains staff contacts, the Special Education Strategic Plan, programs such as Extended School Year (ESY) and Project SEARCH among others.

Parents Place of Maryland

The Parents Place of Maryland offers resources for families with children with disabilities or other health concerns.

https://www.ppmd.org

410-768-9100

ESY Fact Sheet

HCPSS Resource List (also available below)

Disability Rights Maryland

Disability Rights Maryland (DRM) provides free legal services to Marylanders of any age with all types of disabilities who live in facilities, in the community or who are homeless.

Their resources page contains downloads and links to many of their own publications and other disability rights information from the Maryland State Department of Education and other disability advocacy sites.

Endrew F. Supreme Court Case

In January 2017 the Supreme Court of the United States took up the case of Endrew F. vs the Douglas County School District. The parents of Endrew F. thought that under the country's Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), he was entitled to more services under his IEP than he was getting. The school district argued that he was only entitled to minimal benefit from his IEP. In March 2017 SCOTUS unanimously disagreed with the school system stating that the education for children with disabilities should be set an a higher bar. See SCOTUS blog's review of the case with documents on the judgements issued.

Q&A on Endrew F case

HCPSS Endrew F Forum