VIRGINIA BEACH
For five years, every time Lona Hyde has gone to her son’s school to discuss his special education needs, she’s brought along a paid advocate.
“As a parent, you don’t know the laws inside and out. I don’t have time to research the laws and know if they’re telling me the truth or not,” said Hyde, a mother of three.
Special education advocates were rare before 1997, when a federal law began requiring schools to involve parents in placement decisions for special education children.
Now, there are at least a half-dozen local advocates who say their phones ring day and night. Some perform the service as an outgrowth of their work with children or disabled people, while others dedicate themselves full-time to advocacy. Some charge nothing, others cost $75 to $125 an hour.
Most parents don’t hire advocates. But like most parents who do, Hyde said she is frustrated. She knows that her son, Trevor, has a legal right to a good education, but doesn’t trust the educators.
“It’s the school system versus the parent. It is not a team,” she said.
Hyde has used two advocates. The first was her son’s psychologist, Jeffrey Katz, who helped her set goals for her son with the school. But when the seventh-grader got in trouble in November, Hyde brought in Cheryl Poe, a parent of a disabled child who has made representing other parents in schools her profession.
“I’m direct. I’m to the point,” said Poe, who speaks often at School Board meetings. “My job is to make sure parents’ needs are heard and respected.”
Advocates are not always welcomed by educators. Sometimes, schools perceive them as antagonistic.
Twice, Katz said, a school called in its police officer when he asserted his right to attend a meeting with a parent.
“I’ve dealt with all kinds,” said Robert Mitchell, director of special education for Beach schools. “Some come in and want to build bridges. Others are aggressive and come in and challenge people.”
For Poe, her activism was spurred by her own experience. About six years ago, while trying to get diagnosis and treatment for her son’s learning disability, she said a school speech pathologist told her she was the problem, that she must have been speaking black English to him at home.
“To assume that because I’m a different race, I speak a foreign language that’s confusing my child, that hurt my feelings,” Poe said. “Nobody was there to help. It was horrible.”
Poe, who has a master’s degree in urban education and counseling from Norfolk State University, began to bone up on education law. She attended seminars and training sessions and joined advocacy groups online.
There is no test or certification to become a special education advocate. That means the backgrounds and qualifications of advocates vary. Locally, they include a parent, a teacher, a psychologist, a medical professional, a testing expert and a service provider to the disabled.
Schools are required to have an individualized education program, known as an IEP, for every special education student. Under federal law, at least once a year, a team of educators meets with parents to decide the goals and services that go into a child’s program. That can include an array of teachers, a principal, a special education coordinator, therapists and others.
“So many parents don’t have a clear perspective on their rights and responsibilities,” said Cheryl Baker, graduate program director of special education at Old Dominion University. “The special education process is a very complex process, and advocates can really fill that role. It’s very, very necessary for many, many parents who are overwhelmed.”
Most advocates attend meetings with parents, conduct phone consultations and make personal visits.
The state Department of Education is considering allowing school divisions to terminate special education services without a parent’s consent. The state department plans to hold a meeting at Norview High School in Norfolk on May 28 to hear from the public on the proposed changes.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has said he will not support any changes that would reduce the role of parents, a stance also taken by advocates.
Currently, a parent who feels a school is violating the law can file a complaint with the state Department of Education, and advocates can help them do that. Some parents also request a due process hearing, but most advocates won’t argue a case in court, leaving that to lawyers.
“I’ve run into advocates who don’t appear to know the law or special education, and would be what I would consider a hindrance,” said Kathleen Mehfoud, who has been practicing special education law for 30 years.
More often, the disagreement between parents and educators is resolved at the school level.
“People come to me because things aren’t working,” said Amy Courtney, a testing specialist who also does advocacy. “I would like parents not to need me in the schools.”
Virginia Beach public schools have more than 10,000 students with disabilities, one of the highest enrollments in the state. The disabilities range from mild reading difficulties to severe mental and physical impairments. A plan has to be written for every child, Mitchell said, and resources must be used fairly.
The remedies vary widely and include separate classes, one-on-one therapy or instruction, individualized curriculums and specialized equipment.
“If one parent is not satisfied, I’m concerned about it,” Mitchell said.
The School Board has recognized there is room for improvement. During the summer, special education was chosen as one of the focus areas for the year. A Florida company, MGT of America, was hired to audit the program. It is scheduled to present its report in May.
The audit is evidence of how much has changed. In the early 1970s, disabled children were barely educated – when they were in schools at all. Now, enrollment is mandatory, and laws require schools to set ambitious academic goals for special education students.
“I’ve seen an evolution in education,” said Honey Low, an advocate for special education children for nearly 40 years. For the past decade, she has focused on military families.
“There is always going to be a need for advocates in education,” said Low, who doesn’t charge a fee for her services. “I’ve been at this since 1971.”
For Trevor Hyde, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety, his mother and the division disagreed over where he should attend school. His middle school recommended he be sent to the city’s alternative middle school. When Lona Hyde objected, the team proposed he attend a different middle school.
In the end, with Poe’s help, the school division agreed to pay for a tutor to work with Trevor at home for the rest of the year.
“It’s worth the money, because you’re fighting for your child,” Hyde said. “I’d spend it all again.”
