Much of what we do as advocates is strategize. Knowing how to play the special education game is a very big part of coming to an agreement about what an IEP document contains. School district have a vested financial interest in not providing services and supports for students yet they can not mention money during IEP discussions. Parents have an equally vested interest in getting their student appropriate supports…..so the game begins.
One thing that parents often say is that they don’t know what to ask for or how to get different or more supports. Parents will usually ask all the right questions yet school staff will not give the “right” answers. There can be the game of diversion where the district will not answer a question directly but will go off on a tangent so as to distract the parent and change the conversation.
Another game is that of delay, delay, delay. The parent will again ask questions and the district will give vague responses or construct a “filibuster” – an ongoing, never ending, non productive conversation that never leads to any real decisions. The result is no change to the IEP and the creation of a lot of frustration for the parents. There is a saying that “services delayed are services denied” so there can be significant legal implications when a district plays this particular game.
SF Bay Area Advocacy Game Playing
Yet another game is that of either overt friendliness or nastiness. District staff will use friendliness to keep parents believing that everything is being done well so that parents will not question the process. Parents will not want to “rock the boat” and look like they are not team players…..so nothing every changes…..or it goes into filibuster mode…..lots of talking with no progress. Overt nastiness simply shuts down any attempt at collaboration and makes meaningful parental participation nearly impossible.
An effective advocate is experienced at any of the games that a district plays as we have played the same game at a wide variety of districts so our “skill level” is often much higher than someone who plays in only one district.
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