The IEP and Beyond

The IEP and Beyond Helping parents navigate IEPs, rights & community resources- so they can advocate with confidence.

09/09/2026

Living in the world of Special Education daily can be extremely emotionally taxing. You have to find outlets or else it will consume you.

What’s your favorite way to decompress after a long day?

TIP TUESDAY 💙You don’t have to go straight from “I disagree” to “see you in due process.”There’s a step in between that ...
09/08/2026

TIP TUESDAY 💙
You don’t have to go straight from “I disagree” to “see you in due process.”
There’s a step in between that a LOT of parents don’t know about:Alternative Dispute Resolution — ADR.
If you know something in your child’s IEP isn’t sitting right, but you need clarification, guidance, or help getting everyone back to the table, your local SELPA may be able to help.
So what’s a SELPA?
SELPA = Special Education Local Plan Area. Basically, SELPAs help coordinate and support special education services in California — and they can offer resources for parents and school districts, including ADR.
And ADR is FREE.
It can be as simple as a phone call to talk through an issue, or it can go as far as a facilitated IEP meeting where someone helps keep the conversation productive and moving forward.
I’ve personally used ADR.
Before I ever moved to due process.
And I think that’s important to say because sometimes we hear “dispute” and immediately think lawsuit, attorneys, due process.
But there are steps you can take before getting there.
Now, there is an important catch:
SELPA is the middle man.
They are there to support the process and help both you AND the school district. They are not your personal advocate, and they may not always be able to resolve the issue in the way you want.
But that doesn’t make ADR useless.
It makes it another tool in your toolbox.
And when you’re sitting there thinking, “I know I disagree with this, but I have no idea what I’m supposed to do next…”
This is one place you can start.
Have questions about ADR? 👇
Drop them in the comments. Let’s talk about it.

09/07/2026

There is a huge part of me that is empathetic with teachers and district staff.

There is another part of me that is reminded that IEPs are legally binding documents.

Finding the balance between grace and advocacy is difficult. Be patient with yourself ❤️

09/04/2026

Yesterday I talked about the failures. The moments we miss. The things we wish we had done differently. Today, let’s talk about the wins. ❤️

My kid came home yesterday with a Big Buddy paper. He is officially some random kindergartener’s Big Buddy. 😂

For the next year, he gets to show a kindergartener the ropes, be a friend, and be someone they can look up to.

And that kindergartener gets to learn about AAC. They get to learn that communication can look different. They get to learn that my kid has so much to say, so much to give, and so much to teach.

But most importantly? They get to build a genuine friendship.

This is inclusion. Not just putting our kids in the room. Not just checking a box.

But giving them opportunities to belong, contribute, lead, teach, and be known.
I can’t wait to see what this year brings. 🥹💙

Sometimes the wins are bigger than we realize.

This has been sitting really heavy on my heart for the last 24 hours.There are going to be times on this journey when yo...
09/03/2026

This has been sitting really heavy on my heart for the last 24 hours.

There are going to be times on this journey when you don’t get it right. And damn, that’s a hard thing to admit.

There will be things you look back on and think, “How did I not know this?”
“Why didn’t I ask more questions?”
“Why did I trust that?”
“Why didn’t I catch this?”
I know that feeling.

I’ve had to forgive myself for the things I didn’t know. For the things I missed. For the times I trusted people because I genuinely believed they knew what they were doing.
And I have forgiven myself.
But if I’m being really honest with you…
I don’t know that I’ve fully forgiven my district for a blatant, substantive FAPE violation that happened YEARS ago.

Because hindsight is brutal.
When you finally learn what should have happened, it can make you look back at your child’s past and see things completely differently.

And there’s grief in that.
There’s anger.
There’s guilt.

And sometimes there’s this awful little voice in your head asking, “If I had only known then what I know now…”

But please hear me:
You cannot hold your past self accountable for information you didn’t have.
You were learning.
You were parenting.
You were surviving.
You were trusting the people who were supposed to know.

And maybe you missed something. Maybe I missed something. Maybe we all will again.
Because this advocacy journey is not about becoming a perfect IEP parent who never misses a thing.

