In Your IEP Playbook: A Parent’s Guide to Confident Advocacy, disability parent and special education advocate Lisa Lightner delivers a practical guide for parents and caregivers of children with ...

IEP guidance and resources, and advocacy-informed tools to support stronger IEPs and better outcomes for students. Created from years of real-world experience in IEP and 504 meetings.

You want ideas to submit to your IEP or 504 Plan team, but you just don’t know where to start. Well, here you go! You asked for it, you got it! I’ve received many reader requests for a list of SDIs or ...

What is an SDI on an IEP? Specially Designed Instruction (SDI is the acronym) might sound like a dry, technical phrase, but it’s actually one of my favorite parts of the IEP to talk about. The name ...

IEE stands for Independent Educational Evaluation. It’s a provision of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), and you’ll find it explained in your Parents’ Rights Booklet, also called the ...

Writing IEP goals is one of the most important parts of developing an effective IEP. After all, the goals are supposed to identify the skills your child needs to learn and give the team a way to ...

What happens if a parent doesn’t sign an IEP? In many states, refusing to sign an annual IEP does not stop the school from implementing it. However, parental consent is required before a child ...

I’ve attended more IEP meetings than I can count. Or even care to count. I get it–parents only call in a Special Education Advocate when there’s trouble. If you were happy with things, you wouldn’t ...

Kids can be pretty hard on themselves. One mistake on a math worksheet, one spelling word they can’t remember, or one activity that doesn’t go as planned, and suddenly they’re saying things like: “I’m ...

October 16, 2026 Update: Oregon School Shooting Yesterday, a gunman opened fire at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. Three children and a teacher were killed, and two others were injured.

IEP guidance and resources, and advocacy-informed tools to support stronger IEPs and better outcomes for students. Created from years of real-world experience in IEP and 504 meetings.

We worry about our non-disabled children growing up and becoming independent. But when you have a child with disabilities, that worry increases. The statistics don’t lie: Over 80% of disabled adults ...