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ABOUT

The IEP Student Center is a federally approved 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by parents, parent attorneys, and educators for the purpose of advancing public education through advocacy for children with disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides protections for the rights of students with disabilities who must be offered a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment.

 

Inadequate school funding prevents Utah schools from providing necessary, legally required services and education to disabled children.  The Utah legislature likes to boast, "We do so much with so little," but fails to understand that our disabled community is full of adults  who did not receive adequate PreK-22 special education and who are not competent in jobs, college, or the community.  Schools have a duty to find and serve these students.  However, Utah schools do not have the resources needed to provide what the law requires. The result is an overt resistance to identifying, evaluating, and supporting students with disabilities.  Parents often hear, "We don't think your child needs social skills training right now" or "The data does not support a need for new testing" or "A 1:1 aide is the most restrictive environment."  Compare this to students who obtain IEPs outside of Utah. They come to Utah with a robust continuum of supports and service time, but Utah schools strip their IEPs down to the bare bones.  Despite financial challenges, the law is clear.  Students with disabilities are entitled to regular education and special education that meets their needs to enable them to progress and learn.

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 The IEP Student Center strives to:

  • Provide support and representation to reduce the stress and burden on families who have been struggling in isolation to navigate school systems.

  • Act as an adversarial and collaborative buffer for parents to facilitate conflict resolution, by being “hard on the problem, not on the people.”

  • Maintain unapologetic accountability for schools to abide by IDEA.

  • Maximize the appropriate utilization of investigatory process, including State Complaints, Due Process Hearings, and Office of Civil Rights Complaints.

  • Provide services that are independent from the Utah State Board of Education and the Utah Parent Center.

  • Train Advocates and Attorney Advocates to do the following:

    • Support the rights of parents and students during IEP meetings,

    • Present the written plan developed by the Team to address student’s identified disabilities and needs, and

    • Assess the school’s willingness and capacity to honor the IDEA.

  • Recruit Associate Attorneys and build competence in reviewing results of investigatory processes to develop legal strategies.

  • If advocacy fails to result in a fair resolution, Due Process Hearings are unfavorable, or if profound violations are identified, Senior Attorneys will initiate suits in federal court.

  • Cultivate innovation in special education and compliance with IDEA.

  • Gather a diverse team of internal experts with unique areas of specialization to "peer review" school IEP Teams.

  • Advocates gather innovative strategies from school IEP Teams to promote wide-spread utilization of creative solutions.

  • Team will comprehensively analyze distinct student needs and current circumstances to deliver cutting edge, research-based recommendations to IEP Teams.

  • Attorneys will provide accurate interpretations of IDEA to combat misconceptions of the law.

  • Expand the understanding of experts by facilitating conversations with a wide-range of stakeholders to increase comprehensive knowledge and awareness of other specialties and services for students with disabilities.

  • Develop leadership capacity of experts to advance public policy and legislation to improve public education.

       

What is needed most in Utah is “advocacy with teeth.”  The IEP Student Center will improve education for children with disabilities by protecting the rights of parents and students, providing expert, cutting edge ideas for helping students, identifying noncompliance under IDEA, and seeking increased resources for education in Utah.  

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