When our son Dylan was three, we filed for due process.

Not because I wanted a fight. Because I wanted my son in the community preschool, the one he belonged in.
 

I should tell you something about that decision. I was a teacher in that district. In that building. The special education preschool Dylan was being offered, that was my colleagues' classroom. My principal was sitting across the table from me. One of my closest friends was the special education preschool teacher we were saying no to.
 

I understood exactly what was at stake for my career. And I spoke up for my son anyway.

Because when it is your child, you find a way.
 

The school district had one option for Dylan. Their special education preschool. And we said no.
 

We had an attorney from The Legal Center. We went to mediation. And we settled, with the district agreeing to the provide weekly direct consultation at the preschool and pay Dylan's tuition at the community preschool.  
 

Not because we couldn't afford it. Because we wanted to set a precedent. Community preschool is an option. And the district pays for it, because a free appropriate public education doesn't have an asterisk that says "but only in our building."
 

Dylan thrived and began his inclusive education in preschool.

This is one of my favorite photos from that classroom that I still love to look at.

Fast forward about twenty years.

I was asked to sit in on an IEP meeting for a mom in the same district, the district where I had taught, where we had fought, where we had won.
 

Her son was three. She didn't want the special education preschool they offered her. Sound familiar?
 

I told the IEP team there were other options. That she could choose a community preschool. That the district could pay for it.
 

The room went quiet.
 

The trail I had blazed was completely overgrown. Because no one told the next parent it was possible.
 

So I built a place where parents can learn what's possible. It's called Connect the Dots: Build an Inclusive IEP.

It's a free week-long training inside a private Facebook group: May 3 through May 9. Three live sessions on Zoom. Real conversation with other parents who are in the same chair you're in.
 

Because the options don't disappear. Parents just stop knowing they exist.
 

This is about showing you what's actually possible for your child's education. Not just what the team puts in front of you.

One parent to another,

P.S. Dylan is 37 now. He still has friends from that preschool.