Shrinking It Down: Mental Health Made Simple · Gene Beresin, MD, MA and Khadijah Booth Watkins, MD, MPH

Navigating Special Education in Schools Part 1: Legal and Practical Tips

·51 min·3 clips

IDEA includes stay-put rights, unilateral placement, mediation, and due process hearings.

The conversation begins with a familiar thought: many parents wish they had acted sooner. That regret sits next to a real fear of stigma, because families worry that asking for help will lead to a label or a track that does not serve their child. The hosts frame special education laws as a guardrail against that outcome. Gene Boreson and Khadijah Booth-Watkins then open a deep dive into the special education system as a season opener. They are joined by Dr. Ellen Broughton, a former associate director at the Clay Center, and attorney Eileen Haggerty, who has been doing legal work in this area for many years. The guests treat the topic as important and complicated, which is why the conversation stays in plain language and moves at a steady pace. Eileen says parents should put their request in writing. That creates a record of what was asked for and when. She recommends keeping the request short, with a few paragraphs that explain who the student is, what is happening, and why an evaluation may be needed. From there, the district is expected to respond and propose an evaluation. Parents should also have chances to share input during that process. The discussion then shifts to what goes into an IEP or a 504 plan. Ellen explains that the answer depends on whether the evaluation is private or done through the school. A private psychologist is trying to answer a referral question, such as whether a child is struggling with attention or reading and whether that difficulty rises to the level of a disability. That label can act like a North Star, pointing toward treatments that fit ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, and other concerns. A school evaluation has a different purpose. Its job is to figure out how the school can best meet the student's needs so the child can function at a level that matches ability as closely as possible. That difference matters because it shapes the tests that get chosen. The hosts keep returning to the same practical question: what can parents do next, and how can they do it without getting lost in the process? The segment ends with thanks and a reminder to keep the conversation going at home and with the school.

As heard by us

A steady guide for families trying to navigate school support without panicking.

The episode treats special education as a practical way to get support in place before worry hardens into stigma. It takes seriously the fear many parents have about waiting too long or getting pushed toward a label instead of help, then gets concrete: put requests in writing…

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Need a calmer map of special education evaluations and IEPs?

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