Advocate Tip of the Day (ATOTD) aligns with the Council of Parents Attorneys and Advocates' diversity statement (https://www.copaa.org/page/Diversity). 

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ATOTD is at the forefront of advocacy for students with disabilities and their families. ATOTD works to increase the quality and quantity of representation available to students and their families and to ensure the rights of children with disabilities and their parents/guardians are protected. As an organization committed to civil rights, ATD recognizes the relationship between discrimination and bias against people with disabilities and other forms or systems of oppression, domination, or discrimination based on race, national origin, ethnic and/or religious identity, sex/gender/gender identity/sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.

 

ATOTD is committed to supporting clients of diverse backgrounds and identities; this includes but is not limited to, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, class, age, ability, religion, and language. Further, in recognition that gender is not binary, ATD has adopted the use of gender-neutral pronouns to refer to individuals who have not yet declared or self-identified. Following the Merriam-Webster Dictionary's definition and the Associated Press style guide, unspecified clients and their children will be supported using gender-neutral phrasing such as they/them/their. 

 

ATOTD strives to promote and encourage all IEP teams to demonstrate cultural competency and genuine sensitivity in representing and supporting students and their families. ATOTD strives to consider fully, in all activities and programs, the intersectionality of race, national origin, ethnic, cultural and/or religious identity, sexual/gender identity/ sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status in our efforts to protect and enforce the legal and civil rights of students with disabilities and their families.

 

In addition, ATOTD seeks to address issues affecting access to advocacy for students of color and linguistically diverse children and their families in recognition that these students are disproportionately represented in special education. ATOTD also seeks to promote the development and empowerment of self-advocates from diverse communities as leaders and members of society to fully address the inherent inequities experienced by students of color and linguistically diverse students. 

 

Please get in touch with ATOTD directly if you are a member of an underserved community and need a reduced rate to access advocacy services. Sliding scale services are available on a limited basis. 

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