MCC program helps parents create solutions to real-life problems

New Hampshire mom Kelly Santos graduated from Manchester Community College’s second Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) cohort on July 1.

A national model for civic engagement, PLTI empowers individuals who hope to improve childhood outcomes in their communities by giving them the tools and knowledge needed to advocate for an identified area of concern or need.

While participating in the program, Santos was in the midst of navigating the special education process to obtain an IEP (Individualized Education Program) for her son, a legal agreement and plan on how the school district will provide special education.

Driven by her own experience, Santos focused her project on increasing the number of free special education advocates in the state by expanding the Office of the Advocate for Special Education (ASE), and letting parents know about the resources available to them.

“You’re so isolated in the education process and the school is well informed,” Santos said. “Even after years I was still not speaking their language, and you need to be able to understand and speak the special education language in order to be a successful education advocate for your child. And that’s where advocates come in handy.”

When Santos began the special education process for her son, the school provided her with the Special Education Procedural Safeguards Handbook that schools are required to give parents upon the initial referral or request for an IEP evaluation.

“Mine was about 60 pages long when we first started, and no one explains what it is,” Santos said.

After struggling with the school to obtain an IEP, Santos discovered the Parent Information Center (PIC) listed as a resource in the handbook, a statewide family organization that aims to provide parents with the information and support needed to make informed decisions to improve child development and well-being.

Through PIC, Santos was able to find a special education advocate to help her through the IEP process at no cost.

“I wish someone had told me earlier that was in here,” Santos said. “It’s not that the resource wasn’t available; I wasn’t aware of it. I’ve spoken to many families to share that information.”

In addition to PIC, free special education advocates are also available through the New Hampshire Office of the Advocate for Special Education.

However, with limited staff at both PIC and the Office of the Advocate, waitlists can sometimes be longer than parents have to navigate the IEP process, leaving parents with the option of paying for a special education advocate or lawyer.

“If we need help, we have to pay for it, or we are relying on (a few) people to help the entire state and that’s not enough,” Santos said.

The special education process

The following steps are explained in the PIC’s Steps in the NH Special Education Process booklet.

Step 1: Referral

If someone — parent, teacher or other person — suspects that a child might have a disability and be in need of special education, they can make a referral to the school district for the child to be considered for special education.

Within 15 days of receiving the referral, the school district must schedule a “disposition of referral meeting,” where the IEP team meets. (This includes parents.)

At the meeting, the team determines whether the child’s needs can be met through existing pupil support services/general education interventions, or if there is reason to suspect the child does have a disability and they should be evaluated.

Step 2: Evaluation

If it is determined that a child should be evaluated for special education, they decide what testing is needed and the child is given a full and individualized evaluation to obtain information the IEP team will use to determine eligibility and identify educational needs.

If the parents disagree with the school’s evaluation, they can request an independent education evaluation (IEE) at public expense, or they can obtain one at their own expense.

Step 3: Determination of eligibility and disability category

The IEP team used the evaluation results to determine whether the child is eligible for special education.

“To be eligible, the child must have a disability for which the child requires special education or special education and related services to receive a FAPE. The child will then be identified with one or more of 14 disability categories defined in the NH Standards.”

Step 4: Development and approval of the IEP

Within 30 days of being found eligible for special education, the IEP team meets to develop an IEP for the child.

Step 5: Determination of educational placement

Once the IEP is signed and approved by the parents and school district, the IEP team meets to determine the least restrictive environment in which the child can receive the special education and services called for in the IEP.

Step 6: Implementation and ongoing monitoring

The child then receives services as soon as possible. The child’s progress is monitored by parents, educators and others involved with their special education program to make sure their educational needs are being met.

According to Santos, the special education process is nuanced, detailed and often confusing for many parents.

For fellow PLTI graduate and educator Jessica Palmariello’s project, she created a comprehensive guide on the special education and IEP process — “IEP Deep Dive Guide for NH Parents: Pre-K – 12 & Beyond” — that spans 122 pages.

“I have been in many IEP meetings and have observed a lot of things. It made me realize that parents need to have a guide that breaks down the entire princess, step-by-step, and help them with all of the terms that come along with it,” Palmariello said. “Because of the legality of the document, sometimes parents overlook what they have rights to know and do, and what the document really means.”

Parent Information Center and the Office of the Advocate for Special Education

According to PIC parent consultant Bonnie Dunham, PIC was formed in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education ACT (IDEA) enacted in 1975.

IDEA ensures that children with disabilities receive a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment, and also calls for at least one parent training and information center in each state.

PIC oversees a number of projects, including their special education project, through which they offer technical assistance and provide information and training to parents covering the special education process, laws and communication skills.

The center offers free technical assistance via phone or by email, and also has a volunteer advocate program which prepares participants to volunteer as advocates for other parents. According to Dunham, most of the volunteers are parents of children with disabilities and work full-time jobs, and therefore are not able to attend IEP meetings with the parents they are assisting, instead offering guidance outside of meetings.

“I think of it as, there are about 28,000 parents of children with children with disabilities in New Hampshire, and there are three of us. So just doing the math, it means that every single person could not get 100% individual attention for their needs, which is why we’ve found ways to use materials and workshops and sometimes through our volunteers to build our capacity to outreach even further,” Dunham said.

In 2022, the state legislature passed Senate Bill 381, establishing the Office of the Advocate for Special Education (ASE).

According to Dunham, the ASE is meant to provide a higher level of advocacy and oversight for special education. Since the office is staffed with an attorney, the ASE is able to provide legal support, which PIC is unable to do.

“They face the same barriers that we do and that other agencies like the Disabilities Rights Center in New Hampshire do, in that there aren’t enough numbers to meet the needs of everyone who would like that level of support,” Dunham said.

Santos hopes to level the playing field for parents by making them aware of the resources that are out there and having more no-cost special education advocates in the state.

“My dream is an office in each town or district where parents can go if they have a question, or are referred to special education,” she said. “Parents would meet with an advocate before any additional meetings are held. The advocate would provide resources such as the Parent Information Center, break down the student and parent rights, explain the special education process, assist with drafting letters, most importantly attend meetings, and more.”

During her time in the PLTI program, Santos was able to partner with the Children’s Dyslexia Center in Nashua to create a monthly parent’s night, which she hosts and hopes to expand to other centers.

“I was sitting in the waiting room and I had this discussion with a few other moms and I was like, ‘this is what’s missing. We need to share resources. We need to share stories,’” she said. “I hope that parents will feel less isolated and alone in the struggle with learning disabilities and advocating for their children while providing them with the tools and resources to assist them.”

The director of the Children’s Dyslexia Center also started a newsletter providing parents with resources and invited PIC to present.

“Having PLTI gives your toolbox this incredible gift of resources that you didn’t have before, personally and professionally, so you are able to go into the community and make a difference,” Santos said. “I do feel confident that my classmates will be making a difference. I do feel like I will see them doing all great things, so I’m really excited about that.”

This article is being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.