It’s that time of year again! The gifts have been given, the family has gathered, houses are still glowing with the joy that only twinkling lights can bring, and parents are blowing up my phone demanding to file for due process.  

Stop. Breathe. Take a walk. Breathe some more. 

Due process is alwa...

Lots of exciting new activities at Advocacy Unlocked!

I am offering a series of workshops and a workgroup, Mastering Written State Complaints this month, as well as focusing on complaints in my weekly column, IDEAs on Education. I’m also writing a book on the topic, so I have read - seriously, read...

Once upon a time, individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities had no choice but to endure these limitations. It didn’t matter if they spoke up; no one listened.  

Life was just like that, until … Read more in IDEAs on Education in The Jolt.

My child is a third grader in NTPS. He has a 504 Plan for ADHD and dyslexia. He gets in trouble a lot for playing and not paying attention, and he won’t do his work. The teachers have started sending him to the office because of his behavior, so he is missing out on class and doesn’t understand what...

“When I read the Procedural Safeguards,” said a foster parent of a child with an IEP (Individualized Educational Plan), “I didn’t know that Yelm had to follow state laws. I thought it was only the federal government.” Read more in IDEAs on Education in The Jolt.

Ask artificial intelligence (AI) about special education, and the online oracle has been trained to respond with such delightful phrases as, “navigating a maze” and “demystifying the jargon.” This is accurate:  I have two master's degrees in education, and I still study special education policies, p...

The Changing Faces of Our Schools

According to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction’s, or OSPI’s, school district report cards, the number of students enrolled in the North Thurston, Olympia and Tumwater school districts declined by 1,035 students between 2018 and 2023.

However, ...

The Tacoma Special Education PTA is an amazing resource for Pierce County families. The group provides training and resource to Tacoma School District families. On October 23, their Zoom meeting focused on making schools more inclusive. I had the great honor to hear of a very inclusive elementary sc...

Tonight, the South Sound Legislative Forum was held at The Olympia Center. The forum was organized and hosted by the Developmental Disabilities Coalition (Thurston County) and The Arc of Washington. It was an amazing experience, hearing from self-advocates and policy champions. I am especially grate...

North Thurston Public Schools had their Board of Directors meeting on October 1, 2024. I've noticed some problematic special education practices, and so I addressed the Board. Specifically, the district seems to have no formal procedure for determining a child's need for a paraeducator. Yet, OSPI pr...

I sent an email to OSPI on September 17, 2024, requesting information. No word yet. I would rally like these templates, as they will help many families across the state participate meaningfully with the IEP team in determining the need for a paraeducator. 

I’ve been in several IEP team meetings lately where the team refuses to consider the need for a paraeducator. It general follows that that teachers are quiet and administrators are participating in the conversation around paraeducators, making the decision for the team. This worries me, as it is not...