Student Advocacy Specialists
Supporting parents with a personalized approach to:
-RtI (Response to Intervention)
-PBIS (Positive Behavioral
Interventions & Supports) & FBA/BIP
-Section 504 Plans
-Special Education services
-Social/emotional skill development
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Problem Identification & Analysis
Special Education Services
Intervention Implementation & Evaluation
Special Education Services Referral
Student Advocacy Specialists have over 20 years of experience helping students achieve greater academic, behavioral, and social/emotional success in schools. We have both practical experiences as teachers, administrators, and special education personnel and advanced psychoeducational training in Curriculum & Instruction, Applied Behavior Analysis, Psychodynamics, and Child Development.
Our forte is knowing how to integate the latest research and case law (FERPA, IDEA, ADA) with the individual needs of a child.
At Student Advocacy Specialists, we utilize a systematic approach to Special Education Services that identifies student strengths and weaknesses, employs evidence-based interventions, frequently collects data to monitor student progress, and evaluates the effectivenes of interventions implemented with the student potentially across three tiers; at the classroom-level by the teacher, at the building-level by the Problem Solving Team, and at the district-level by a Special Education Department evaluation.
We provide a variety of services including:
Public Law 94-142 (Education of All Handicapped Children Act) was passed by Congress in 1975 and has 4 key steps that all public schools in the United States must follow: Referral, Evaluation, Placement & Review. The federal law requires Local Education Agencies (school districts) to provide Free Appropriate Pubil Education in a Least Restrictive Environment. The process includes Annual Reviews, Triennial Reviews, and Reevaluations.
We have the expertise to write the referral based on the defined criteria for each of the 13 Special Education Eligibility categories.
Our systematic evaluation approach follows a "Best Practices Model" that requires:
-a review of the student's cumulative file for historical data indicating an established pattern of performance
-an interview of the teachers, support staff, and administrators to operationalize the problem
-an observation of the student in at least 3 different school settings (structured & unstructured) to determine if
the problem is discrepent
-a evaluation of the testing results (CBAs, Local, State, & Nationally Normalized Asessments, Standardized
Assessments) to see if there is consistency in performance
We have a thorough understanding of the Special Education process and will evaluate the placement (IEP) goals:
-the appropriateness of the student's placement: self-contained classroom vs. inclusion
-the fidelity in which the special education services are being provided:
(defined time, service size, and scientific, research-based instruction utilized)
-the integrity of the tracking process being employed
-the responsiveness of the student to the services via continuous progress monitoring
The RtI process is an alternative method to the traditional ability/achievement discrepency comparison for early identification of educational needs and determining appropriate educational services as defined by IDEA 2004. The process begins with Universal Screenings/Benchmarking which is conducted three times a year (fall, winter, & spring). The data should be used by the teacher, the school's Problem Solving Team, and/or the District's Special Education Staff to make timely placement decisions to benefit students.
We have the experience to evaluate the student's RtI data and determine if the process was followed with fidelity and if the student's educational needs are being met.
