The Efficacy and Impact of a Special Education Legislative Advocacy Program Among Parents of Children with Disabilities.

Abstract

With the looming reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), it is important for parent input to inform legislative changes. Unfortunately, parent input has been limited in past IDEA reauthorizations. Thus, it is critical to develop and test interventions to improve parent legislative advocacy. With 37 parents of children with disabilities, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine the efficacy and impact of an advocacy program. Results indicate significant increases in special education knowledge and special education legislative advocacy activities for the intervention (versus waitlist-control) group. However, there were no significant changes in civic engagement. Implications for research and practice are discussed.