“Will you take my child?”
Sharon Sedlar | October 6, 2026
That was the question a parent asked us recently at a Harrisburg event. She was overwhelmed and looking for help with a situation that had become too much to carry alone.
At that same event, another parent told us, “The school year hasn’t even started yet and I feel like I’m already at war.”
At an IEP meeting we attended as family support, we were shocked when a teacher looked at the parents, pointed, and said, “This is YOUR fault.”
And just last week, another parent reached out while fighting for what is right for her son. She shared how high the stress level has become, saying, “I already came to terms that he is not getting the best, and now they want to decrease his speech… gonna move him up… he’s still in the kindergarten learning level. [He’s in 8th grade.] This has me so worried.”
Different families. Different schools. Different circumstances. But the same painful thread runs through each story: a child who needs – or is already receiving – special education services, and a family trying desperately to make sure that child is safe, supported, and not forgotten.
When supports are not clear, consistent, or fully understood, the consequences can become frightening very quickly. In Lancaster, local news reported that an 11-year-old nonverbal student with autism left Fulton Elementary School unnoticed, was found several blocks away without a coat, and had been seen running near active traffic before a passerby helped him.
Nationally, about 7.5 million students ages 3–21 received special education and related services under IDEA in the 2022–23 school year, representing about 15% of all public school students. In Pennsylvania, approximately 1.7 million students are enrolled in public schools, and 20.7% receive special education services—about 347,547 students.
When concerns cannot be worked out at the school level, some families turn to Pennsylvania’s dispute resolution system. According to the Office for Dispute Resolution’s 2023–24 Annual Report, 900 due process requests were filed with ODR in fiscal year 2024, following 958 filings the prior year. Behind each filing is usually a family trying to be heard, a school trying to respond, and a child who cannot afford to wait. That’s roughly 3 children per day.
NBC10 Philadelphia and WHYY reported on a federal civil rights lawsuit against Central Bucks School District alleging that a nonverbal autistic student was illegally restrained nearly 3,000 times in 2024 and that district officials failed to protect the child after concerns were raised.
Recent reporting has raised hard questions about secrecy in special education settlements. An August 2025 Philadelphia Inquirer report described hundreds of Philadelphia-area families reaching private settlements with school districts, while nearly half of 62 suburban districts declined to release even redacted agreements. Some districts reported more than $5 million in special education settlements over three years, and confidentiality provisions can keep parents from discussing terms—making it harder to know whether problems are being fixed or simply settled quietly.
That is why many families look for help from advocacy organizations, private advocates, or attorneys (and options!). But more individualized support can be expensive, and due process or litigation can take months—or even years—to resolve. For many families, those costs are simply out of reach. And while adults debate, file, appeal, and wait, the child may remain in the same situation without timely relief.
We believe families need help much earlier—before they are forced into crisis, legal action, or silence. Two years ago, PaFEC started a Special Education Task Force and met with legislators in Harrisburg halls and offices with four practical requests:
- An information campaign for all K-12 families on special education services
- An early elementary screening program
- Improvement of PDE’s Office for Dispute Resolution
- A free, family-centered liaison program, perhaps in cooperation with Intermediate Units
We received positive responses, but a few questions came up repeatedly: Who would pay for the information campaign? Would screening be too difficult to implement? Who would fund and run a liaison program?
Those are fair questions. They still matter. We are not saying that anyone is trying to do harm. Parents are busy. Schools are stretched. Educators are carrying heavy loads. Families are often not well advised about the process, and many do not fully understand their rights. Many depend on educators and school teams to know what to do, explain the options clearly, and help build a plan.
But while everyone is barely keeping their heads above water in this system, too many children are still drowning. We can keep asking who will pay, who will run it, and how hard it will be – or we can start building the supports families are pleading for before they reach the point of crisis.
If you are a family in need of assistance, want to share your story, or wish to help improve the lives of students in Pennsylvania receiving special education services, please reach out to us. Our Special Education Task Force meets monthly, and we are currently scheduling visits to Harrisburg to meet with legislators. Your story and your help will strengthen this work, lift up the needs families are seeing every day, and help us push for practical supports before another child is left waiting for relief.