Supporting Special Education Parents In Turbulent Times
The gutting of the Federal Department of Education will soon be rippling down to hit families smack in the head. This will be especially painful for parents of kids in special education and those needing assessment for learning disabilities. Most of the funding for special education comes from the regular state funds allotted to every child plus extra special education state funds. However, an additional amount normally comes from the federal government. The total of both these sources has never been sufficient. I strongly suspect, that even with cross aisle support, we will see at a minimum major disruptions in special education funding. In addition, recent plans to cut Head Start and federal funding for teaching to rural and low income kids will hit state general educational funding pools in a hard way. This will harm kids and families now.
I would like to do two things.
1. Find ways to help special education families now.
2. Make plans for rebuilding public education.
Today let’s talk about How to Help Now.
I research and write about special education issues in America. As the parent of a child with ADHD and dysgraphia, I knew other parents were struggling within my school district, but I never knew who those parents were. This left me very isolated while struggling to deal with the schools and administrators. The same problem is multiplied by thousands of school districts and thousands of families across the country. Social media groups can offer some help to parents, but the individual challenges of each state and school can make this only partially helpful. Many families simply cannot afford to hire advocates or outside help. We need to bring special education gaslighting out in the open and shine a bright light on it.
So, we do what marginalized groups have done over the ages. We come together and support each other directly.
I’d like to find a way to promote the development of special education support groups in every school district across the country. These would need to be independent of the school districts. By joining your local group, parents would get support specific to their own district and school. Parents can then share local insights. They can gather information on local community resources for legal support, tutoring, assessments, special schools etc. Subgroups could offer connections for families with varied special education needs.
Once connected, parents could attend each other’s assessment, 504, and IEP meetings. Just imagine if every time the district held an IEP, they looked across the table at the child’s parent and another parent who has a special education student in their district. The momentum for accountability would shift as the veil of silence is lifted from the schools actions.
Now, it’s your turn.
How do we implement this? (I’m not very tech or social media savvy so concrete ideas would really help.)
How do we find the parents who need the group?
What else do you think we can do to help special education parents now?
Send me your ideas! I’ll pull them together and share them, but we need our collective experience and grassroots ideas. Comment on this post or contact me at: 241kcawley@gmail.com.
In the next weeks:
More on How to Help Families Now.
How to Fix and Rebuild American Public Education
More Personal Stories from Special Education Parents and Professionals
I’m working on a book about special education and fixing public education. I’m seeking families, teachers, and school professionals with stories to tell. If you’ve been through this struggle, I’d love to hear from you. Everything will, of course, be confidential. You can reach me at: 241kcawley@gmail.com
Please “follow and like” me on Substack: Kathleen Cawley for Navigating Modern Parenthood