Click each of the questions below to view answers and additional resources.
Check out our searchable Parent Mentor Ohio Map with contact information to all of our Parent Mentors by region and by district.
The Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities (OCECD) provides support for families who do not have a Parent Mentor available to them in their district. Contact them here.
You may also find assistance through the State Support Team for your area.
Reach out to your child’s teacher and set up a time to discuss your concerns, what concerns the teacher has, what interventions are in place, and if an evaluation for special education is appropriate. Oftentimes, interventions can be put in place to support your child regardless of their special education status. If interventions are put in place, request that data is collected on the subject of your concern over a period of time. You can also request that a meeting is set up to discuss those results. You want to see that the interventions are working and that your child is making progress. Note: An evaluation can still take place while the interventions are being implemented.
You can request that your child is evaluated for special education to determine their eligibility for an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a 504 Plan. See here sample letters that you can use to draft your own
Sample letter 1 (Use this if you have not had a private evaluation for your child at this point)
Sample letter 2 (Use this if you have had a private evaluation for your child at this point)
Take some time to gather all records that you have regarding your child and your concern. Does your child have a medical diagnosis? If so, you will want to share that with the school. Having a medical diagnosis does not automatically qualify a child for special education services. The school must find that the medical diagnosis impacts the child’s ability to access the general education curriculum.
Check out this evaluation roadmap from the Ohio Department of Education to see the timeline for the special education evaluation process.
How to decide if your child needs a special education evaluation Understood Explains Podcast ~30 min.
Here are Questions Often Asked by Parents about Special Education Services.
During the Evaluation Team Report (ETR) meeting, you have the option to sign the evaluation report in a specific area to indicate that you disagree with the report and detail your specific disagreements. The evaluation team should alert you of your rights such as the option to request an Independent Education Evaluation (IEE) and ask for the list of approved professionals who perform them. You will then be able to set up an appointment with one of those professionals at the expense of the school district. Following the completion of the IEE, the school team will come together again in a meeting to review the new information and decide if it changes the decision on whether the student qualifies for special education.
The best way to do this is to ask the school team while you are in the meeting to clarify what the acronym means and how it is relevant to your discussion. Your school district may have acronyms that are unique to them, so be sure to ask questions if something doesn’t make sense to you. You can also refer to resources like Special Education Acronym Alphabet Soup and others on our Terms to Know page in the Resource Library.
This is almost every parent’s experience. One of the best things to do is to organize your thoughts prior to the meeting. Write out your questions and thoughts so that you can refer to them in the meeting. You can also send the school team a list of your questions prior to the meeting. This allows them to formulate a response that is thoughtful and also shares with the school what your specific concerns are so that they can be sure to focus on those in the meeting. Parent Mentors may also be available to attend meetings with you if you believe this would be helpful. While Parent Mentors are not Parent Advocates and cannot operate in this role, they are well positioned to serve as a bridge between families and the district and supportive mentor for you.
That’s okay! Our Parent Mentors are here to help. Reach out to your local Parent Mentor to introduce yourself and your concerns. In the meantime, take the time to write down your thoughts about what you observe about your child when compared to their peers can be so beneficial. Educators and administrators are well-versed in identifying what the child might need based on your observations. They can also do observations at school to monitor the child’s progress as well.
If you are interested in applying to bring a Parent Mentor grant to your district, please review the 2023-2024 Parent Mentor Scope of Work. The primary criterion for a Parent Mentor is that they be a parent of a child with a disability (see additional items in the document). For grant-funded districts, the Ohio Department of Education provides $25,000 annually for them to hire a Parent Mentor position. Ongoing oversight and professional development are provided, including a Community of Practice, through Dr. Johnson’s team at Ohio State. Since you will be hiring the Parent Mentor, they would be your employee to oversee just as you do other employees, at a minimum of .5 full time equivalency. We expect Parent Mentors to be available to help families understand the special education process, to attend meetings upon request and to encourage collaborative communication across parties.
There is currently a waiting list for grants. You can be added to the waiting list by sending your contact information to Lyndsay Havey at Lyndsay.havey@education.ohio.gov. When a grant becomes available, everyone on the waiting list will be contacted to determine current interest and make an award based on expressed interested.
