Project Title: Advocating for Your Child: A Guide for Special Education Parents
Overview: At Kindred Learning Solutions, we believe families shouldn’t need a law degree to advocate for their children. Yet in the U.S. special education system, many parents are navigating a maze of paperwork, policies, and power dynamics—often without clear guidance. While school staff receive training on procedures and compliance, parents are expected to catch up on their own time, often in moments of high stress or conflict.
This course was created to close that gap.
Drawing from firsthand experience across education, parenting, and advocacy, we designed this resource for families who want to be effective partners in their child’s education, but don’t always know where to start. It stands alone, but can also be shared by schools, community organizations, and advocacy groups looking for accessible, parent-centered tools.
Solution
This course was designed to empower families with clarity, not overwhelm them with jargon. It walks parents step-by-step through the special education process—from understanding their child’s legal rights to navigating evaluations, developing an IEP, and addressing challenges when things don’t go as planned.
We built it with flexibility in mind, recognizing that no two families are in the same place. Some are just beginning to wonder if their child might need extra support; others are deep into paperwork, meetings, or difficult decisions. The course supports this range of experiences through clear explanations, relatable scenarios, interactive tools, and downloadable resources that families can return to again and again.
Realistic, story-driven scenarios are threaded throughout each module to ground learning in everyday situations. These aren’t just informational; they’re designed to help parents better understand the perspectives of teachers, administrators, and service providers as well as their own role. One lesson even simulates a due process hearing to demystify the experience and reduce the fear and uncertainty that often surround legal proceedings.
While this is a self-paced course designed for individual use, it’s also ready to be shared by schools, healthcare providers, community organizations, and others working to support families. Whether accessed through a nonprofit website, recommended by a pediatrician, or shared at a parent support group, the course offers a welcoming and practical introduction to what can otherwise feel like an overwhelming system.
Scroll through the screenshots below to see how the course supports informed decision-making at every stage—from evaluation to IEP development and beyond.
This activity centers diverse learner experiences across multiple disability categories, guiding users to consider identity, barriers, and supports without making assumptions based on diagnosis alone.
This interactive map helps families navigate the IEP journey, breaking down complex steps into clear, clickable moments.
This graphic introduces the full IEP team, using clickable chairs to highlight each role, emphasizing collaboration and the diverse expertise involved in supporting a child’s educational plan.
Designed for clarity and confidence, this interactive summary helps families make sense of evaluation documents using plain language and guided exploration.
This visual activity introduces the continuum of support, allowing users to explore different levels of educational services- from minimal to intensive- through an inclusive, clickable graphic.
This checklist equips parents with key questions to ask during the eligibility meeting, helping them engage confidently and advocate for informed next steps.
This interactive activity invites users to select a student and practice choosing SMART goals, accommodations, and supports, based on realistic scenarios and individualized needs.
This comparison activity introduces two students with ADHD, helping users explore how individual traits and life contexts shape learning needs beyond the diagnosis.
Learners explore how multiple team members contribute to student success, emphasizing the power of coordinated, student-centered support.
This scenario is part of a larger series that follows individual students through each step of the special education process- from early concerns to intervention planning- showing how supports take shape in real contexts.
Recognizing that communication can either build bridges or reinforce barriers, this section provides tools for navigating difficult conversations, strengthening partnerships, and supporting shared decision-making.
Want to see the full experience in action? Click below to view the complete course as it was designed for families navigating special education.