School Advocacy Services

Most parents don’t know what’s possible, or what their child is legally entitled to in the education system. A school advocate bridges that gap by helping families understand their rights, communicate effectively with schools, and ensure their child receives the appropriate support.

Advocacy is a strategic, ongoing process focused on understanding a child’s needs, identifying service gaps, and helping school teams design and implement effective plans. It ensures that services are appropriate, legally compliant, and consistently delivered.

Common Issues and Circumstances Families Bring to Advocacy

Academic Concerns

Many families seek advocacy when their child struggles with reading, writing, math, or overall academic progress. A school advocate helps identify whether the child is receiving appropriate instruction or if essential curriculum modifications are missing. Advocacy also addresses inconsistent support between teachers or classrooms and helps uncover why progress may be slower than expected.

Executive Functioning Challenges

Some children experience difficulty with organization, focus, planning, or completing multi-step directions. Since these skills directly affect academic performance, an advocate works with families to understand these challenges and identify the right school supports to improve independence and learning.

Behavioral and Emotional Needs

Children dealing with emotional dysregulation, anxiety, or trouble managing transitions often struggle in classroom environments. School avoidance, behavioral incidents, or punitive discipline can indicate underlying unmet needs. Advocacy helps families push for supportive behavior plans, trauma-informed strategies, and interventions that prioritize emotional safety.

Disability-Related Needs/Diagnoses

Families of children diagnosed with ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, speech/language impairments, sensory differences, or mental health conditions often require help navigating school services. An advocate interprets evaluations, clarifies eligibility, and ensures supports accurately match the child’s needs rather than the school’s convenience.

System and Process Challenges

Parents frequently encounter unclear evaluation results, delayed assessments, or disagreements with school teams. Many feel unheard in meetings or face poor communication and lack of follow-through on promised services. Advocacy provides structure, organization, and guidance so that processes stay on track and children receive the supports they are entitled to.

Major Transitions

Transitions such as moving from Early Intervention to preschool, preschool to kindergarten, or elementary to middle school can lead to gaps in support. Families may also need help navigating private-to-public school transitions or returning to school after hospitalization. Advocacy ensures that supports remain appropriate and consistent during these periods of change.

Special Circumstances

Some situations require specialized attention, such as repeated suspensions, bullying, mediation, or requests for out-of-district placements. Families with twice-exceptional (2e) children—those who are both gifted and disabled—may also need guidance in creating plans that address complex learning profiles.