Frequently Asked Questions
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Special Education Advocates help parents, guardians, and often students themselves, understand and access all of their educational rights, especially their rights as students with disabilities.
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An attorney is a legal professional who has earned a law degree (usually a J. D.), has passed the state Bar Exam, and is qualified to provide legal information, advice, and counsel. They are allowed to represent their clients in court and to speak on their behalf in legal matters. A non-attorney advocate is a knowledgeable professional partner for students with disabilities and their parents or guardians, but advocates are not allowed to provide legal advice or counsel, do not represent others in court, and are not authorized to speak on a student’s behalf in legal matters.
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Every student and family is unique, and so is every advocacy case. Some families stay in regular contact with their advocate throughout their student’s educational life. Other families may only need or want advocacy support for certain situations or a limited time. At times, near-daily communication (email, text, phone, or Zoom) with your advocate is appropriate, especially if you are preparing for important meetings or upcoming assessments. At other times, though, communication once or twice per month is probably enough.
At EPIC Advocacy and Consulting, we strive to meet a range of students’ and families’ needs. Our goal, however, is always to educate and empower students and parents as quickly as possible, so they do not require “lifelong” advocacy services.
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We charge an hourly rate (in quarter hour increments) for whatever services we provide – meetings (in person or virtual), emails and text messages, telephone consultations, research, records reviews, letter writing, etc. Generally, good quality advocacy involves a minimum of ten hours of services, frequently more. We adjust our fee periodically, so please contact us for updated information. To keep our services affordable for most families, we offer 6-month installment payment plans through PayPal Credit.
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IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. That term comes directly from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, which is the federal law that recognized the rights of students with disabilities to receive special education services from their public schools. The IEP is the formal agreement between the public school and the student/family that confirms the student has a disability, describes how that disability impacts the student’s participation in school, and what goals, services, supports, and accommodations are necessary for the student to receive a free and appropriate public education in their least restrictive environment.
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504 Plan, or Section 504 Plan, gets its name from Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which is one of the earliest federal laws guaranteeing the rights of people with disabilities. A Section 504 Plan is a formal agreement between the school and the student/family. It confirms the student has a disability. It also describes the reasonable accommodations, including regular or special education and related aids and services, which are necessary in order to adequately meet the student’s educational needs.
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IEPs and Section 504 Plans are controlled by different federal laws. In California, IEPs require parent consent before implementation, which also means parents have the right to revoke consent to any part of an IEP at any time. Section 504 Plans do not require parent consent, although it is considered best practice to include parent input in developing the Plan. Section 504 Plans do not usually include individual goals or direct instructional services for students, whereas those are required elements of IEPs. IEPs must be reviewed and revised not less than once per year, and a complete re-evaluation of the student must be completed at least every three years. Section 504 Plans are expected to be reviewed and updated periodically, but the annual review is not explicitly required, and there are no specific timelines for re-evaluation of the student’s strengths and needs.
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Only eligible students with disabilities have IEPs. To be eligible for an IEP, a student must have one of thirteen specific disabilities (physical or mental impairments that substantially limit one or more major life activities) AND MUST ALSO require special education and related services in order to receive a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). A student with a disability who can receive a FAPE with accommodations and supports alone, or who requires only related services that are not considered to be “special education,” does not meet the second “prong” of eligibility under IDEA, and therefore, would not qualify for an IEP.
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Your first step should be to collect and organize all of your child’s records – medical, developmental, and educational – and to gather copies of any new information that may be discussed at the meeting (new assessment reports, progress on your child’s current goals, new goals and services that the IEP Team may want to propose, etc.). Once your child’s “document history” is complete and organized and you have reviewed all the new information, your next step is to make lists of all your questions and concerns. Be sure you are well prepared to ask questions, otherwise, the meeting time will slip away and you may leave feeling as if you have even more questions and still no answers.
The IEP document includes sections for Student Strengths and for Parent Concerns. We recommend that, as you are listing your questions for discussion, you also write two paragraphs, one that describes all of your child’s strengths, talents, abilities, interests, and preferences and another that describes your own priorities for your child’s educational and developmental progress for the next calendar year. This way, when the IEP Chair asks for input from the IEP team about your child’s strengths as well as what concerns you have, you can read your prepared statements, instead of scrambling to remember everything you want the school team to know.
Finally, parents/guardians in California have the right to audio record IEP meetings by giving 24 hours written notice to your child’s school administrator or case manager. We strongly encourage parents/guardians to make a habit of audio recording every IEP meeting, so you do not have to worry about taking careful notes or trying to remember everything that is shared. Instead, you can focus your energy and attention on the discussion of your child.
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Manifestation Determination (M.D.) is one of the procedural protections included in IDEA for students with disabilities who may exhibit inappropriate behaviors as a result of their disabling condition. M.D. is a process where the IEP team figures out whether a negative behavior is a result of the student’s disability. It occurs before certain disciplinary measures, such as a change of classroom placement or expulsion. This does not mean that students with disabilities can’t be disciplined at school for their behaviors, or that students with disabilities can never be suspended or expelled. But if a change of the student’s placement is being considered, then the protections of M.D. must be followed before that decision is made.
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The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, is the federal law that establishes the rights of students with disabilities to receive a “free and appropriate public education” or FAPE, from their public schools. IDEA tells the schools how to find all the students who are qualified for IEPs, what evaluations to conduct, and what interventions, services, and supports they must offer in order to provide all disabled students a Free and Appropriate Public Education, or FAPE. IDEA also includes a description of student/parent rights and responsibilities, including information about how to disagree with the school district or dispute the school’s findings.
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A Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is the program of regular and special education services and related aids, services, and accommodations necessary to meet both the academic and functional needs of a student with a disability as adequately as the needs of their non-disabled peers. A student’s Offer of FAPE is documented in either their IEP or their Section 504 Plan.
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Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) is the educational setting that gives the student the greatest amount of access to their general education curriculum and program, as well as participation alongside their non-disabled peers, while still providing the student with a FAPE. For nearly all students with disabilities, LRE is the regular classroom or program that they would attend if they did not have a disability.