Stacey Hoaglund
ADVOCATE, LIFE COACH, CONSULTANT, SPEAKER, AUTHOR
Tag: IEP
Tag: IEP
Envisioning an Improved Continuum of Services
As many parents are participating in their child’s matriculation meeting at this time of year – transition meeting from preschool to kindergarten, elementary to middle, middle to high – there are a few things to understand about what’s referred to as a “continuum of services”. What’s This All About? Those 3 words basically mean that
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Figuring Out What’s Worth Fighting for
ad·vo·cate [v. ad-vuh-keyt] According to Webster’s Dictionary, the word advocate has been around since the 14th century. The definitions include: 1: one that pleads the cause of another; to plead in favor of 2: one that defends or maintains a cause or proposal 3: one that supports or promotes the interests of another. Advocating can
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Don’t Miss Asking these Questions at Your Matriculation Meeting
As matriculation meetings will be starting soon (they typically begin after Spring Break), it’s important to know and understand your child’s rights to inclusive education. I find that most parents don’t know that the federal law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) requires that all IEP teams consider a regular education placement EVERY YEAR – not
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Special Education Checklist for Parents
According to IDEA, Special Education is “specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability,” which includes everything from making classroom adaptations to off campus travel training, and everything in between. Parents need to be aware of some of the hallmarks of special education
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Understanding the Eligibility of ESY
If your child’s annual IEP is in the springtime, chances are good that someone at your meeting will say something like, “Well, while we have you here, let’s take care of ESY.” You might be thinking, “What is that??? More letters that I’m not really sure about.” Since you get that sinking feeling that you’re
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7 Things You Can Do to Change Your Child’s Future
At the CARD (Center for Autism) conference that was held in Orlando this weekend, I spoke about “Navigating the Cliff” that is often felt by parents and individuals when they transition out of the public school system. I had the pleasure of talking to many parents both during my training and afterwards who had some
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To Resolve or Not to Resolve
There are tons of influencers out there who are very focused on the benefits of New Year’s resolutions – and a growing batch who say that making a promise to yourself that you break by January 4th is one of the most stressful and unproductive things that a person can do. Somewhere in between is
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Not All Accommodations Are Allowed on Standardized Tests
Each year when you have your child’s annual IEP meeting, there’s a place that you need to sign that you understand that not all accommodations that your child might have on their IEP are allowable during standardized testing. Did you know that? This reminds me of Procedural Safeguards. Every year you sign a paper that
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IT’S NEVER TOO LATE – NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS
Unfortunately, far too often, I find both parents and teachers seem to think that by the time a kid gets to high school, they are who they are and that they don’t have the same potential for growth as they once did. DON’T THINK THAT! I have literally seen students come out of segregated “special”
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A Dozen Red Flags of a Hot Mess IEP Meeting :o
For many parents, the annual IEP meeting is something that incites a great sense of overwhelm, frustration and doom. This is probably one of the reasons that tons of parents don’t even show up. Most of you might find this really hard to believe (because you’re passionately involved in your child’s education), but it’s true,
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