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Introduction
Developing family and school partnerships can improve school curriculum, increase parents' skills, improve student outcomes, and assist teachers to support their students in the classroom (Epstein, 2001). For almost four decades in the United States, the importance of establishing healthy partnerships with families has been critical to improving the education of children and youth with disabilities.
Historically, parents have been important change agents in the U.S. in the movement to increase parent involvement in the education of children with special needs (Turnbull, Turnbull, Erwin, Soodak, & Shogren, 2011). As a result, federal law now requires professionals to collaborate with parents regarding special education services for their children, assuring that parents can assume the responsibility for making decisions regarding their child's education (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1401(c)(50)(B)).
Although the legal requirement recognizes parents as equal partners with professionals, the reality of this vision remains elusive for an overwhelming number of families (Turnbull et al., 2011) and particularly for low-income and culturally and linguistically diverse families (Harry, 2008; Harry & Klingner, 2006; Kalyanpur, Harry, & Skrtic, 2000; Shapiro, Monzó, Rueda, Gomez, & Blacher, 2004).
Numerous circumstances that affect the involvement of diverse parents and the quality of their children's service delivery include: poor communication with professionals, deficit views of families, major differences in cultural perspectives regarding disability and parent-professional roles, and limited access to appropriate special education services (Blanchette, Klingner, & Harry, 2008; Harry & Klingner, 2006; Shapiro et al., 2004; Turnbull et al., 2011).
For families who speak a language other than English, inadequate translation services during parent-professional conferences contribute to parents' limited knowledge of special education procedures or limitations in their ability to participate during meetings (Harry & Klingner, 2006). Obtaining well-written material in their native language (Lian & FontánezPhelan, 2001) and in English is also often problematic (Gomez, Mandac, Rudd, Hehir, & Acevedo-Garcia, 2012). These and other experiences contribute to families feeling out of touch with schools, leaving them unclear regarding how to advocate for their children (Tejero-Hughes, ValleRiestra, & Arguelles, 2008).
When working with Latino families to improve their advocacy skills on behalf of the development of their child with a disability, community services must enhance parents': (1) knowledge of their child's disability (including effective practices to support progress); (2) knowledge of important...