Ohio Student Advocacy
01.
Jenny Gorman Speas, Owner & Principal Advocate
Jenny began her journey in advocacy as a parent. Years later, after training and mentoring with some of central Ohio's most accomplished special education advocates and acting as an in-house advocate for a boutique education law firm, Ohio Student Advocacy was born.
Jenny's philosophy on advocacy always begins with educating parents and students about their rights and the shared responsibilities of families and school districts. Understanding that relationships with a school district
can be long-term and can impact an entire family, Jenny believes strongly in beginning with a collaborative approach to problem-solving— even for the most complex student profiles.
Working throughout the state, Ohio Student Advocacy represents students of preschool age through high school graduation in public, private, parochial, and charter schools. Jenny supports students with a wide range of needs- including, but not limited to: learning differences, autism spectrum disorder, twice exceptionalities, multiple disabilities, executive functioning difficulties, mental health struggles (anxiety, depression), ADHD, auditory processing disorders, speech-language impairments, cognitive delays & behavioral dysregulation.
Services include:
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Individualized Education Plans (IEPs): Identification, eligibility, development & progress monitoring
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Section 504 Plans: Identification, eligibility & development
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Evaluation Team Reports (ETRs) or Multi-Factored Evaluations (MFEs): Requests, planning & review
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Response to Intervention Plans (RTI): Review & progress monitoring
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Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs): Requests, development & review
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Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs): Requests & private evaluator recommendations
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Post-Secondary Transition Planning
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Recommendations for accessing local resources & government support options
Jenny is also certified and registered as a Parent Surrogate for the central Ohio region. As a Parent Surrogate, Jenny can be appointed by school districts to represent the educational interests of children with disabilities who are wards of the state.