Welcome to California Special Education Advocacy Training
These pages contain training for parents and professionals who need to advocate for special needs children. The curriculum is divided into nine units. Each unit is approximately two hours. This seminar was recorded live over three days of instruction.
Please note that this is a California specific curriculum. The lectures refer to California statutes and regulations that may not be similar to other states. However, since special education is a federal program, each state should have similar systems to what has been adopted in California.
Although there is no charge for this training, all students must agree agree to our course dislcaimer before proceeding with any of the units of instruction below.
| Unit | Topic |
| Unit 1: | Introduction to special education advocacy. Demographics, glossary and acronyms. Eligibility assessment criteria. Comparisons with DSM-IV diagnostic categories. |
| Unit 2: | Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), the Rowley decision. Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). Aids and Services. |
| Unit 3: | Life Span goals and objectives, developing the big picture for the child. |
| Unit 4: | De-mystifying and understanding the math, purpose and goals of psychological and educational assessment tools in educational settings |
| Unit 5: | Survey of specific psychological and educational assessment measures of ability (IQ), achievement and adaptive skills. |
| Unit 6: | Forensic issues. Preparing your report. Testimony on direct and cross examination at hearings. |
| Unit 7: | The IEP team process, goals and objective writing, and measuring success or failure. Behavior problems, special discipline rules, stay put orders, and the functional assessment of behavior |
| Unit 8: | Dealing with due process litigation. |
| Unit 9: | Integration with other systems. Regional center issues and the IPP. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The ADA, and more. |