For the Parents
Parents and guardians are usually the biggest advocates for students with special needs. However, understanding your rights as a parent can be challenging. This page is here to provide you with the proper resources to be successful in advocating for your child!
What are Procedural Safeguards?
Procedural safeguards detail your rights as a parent in regard to your child with special needs. Some of these includes:
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Your right to all educational records
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Your right to participate in all meetings
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Your right to obtain an evaluation for your child
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Your right to consent to all, some, or none of an IEP meeting
To see a copy of SFUSD's Procedural Safeguards, click here:
Teachers
Teachers are with your children for the majority of their day, teaching them and building relationships. Teachers are great for helping student approach their academic, social-emotional, and behavioral goals. Parent-teacher relationships are also vital when discussing plans of optimal success for the student.
Administration
The administration is the principal and assistant principal at your child's school. Often seen as "strictly disciplinarian", many admins possess the authority to help parents navigate the school district rules and procedures, ultimately being an amazing support person to have in you and your child's corner.
counselors and therapists
School counselors and therapists are there to help your child unpack and discover themselves throughout the school years. Many counselors and therapists see students in 1:1, allowing students to be their most authentic selves. This is amazing for building rapport and trust between the student and a school faculty member.
Who is a support person for my child?
Family Members
Family members such as siblings, aunts and uncles, grandparents, godparents, or anyone else in your village are vital pieces to your child's support network. They get to see the child in a comfortable, outside-of-school setting, building relationships with them on a different level.
Case manager
Case managers are the people who are in charge of managing your child's IEP, meetings, testing, and progress reporting. They are the bridge between teachers, parents, service providers, and administration. When concerned or confused about your child's SpEd needs, this is the person to go to.
Community Members
Pastors, extracurricular coaches, and after-school program leaders are just a few examples of community members that can provide emotional and advocacy support not only for the child but for the parents as well.
The mental health of parents raising special needs children is a conversation that is often overlooked. However, "All In This Together" sees and validates the experiences of parents and caregivers doing the hard work of raising these amazing humans!
Please take a look at this Ted Talk highlighting Ms. Debra Vines, a mother battling and overcoming mental health issues while raising a non-verbal son on the Autism Spectrum.