Lesson 2: Advocating for Students

As an employee of the school and as an ethical person, the paraeducator should see themselves as an advocate for the rights of all students and their parents.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Because of the advocacy efforts of parents and professionals, all children have the right to receive an appropriate education. These rights have been established through both court decisions and state and federal legislation. As an employee of the school and as a person who provides services to children both with and without disabilities the paraeducator accepts an obligation to protect these rights and promote quality services. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is federal legislation which outlines many of these rights including the following:

• Right to a free appropriate public education for all children;
• Right to placement in the least restrictive environment;
• Right to fairness in the assessment and placement process;
• Right to an individualized educational program;
• Right for parents to be informed and participate in the educational process; and
• Right and procedures for parents to disagree with school decisions.

For more information on students and parents rights and school procedures designed to protect these rights, please refer to Unit 8: Introduction to Special Education Programs.

Advocating for Students with Disabilities

Definitions

The term "advocacy" has been defined in a variety of ways by many different individuals and groups.

• Advocacy: The act of pleading for, supporting or recommending; active espousal
  Random House Dictionary of the English Language (1973)
• "Pure advocacy refers to action taken, usually on behalf of someone else, to ensure some right, secure some benefit, or enhance the advocatee's well being."
  Akerley, M. (1978). A Philosophy of Advocacy
• "Legal advocacy...refers to formal and informal, persuasive activities on behalf of a client or group of clients, efforts grounded in legal and human rights and subject to client control. In this context, legal advocacy is shorthand for a broad range of client-oriented methods to secure the client's rights, aspirations and dignity."
  Herr, S. (1983). Rights and Advocacy for Retarded People
• "The representation of rights and interests of oneself or others in an effort to bring about changes which will eliminate barriers to meeting identified needs."
  Joint Accreditation Council of Services for MR and Other Developmentally Disabled Persons (no date)
• "Advocacy means representing other people's interests as your own. Advocacy strategies involve working on behalf of or with those 'other' people."
  Bilken, D., & Zollers, N. (1986). The focus of advocacy in the LD field. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 19(10), 579-586.
• "An independent movement of consumers and their allies to monitor and change human services."
  Center on Human Policy (no date)

Regardless of the advocacy definition utilized, the idea that action is an integral part of advocacy is inherent. Advocates are persons who support the rights and efforts of themselves and/or others not only philosophically, but also through real-life involvement and day-to-day actions. A variety of definitions, classification systems, and names for types of advocacy have been developed through the years. All of these formats in human services advocacy point out the link of advocacy with action. It is generally held that the ideal for each person is to be able to self-advocate and handle most life situations as independently as possible. Persons with special needs, however, may benefit from assistance as they try to maximize their lives. Such help may be provided through other persons/groups who may act as advocates and speak out on their behalf. Our personal styles and experiences as well as our professional roles have great influence on our perceptions of advocacy situations and our ability to be positively involved as advocates. The success of advocacy is in matching persons who wish to have assistance from an advocate with an individual/group who can provide support and help them build the skills for future self-advocacy. "A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle." -Kahil Gibran