It’s about continuing to learn.
Continuing to ask.
Continuing to question.
Continuing to show up.
So if you’re beating yourself up over something you didn’t know three years ago, last year, or even last week…
Take a breath.
Forgive yourself.
Then take what you know now and move forward.

You don’t have to be the parent who knew everything.You just have to be the parent who keeps learning.

And friend… you’re doing better than you think you are. ❤️

09/01/2026

Day in the life:
-IEP discussion with my cousin
-therapy (we all need it)
-listened to the IACC meeting while cleaning
-an hour of homework in the sped world
-sent 3 emails to school officials checking in on things.
-school board meeting later

The grind never stops.

TIP TUESDAY 💡“That’s the way the school does it.”
→ Okay. Can you show me the policy that says that?“That isn’t what IDE...
09/01/2026

TIP TUESDAY 💡
“That’s the way the school does it.”
→ Okay. Can you show me the policy that says that?
“That isn’t what IDEA says.”
→ Can you show me the specific section of IDEA you’re referring to? I’d like to review it for clarification.
“He doesn’t need X, Y, or Z.”
→ Can you show me the raw and interpreted data that supports that conclusion?
Here’s the thing: people’s words are fallible. They are not automatically facts, policies, or laws.
You don’t have to be confrontational. You can simply ask for the source.
Know what your IEP says. Know what the law says. Know what the district’s policies say.
And when someone tells you something that doesn’t sound right?
Ask them to put it in writing. Ask for the source. Ask for the data.
You have every right to understand why a decision is being made about your child.

MYTH MONDAY 🚨“The school district doesn’t have the staff, so they can’t provide the service.”Nope. 👏Now, let’s be realis...
08/31/2026

MYTH MONDAY 🚨
“The school district doesn’t have the staff, so they can’t provide the service.”
Nope. 👏
Now, let’s be realistic. A district can’t just magically p**f a qualified person into existence when there’s a staffing shortage.
But staffing is the district’s responsibility—not your child’s.
If a service is written into your child’s IEP, the district has an obligation to provide it. “We don’t have anyone” doesn’t make the service disappear.
Their job is to hire, recruit, train, and staff appropriately. Your child shouldn’t be the one paying the price for a staffing problem.
And this is why knowing what’s in your IEP—and keeping track of what your child actually receives—matters.
The IEP isn’t a suggestion. Know it. Track it. Advocate for it.
Do you know what the school is required to provide if they are not able to provide adequate service minutes?

08/28/2026

ACCOUNTABILITY.

Did you know that while there are legal frameworks in place to hold school districts accountable, it often falls on the parents to notice when something isn’t happening and then speak up about it?

You don’t have to be an attorney to start creating a paper trail.

Here’s some simple ways you can start keeping track:

📅 Keep a calendar of missed services, shortened sessions, cancellations, staff absences, and changes in your child’s schedule.

📝Document what comes home from school- daily communication logs, behavior reports, incident reports, progress notes or anything else related to your child’s IEP.

📁 request your child’s educational records and review them. You have the right to access your child’s educational record in California.

📸 save everything. Emails, texts, meeting notes, IEPs, PWNs, progress reports, service logs and even screenshots. Don’t rely on a school portal to keep everything forever.

🗣️ Ask questions when something doesn’t add up.

“Where is this documented?”
“Was this service provided?”
“When will the missed minutes be made up?”
“What does the IEP say?”

And most importantly… KNOW YOUR IEP.

Because accountability starts with knowing what services your child is actually supposed to receive.

Your child should not have to lose services for you to discover months later that they weren’t being provided.

👇🏼what are you doing to keep your district accountable?

08/24/2026

AAC + inclusion. Let’s talk about it. 💬

Does your child have *every* classmate (including their gen ed classmates) programmed into their AAC?

What about the people they see every day: yard duties, lunch staff, office staff, principals, teachers, aides?

AAC isn’t just about requesting things or answering questions. It’s about connection. Your child should have the ability to greet, joke, ask questions, advocate, and build relationships with the people who are part of their school community.

Inclusion means more than being physically present. It means having access to communication with the people around you.

Take a look at your child’s AAC today. Who is missing? 👀

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