Course Overview: Intro to Special Needs Advocacy
Welcome to your starting point in the world of special education advocacy.
This Intro to Special Needs Advocacy course is designed for individuals who want to support children with disabilities but may not know where to begin. Whether you’re a parent, family member, educator, or aspiring advocate, this course will give you a clear and confident understanding of the fundamentals—without overwhelming you with legal jargon or complex systems.
You’ll be introduced to the key laws that protect students with disabilities, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We’ll cover the basics of the IEP (Individualized Education Program) process, 504 Plans, school responsibilities, and what rights families have when things go wrong.
This course is not about turning you into a legal expert overnight. It’s about helping you become familiar with the language, timelines, and steps of the special education process, so you can better support families and children—and know what questions to ask along the way.
We’ll walk you through essential advocacy skills like effective communication, documentation, and attending school meetings with purpose. You’ll get real-world tips, beginner-friendly tools, and printable guides to help you feel more confident, even if you’re just starting out.
Think of this course as your advocacy compass: it won’t give you every answer, but it will point you in the right direction.
Future courses in this series will dive deeper into specific topics like due process, evaluation reports, IEP goal writing, navigating denials, and building a long-term advocacy strategy. For now, we’re focused on building your foundational knowledge—because a strong beginning is the first step to becoming a powerful advocate.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
✅ Recognize the major special education laws and what they mean
✅ Understand the difference between IEPs and 504 Plans
✅ Know who’s involved in the special education process
✅ Support families during meetings and paperwork
✅ Begin advocating with confidence, clarity, and compassion
Let’s get started—because every child deserves a voice, and every family deserves a guide.
Course Features
- Lectures 17
- Quizzes 3
- Duration Lifetime access
- Skill level All levels
- Language English
- Students 1
- Certificate No
- Assessments Yes
- 3 Sections
- 17 Lessons
- Lifetime
- Module 1: What is Advocacy?🎯 Learning Objectives: By the end of this module, learners will be able to: • Define “advocacy” in the context of special education • Differentiate between types of advocates • Explain the ethical role of an advocate vs. an attorney • Begin identifying their own purpose and values as advocates 🧠 Section 1: What Is Advocacy? 🧩 Section 2: Types of Advocates 🧭 Section 3: What Advocates Do (and Don’t Do) ✍️ Activity: Personal Mission Statement 📋 Quiz: Module 1 – What is Advocacy?6
- Module 2: Legal Foundations of Special EducationThis module introduces the core legal protections and policies that govern special education in the United States. To be an effective advocate, you must not only understand the laws that exist, but also why they were created and how to apply them practically to support children and families. You don’t need to be a lawyer — but you do need to know your legal terrain. By the end of this module, you’ll be able to recognize the key federal laws, explain the principles they’re built on, and understand the legal rights of students and families in the special education system. 🔹 Section 1: The Big Three Laws — IDEA, Section 504, and ADA 🔹 Section 2: FAPE, LRE, and IEPs – Breaking Down the Big Concepts 🔹 Section 3: Parental Rights and Procedural Safeguards 🔹 Section 4: What the Law Says — and What That Means in Real Life 🔹✍️ Activity: 🔹📋 Quiz: Module 2 – Legal Foundations of Special Education You’re not here to memorize legal codes—you’re here to use them as tools. This module gave you the legal lens you’ll need as an advocate: to protect rights, spot red flags, and speak with authority when families need it most.7
- 4.1Section 1: The Big Three Laws – IDEA, Section 504, and ADA
- 4.2Section 2: FAPE, LRE, and IEPs – Breaking Down the Big Concepts
- 4.3Section 3: Parental Rights and Procedural Safeguards
- 4.4Section 4: What Due Process Really Means (and When It Matters)
- 4.5Section 5: What the Law Says — and What That Means in Real Life
- 4.6Activity: Law Into Action — Real-Life Scenarios
- 4.8Quiz: Module 2 – Legal Foundations of Special Education20 Questions
- Module 3: The IEP Process—Introductory Step by Step🧭 Module Overview: This module breaks down the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process into clear, actionable stages so that aspiring advocates can confidently support families from the very first referral to annual reviews and beyond. Whether you're brand new to the world of IEPs or have sat through a few meetings and still feel unsure, this module is built to demystify the system. While later modules in this course will go deeper into IEP goals, accommodations, transition planning, and more, this module gives you the entire bird’s-eye view of how it all fits together—start to finish. You’ll learn when to act, what to ask, and how to be ready at every turn. Sections in Module 3: Referral and Evaluation Eligibility Determination Writing the IEP The IEP Meeting IEP Implementation Annual Review and Reevaluation Amendments and Making Changes9
- 5.1Section 1: Referral and Evaluation
- 5.2Section 2: Eligibility Determination
- 5.3Section 3: Writing the IEP
- 5.4Section 4: The IEP Meeting
- 5.5Section 5: IEP Implementation
- 5.6Section 6: Annual Review and Reevaluation
- 5.7Section 7: Amendments and Making Changes
- 5.8Module 3 Assignment: The IEP Process—Introductory Step by Step
- 5.9Module 3 Quiz: The IEP Process—Introductory Step by Step0 Questions
