Legislative Advocacy for Special Educators

Legislative advocacy is a skill special educators should develop in order to advocate on behalf of their students, their profession, and themselves across local, state, and federal levels. Advocacy may seem like a daunting task at first, but special education teachers can follow easy to implement steps to ensure their professional advocacy goals are met for children with disabilities. This article aims to give an overview of the importance of advocacy and the historical context of special education as it relates to advocacy, as well as offer 10 easy to implement tips to become effective advocates. Links to resources to sharpen advocacy skills are provided.