Hi, a friend of mine is looking for an advocate in the York County, SC area (just south of Charlotte, NC). His son is struggling in his current public school placement, and although he has raised the appropriateness of an approved private school placement, the school district has characterized it as "a non-starter". He's not really sure how to get the school district to take his request more seriously.  If you could provide any contacts regarding experienced advocates in his area, I'll be happy to pass along that information. Thanks!

You could try the COPAA website.  There is also "Yellow Pages for Kids" on the Wright's Law website (unfortunately, that site is not updated very often and even deceased advocates could be on there).

If no one responds and you can't find anyone, I give a free hour consultation and might be able to at least point him in the right direction (816-547-5467).  Or you could post on here with more facts such as what evaluations have been done, what disabilities does the student have, what are the goals in his IEP, what data is there to warrant private placement (behavior is still affecting his or other students' right to FAPE after accommodations have been implemented with fidelity, etc.), has an FBA been done and is a BIP in place?  It is being followed?  He will have to show things have been tried and nothing in the current environment is working.  He will also have to show that his son is being denied access to his education without this placement.

Thank you, Carolyn Rowlett, for your reply and advice. I'll pass this along to my friend so that he can follow up on your suggestions or reach out to you for further guidance.