The Hidden Conflict Undermining Special Education—

      and the Independent Advocates Fighting to Fix It

By Marie Lewis, PhD, BCEA-Fellow
Nationally Board Certified Special Education Advocate | Policy Analyst | Education Contributor

Let’s Get Honest: Not All “Advocacy” Is Advocacy

In special education, the term advocate gets thrown around like confetti. Schools, districts, administrators, teachers’ unions, and even corporate vendors all claim to be “advocating for students.”

But here’s the truth: advocacy cannot exist where self-interest lives.
And too often, what’s being sold as student advocacy is really something far more self-serving—institutional lobbying in disguise.

We need to ask a hard question:
Are you advocating for the child—or for your paycheck?

The Ethical Fault Line in Special Education

There is a seismic ethical divide in the field of special education today—one that most people refuse to acknowledge publicly:

• On one side stand independent, professionally trained advocates—those certified by the National Special Education Advocacy Institute (NSEAI)—whose allegiance is to students and families only.
• On the other side are school-employed professionals and institutional associations who claim advocacy while also lobbying for increased funding, job security, and system preservation.

Both wear the label “advocate.” Only one is ethically clear.

You cannot serve two masters. You cannot be both watchdog and employee.

___The Conflict No One Wants to Talk About

Imagine if a judge presiding over a trial was also the defendant’s boss. Would you trust the verdict?

That’s exactly what’s happening in special education across the country. Educators and administrators are stepping into advocacy roles while on the payroll of the very systems they’re supposed to hold accountable. And parents are being misled.

This is not just a professional problem—it’s a civil rights issue.

The Stakes Are Not Theoretical                            

When schools fail to comply with IDEA, Section 504, or ADA:                                               

•  Students get denied services
• Parents are shut out of decision-making
• Children with disabilities fall further behind
• Taxpayer dollars are misused
• Legal safeguards are ignored

This is not about theory. This is about real students with real needs being let down by a system that too often protects itself before it protects them.

Enter the Independent Advocate: The Game-Changer Students Deserve

Since 2008, the National Special Education Advocacy Institute (NSEAI) has stood on one foundational truth:

You cannot ethically advocate for a child while working for the system that fails them.

NSEAI-certified advocates are:

• Independent from schools, districts, or government agencies
• Trained in the 28 laws governing special education
• Bound by strict ethical codes like those in medicine and law
• Focused solely on student outcomes, not institutional survival

They don’t advocate where they work.
They advocate for whom they serve.

The Illusion of Institutional Advocacy

Let’s be blunt: When educational associations advocate for “student needs,” they often mean:

• More federal funding for their own departments
• Better pay and benefits for their members
• Looser oversight that shields them from liability

They do not advocate for transparency.
They do not advocate for accountability.
And they do not teach parents how to challenge noncompliance.

Why would they? They are the system.

You Can’t Referee Your Own Team

Refereeing your own game is a conflict of interest. Yet that’s exactly what school-employed “advocates” are doing.

• Can a teacher truly challenge a principal’s illegal decision?
• Can a district administrator report their own department’s failure?
• Can an “advocate” paid by the school hold that school legally accountable?

The answer is clear: No.

This Isn’t Just an Education Issue—It’s a Professional Standard

• In healthcare, a hospital administrator can’t serve as a patient’s advocate.
• In Social Security, an SSA employee can’t represent a disability claimant.
• In law, a corporation’s lawyer can’t simultaneously represent the suing party.

So why is special education the only field where those inside the system are allowed to “advocate” for the people harmed by it?

The answer: Because we’ve let them.

Reclaiming What Advocacy Really Means

sAdvocacy is not a passion project. It’s not a badge of moral virtue.
It’s a regulated, ethical profession—and it must be treated as such.

NSEAI is leading the charge to professionalize special education advocacy and establish clear standards for:

• Independence from institutional conflicts
• Legal literacy in federal laws and procedural safeguards
• Student-centered outcomes, not system preservation
• Transparency, ethics, and accountability

What We’re Fighting For

NSEAI-trained advocates are holding schools accountable for:

• Denying evaluations or delaying eligibility
• Watered-down IEPs with no measurable goals
• Services documented but never delivered
• Progress reported without data
• Institutional retaliation toward parents who speak up

These are not rare cases. These are daily realities for families across the country.

The Department of Education Agrees: Advocates Matter

Even the U.S. Department of Education acknowledges the vital role of independent education advocates. According to federal guidance:

• Advocates help families navigate complex systems
• They promote parental participation in IEP meetings
• They resolve conflicts before they escalate
• They support equity, access, and accountability

Yet the DOE does not train them. NSEAI does.

This Is a Call to Action

To parents, educators, policymakers, and community leaders:
It’s time to draw the ethical line.

Ask yourself:

• Who is the advocate really advocating for?
• Are they paid by the system?
• Do they gain from the outcome?
• Can they independently challenge noncompliance—or are they part of it?

If the answer isn’t obvious, the problem already is.

What You Can Do

✅ Parents: Demand an independent advocate—one trained, certified, and legally literate.
✅ Educators: Accept that you can’t serve both your job and the student’s rights. Choose.
✅ Policymakers: Fund independent advocacy services. Not just institutions.
✅ Communities: Share this. Talk about this. Change this.

NSEAI: The National Standard for Ethical Advocacy

We are not here to protect systems.
We are here to empower students.
We are here to put the word “advocate” back in the hands of those who earn it—and use it to fight for something bigger than themselves.

Because the one advocating for the system cannot be the one advocating for the child.

It’s time we stop pretending otherwise.

NSEAI's online courses efficiently lead parents and professionals to an expert level of education advocacy in just 12 days of on-demand courses that you can do at your convenience.

OUR CHILDREN DO NOT HAVE TIME TO WASTE.

LEARN TO DEVELOP A CHILD FOCUSED IEP CORRECTLY FROM THE START 

WE TEACH HOW TO GO FROM

LEGALLY SUFFICIENT  TO HIGHLY EFFECTIVE IEPs

CHANGE THEIR LIVES NOW

  CLICK HERE

AUTHOR

Marie Lewis is an author, consultant, and national speaker on best practices in education advocacy. She is a parent of 3 children and a Disability Case Manager, Board Certified Education Advocate, and Behavior Specialist Consultant. She has assisted in the development of thousands of IEPs nationally and consults on developing appropriately individualized IEPs that are outcome-based vs legally sufficient. She brings a great depth of expertise, practical experience, and compassion to her work as well as expert insight, vision, and systemic thinking. She is passionate and funny and she always inspires and informs.