Sorry, I’m posting this a few days late. It’s been a busy week, and I haven’t had a chance to write. I was doing something important…and yes, more important than sharing my sass and wisdom with the world.
On Monday, I spent the day touring a potential school placement for a student. I’ve mentioned before that I’m no longer working professionally as an advocate, and that’s still true.
However, I do serve as a Special Education Surrogate Parent (SESP) for a child who is in the care of the Department of Children and Families (DCF).
Years ago, when I was a new advocate, a few people took advantage of my friendship and—long story short—I ended up advocating for their children for free.
That experience made me realize something important: if I was going to donate my time and energy, I needed to make sure it went toward a truly worthwhile cause.
At some point during one of the many trainings and webinars I attended, someone mentioned the need for Special Education Surrogate Parents in Massachusetts. Since I live here and did my advocacy training here too, I immediately knew this was the perfect place to focus my time and energy.
So I looked into it—and the more I learned, the more I realized this was exactly the kind of work I had been looking for. I applied to the program.
The Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN) trains SESPs through their Recruitment, Training, and Support Center (RTSC). I was already familiar with FCSN since I had done my advocacy training with them.
After being accepted, I completed the training and was assigned my first student.
I should probably explain what the role of a SESP is. I make educational decisions for children in DCF care.
As the parent of a child on an IEP, I have the right to be a meaningful participant in the IEP process. My rights include being an equal decision-maker, contributing to the IEP, using procedural safeguards to protect my child’s rights, and playing a vital role in planning for life after high school.
As an SESP, I have all those same rights. To simplify the explanation, I hold the educational rights for the child, while DCF holds physical custody.
I usually only have one SESP student at a time because most of the cases are incredibly sad. I have taken on emergency cases a few times, but those are usually short-term.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), every state must have a way to assign surrogate parents to children with disabilities when their parents or guardians are unavailable to make educational decisions.
In Massachusetts, there are roughly 9,000 children in the foster care system, and about 50% of them have a disability and/or receive special education services. There are approximately 500 SESPs across the state, supporting around 700 students educationally.
Some of the remaining students have foster parents, parents, or guardians who are able to make educational decisions for them. However, there is always a need for more SESPs to advocate for children who don’t have anyone in that role. If you are interested in becoming an SESP, check out the link I’ve included below.
So after that long explanation, back to my student K.
I have been their SESP for about five years, and their current placement is too restrictive. In special education, this means the student is receiving more support than they actually need, so we have been looking for a new placement.
K will be changing schools because there is no “step-down” option in their current program. Monday’s tour was the third one we’ve done.
We have decided that a collaborative program will best meet K’s needs. Collaborative programs are special education programs run by multiple school districts together. They often rent space from local districts to provide support to students who need a more specialized placement.
Since I have no experience with collaboratives, the process has been very interesting, and I’ve really enjoyed learning about the services they offer and how they work.
And the best part? I think this program is exactly what K needs, and it also offers support for future growth. This means K may get to graduate high school from this next placement! Yay!
K has been through multiple placements over the past few years, so even entertaining the idea of them finishing high school and graduating from their next placement is huge!
On an IEP, placement refers to the type of program and services the student receives, not simply the physical school building. For example, an IEP might state that a child needs a co-teaching classroom, but it usually does not specify the exact school the child must attend.
That went on a bit longer than I expected… in fact, it went on for so long that I forgot the whole purpose of this post. Maybe it was to explain why I didn’t post on Monday? Or maybe it was to talk about how important it is that all kids have access to the education they need.
I’m not entirely sure anymore, but I’m pretty confident it was one of those.
Not every child has someone to speak for them—but they should. ⭐ Share this to help others understand the role of a Special Education Surrogate Parent.
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If you’re interested in learning more about becoming a Special Education Surrogate Parent in the US, you can find more information here:
Brain Fog & Brilliance 
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