Special Education Resources for Families
Louisiana Parent Training and Information Center
Families Helping Families of Greater New Orleans serves as the Louisiana Parent Training and Information Center and has been providing services to Louisiana families of children with disabilities, their teachers, and other professionals since 1991. A Parent Training and Information Center is a federally funded resource for parents of children with disabilities.
Louisiana’s Educational Rights of Children with Disabilities
Louisiana’s Educational Rights of Children with Disabilities was developed by the Louisiana Department of Education to help parents navigate the complex system that oversees special education in Louisiana’s public schools. Each school year, local education agencies (LEAs) are required to provide parents a copy of the procedural safeguards. These safeguards are used to inform parents of the supports, services, and protections offered by your local system.
Louisiana's Educational Rights of Children with Disabilities
Families Helping Families of Greater New Orleans
Families Helping Families of Greater New Orleans provides information and referral, training and education, and peer-to-peer support on disability-related issues. It is also home to the Louisiana Parent Training and Information Center, a federal education grant that provides training and support to families throughout Louisiana on special education and transition topics.
Exceptional Lives
Exceptional Lives provides tools, information, support, and resources for families of children with disabilities in Louisiana.
Dispute Resolution for Students with Disabilities
The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) created and designed its special education dispute resolution system to protect the education rights of all children with exceptionalities within our state and help parents and public agencies resolve special education related disputes.
Special Education Ombudsman
The LDOE Special Education Ombudsman serves as a resource to parents in non-legal special education matters. Contact the ombudsman at disputeresolution.doe@la.gov or 1-877-453-2721, Option 2.
The LDOE is committed to assisting parents and school districts in their efforts to resolve exceptionality related disagreements in the least adversarial manner possible. Therefore, the LDOE strongly encourages parents, their advocates and attorneys, or other concerned individuals to first contact their local special education director or supervisor before utilizing any of the state-level exceptionality dispute resolution options. There is no formal process or documentation required to access the services of the ombudsman.
An ombudsman is a person who serves as a designated neutral party, who advocates for a fair process, and provides confidential, informal assistance and support to parents, guardians, advocates, educators, and students with disabilities. The LDOE Special Education Ombudsman serves as a resource to parents in non-legal special education matters.
- The ombudsman does not disclose personal information, discussions, and interactions.
- The ombudsman does not take a side on the issues and serves as an advocate for a fair process
The LDOE Special Education Ombudsman position was created to:
- Provide information and support to parents of students with disabilities to help them understand and navigate the special education process.
- Promote collaboration and positive communication between parents and school division personnel in addressing special education issues.
- Assist parents in developing strategies and informal options to address issues and concerns.
- Provide information and resources on available options for dispute resolution, such as IEP facilitations, mediation, informal and formal state complaints, and due process hearings when collaboration efforts fail.
- Identify, track, monitor, and report to the LDOE leadership on suspected systemic patterns of concerns that emerge from constituent contacts regarding special education services in local school divisions to aid in addressing noncompliance with special education laws and regulations.
The LDOE is committed to assisting parents and school districts in their efforts to resolve exceptionality related disagreements in the least adversarial manner possible. Therefore, the LDOE strongly encourages parents, their advocates and attorneys, or other concerned individuals to first contact their local special education director or supervisor before utilizing any of the state-level exceptionality dispute resolution options. There is no formal process or documentation required to access the services of the Ombudsman.
School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities
The School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities empowers families of qualifying students with the financial resources to choose the school that will best address their students' needs. Students with disabilities in some school districts may be eligible. This program provides families with tuition assistance to send their special needs child to an eligible participating school with special needs programs.
Louisiana Special Education Parent Involvement Survey
Each year we survey parents of children with disabilities who receive special education services. The purpose of the survey is to seek feedback on how well schools help to involve parents in the education of their children. We use this information to guide our efforts to improve services and results for children with disabilities and enhance family involvement.