Lauren Roth, (757) 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com
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A Parent/Educator View
The reality of education/special education in most public school settings today is that there are limited resources, overworked and under appreciated teachers, and it is a battle! Although my degree is in Education/Special Ed, I have hired advocates for the last 6 years. One very important reason to do so, even if I read everything out there and am more informed than my advocate, is that it is important to fight for your child while maintaining a reasonable relationship with the school personnel. This is especially true if your child has years left in the system or if they have brothers or sisters following them. When I must push for services the school is denying, I prepare my advocate in advance. Particularly when the advocate is a fellow educator who is working in a collaborative manner with the school, the teachers respect them and are more likely to agree. In that setting I will always be Mom. In fact, my case worker often calls to give me a heads up of something I might need to request or challenge. Limited budgets and resources are a reality for the schools and most case managers want the best for their students. I will never return to special education because I ha
A parents view of Special Education
Most people would never dream of doing their income tax without the help of a tax lawyer/accountant. Parents hire lawyers or advocates to attend IEP meetings because they are overwhelmed. An IEP is a legally binding document that is a blue print to a child’s educational needs. Most general education teachers are not familiar with disabilities or the laws. Special Education teachers have the training but are limited to the resources the schools provide. Schools are being held accountable to educate children. Parents, advocates, teachers and especially Special Education teachers should all be commended and supported. Local schools receive Federal funds to educate special needs children. Unfortunately, the schools only receive a fraction of what they are supposed to receive leaving the state and county has to make up the difference. I would recommend an advocate to any parent who feels they are getting the run around or experiencing stall techniques. I get more accomplished in meeting with an advocate because they know the laws and hold people accountable. Just as I would recommend my accountant, I would recommend my advocate, Cheryl Poe.
Know the Facts!!!!!!!
I teach special education and I can tell you that I am very truthful to my parents. I tell them everything upfront and immediately contact them when there is a change or a correction to what I told them.
I have a response to what got2win1 said, "If schools are allowed to just terminate services, they will do so for the wrong reasons (specifically, saving money). School divisions will terminate services to students just so the division can save money by not hiring needed SPED teachers. SPED children who have needs will slip through the cracks."
This is completely incorrect! The schools actually RECEIVE money to help educate students with special needs. That is where a great deal of our instructional budget comes from.
I can understand parents getting advocates when there are people not doing there job. But I can tell you that there are some advocates, not mentioning any names (you know who you are), that take advantage of the parents and drag out meetings. They do not help the situation at all, but make things worse, and seem to only drag things out to continue making money. If you need an advocate for a REAL reason, be sure to do your homework
Many reason why there is a battle in special education
First, I would like to thank the Virginian pilot for reporting on this important issue from the parent’s perspectives. Yes, I am a parent of two children with learning disabilities and a paid special education advocate!
There are wonderful and caring special education teachers in VBCPS. However, Teachers have a very limited role in what happens to parents during IEP meetings. In my experiences, the problem is at the administration level both on the school level and in the special education department, teachers are used as scapegoats, and parents are label as trouble makers.
It is a myth that school personnel know more then parents about the needs of children with learning disabilities. As parents we live everyday, with our children who are hyper, impulsive, can’t read well enough to do homework and are unable to communicate like regular kids.
As parents, we have valuable information to share with educators on how to get the best from our children and it is simple wrong when school personnel assume we know nothing and lie to us.
Cheryl A Poe
special ed
the reason the rates of special Ed are so high is because some parents do not want to put in the extra work. Not all, some, will shop around to find a child psychologist who will label their kid LD. Then the child gets the services they need, when truly they may be just slow in one area of schooling. All the child may need some extra tutoring. But, wait hold on. If that Special ED child acts up in school it is not their fault because they have a "leaning disability".
As for the advocate I am shock to learn their is no "state license" requirement, but the advocate can go advise on legal education matters. I guess it is cheaper than paying some high priced lawyer. There has to be a better way.
For the teachers and parents who work with the special education children God Bless all of you. In some countries the LD children would never even be allowed past the front doors of the school.
Yes, reality IS sad...
As a public educator, I see too many special education teachers who actually believe they ARE telling the truth to parents when they recite the IEP. Anyone with half a brain knows the teacher shortage is only getting worse and that the area with the most critical shortage is Sped.
I have participated in numerous IEP meetings where the number of minutes a child will be served by the Sped teacher magically equals the number of minutes that teacher is available for that class or grade level.
Magic? I think not. It's all about covering their back ends. Many IEPs cannot be written based on the needs of a child when what the child needs exceeds the number of positions filled by "highly qualified" faculty.
The logical solution - hire more Sped teachers - is right next to impossible to do. Even when funds for more teachers are there, every school system in our area cannot find enough qualified teachers to fill the Sped positions that remain vacant indefinitely.
sad
It is sad that parents feel that SPECIALISTS who are educated and trained to meet the needs of their children are not "telling them the truth." Why not put a little faith in the SPECIALISTS trained to help your child? Each parent is provided with their rights, a copy of the law and are provided with the phone/fax number of teachers, school administrators and the special education coordinator for the city. I've personally witnessed several of these "advocates" drag out meetings beyond the necessary time just to get paid for another hour. Such a shame our teachers don't get paid this amount, don't you think? It is truly sad that so many parents feel that teachers are actually out to get children and don't trust thier abiility to the point they hire an individual who can read the laws just as well as the rest of us.
Scrutiny at the "front end" should be the focus...
Rather than pull students from SPED who are already receiving services, schools should focus on the diagnosis up-front in determining who has need. If schools are allowed to just terminate services, they will do so for the wrong reasons (specifically, saving money). School divisions will terminate services to students just so the division can save money by not hiring needed SPED teachers. SPED children who have needs will slip through the cracks. ADD/ADHD are not made up "diseases", they are legitimate disorders recognized by the professional communities of medicine and psychology. "Urban education" refers to being trained to meet the diverse needs of a multicultural community and class room. Teachers can not take a one size fits all approach to education. There must be differentiation in instruction to meet diverse needs. Educate yourselves before posting.
Made up problems
Notice how many kids these days need "special ed?" What a crock. Just as big a crock as this made up "disease" ADD/ADHD. And by the way, I'd love to know what "urban education" is.