What is working in special education, and what needs to improve?

This independent, parent-led project welcomes positive, mixed, and difficult experiences from families across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. We want to identify effective practices, understand unmet needs, and learn how schools can better support students with disabilities.

Please answer about ONE student, ONE school year, and ONE school district. Choose either the Quick Survey or the Comprehensive Survey—not both for the same student and school year. Coordinate with other caregivers to avoid duplicate responses. You may submit a separate response for another child.

If the student changed districts, describe the district responsible at the time of the main experience you want to share. For the current school year, describe your experience so far.

Participation is voluntary. Only consent and a state choice are required, and state includes “Prefer not to answer.” All other questions can be skipped. Written comments are optional. If you skip a question that controls follow-up questions, those follow-ups will also be skipped.

IEP means Individualized Education Program. A Section 504 plan provides disability-related accommodations and supports. Families awaiting an evaluation or whose student does not have a plan are also welcome.

Privacy

We do not request names, email addresses, student IDs, exact birth dates, or medical records. Please do not include names or details that could identify students, families, schools, or staff in written answers.

Unique situations and combinations of answers may still be recognizable, so complete anonymity cannot be guaranteed. Google processes form information under its policies.

Findings may be used in grouped research, public reports, educational materials, and advocacy. Access to individual responses will be restricted to authorized project personnel. Individual response records will not be published. Participation does not give permission to publish an identifiable story or quotation.

You may stop before submitting. If you are signed into Google, its autosave feature may save your progress. After submission, we may be unable to locate your response to change or delete it because we do not collect identifying information.

This survey is not a government complaint process, a request for individual services, or an emergency service. It is not monitored for emergencies.

We will retain individual survey responses with restricted access for up to three years after submission, then delete those records and retain only aggregate findings. Written comments will be reviewed for identifying details before use.

For questions, accessibility assistance, or an alternative format, email coloradoparentvoices@gmail.com. No diagnosis is required. Email is separate from the survey and reveals your email address to the project; please do not send student records or identifying student details.