Disabled students deserve the right to come out of public school with an education that helps them attain independence and meaningful participation in society, whenever possible. We help parents make this possible through documentation, case analysis and advocacy coaching.
An advocate can analyze your child’s evaluations and educational data to help parents understand how to help their child get an appropriate education.
Our IEP Game Self Advocacy System helps parents write their own parent concern letter to document their child’s deficits, needs and rights.
We are here to help. Fill out the “get involved” contact form and someone will return a call to answer questions about your advocacy journey.
Brenda earned her Bachelors Degree in Criminology, Law and Society in 1998 from UC Irvine, a Masters Degree, from UCI, in 2001 and advanced to candidacy for a Ph.D. in sociology in 2003. However, instead of completing the doctorate, Brenda founded Access Center in 2004.
Brenda has taught at several Southern California colleges and universities between 2001 and 2009 and has been advocating for disabled students since 1998. After founding Access Center, Brenda expanded her specialization from learning disabilities and hyperactivity, to emotional disturbances, developmental disabilities, speech and language disorders and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
In 2005, Brenda created the IEP Game and has been training professionals and parents around the country in socio-legal educational advocacy with the IEP Game case analysis method. Brenda has trained professionals and parents at: at the Consortium for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education, the International Learning Disabilities Association, The National Organization for Disorders of the Corpus Callosum, The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Orange County Social Services, LA County Housing Authority, UCLA Teacher Training Program, Orange County Foster Care Association, Yorba Linda School District, Costa Mesa Girls Inc., and the Americore Teacher Training Program.
After Covid, Brenda taught in the Salt Lake Community College System and spent three years working as an intake caseworker for the Dept. of Child and Family Services in the state of Utah. Brenda gained her license as a Social Service Worker in 2021. At this time, Brenda is back to her role as Executive Director for Access Center and in the process of creating our new subscription documentation system.
By Brenda Rogers
The Switch
In a meeting with: a public school principal, school psychologist, school nurse, general education teacher, special education teacher, school system attorney, mother of a student and a special education advocate, decisions are made about whether or not a disabled student is entitled to support in school. In this meeting, the law says everyone at the table is an equal member of one team. The reality is that mom and her advocate are not equal members of the team; mom and her advocate have no authority but mom holds the powers of: veto, appealing to higher authority in cases of school district procedural lawlessness and requesting a due process hearing before a tribunal judge, if the school will not appropriately educate her child.
The team’s purpose is to help a struggling student succeed in school. The student’s team comes together to examine evidence that determines if the student is eligible for an Independent Education Plan (IEP). If the student gets the IEP, the student will have government protections as a disabled person. These government protections allow the student to get specially designed instruction, accommodations, modifications and supportive services that ensure meaningful annual progress in school. Without these protections, the student is free to fall further and further behind each passing year, without any special help. The following story is based on real life events but names and cities have been removed to protect the innocent…. Read More on our Classic Blog.
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Hi Brenda, I wanted to say “thank you” so much for doing the training for our foster parents. They were so excited to feel they now have tools to effectively help their kids. I can’t begin to tell you how fortunate I feel to have done the IEP Game training. I will definitely pass your name along if anyone ever needs IEP info or help. Thanks again for taking the time to help us out.
A Free and Appropriate Education is “an education that aims to provide a child with a disability opportunities to achieve academic success, attain self-sufficiency, and contribute to society that are substantially equal to the opportunities afforded children without disabilities.’” (Endrew F. …v. Douglas County School District, 2017).