Services
What the work looks like
Families come to me at different points — sometimes before a first evaluation, sometimes the week before an annual review, sometimes after a decision they do not agree with. Most of it is about one document: your child’s Individualized Education Program, the IEP. The work usually includes some combination of these.
What I do
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Reviewing evaluations, IEPs, and related documents
I read the file closely — evaluations, progress reports, the current plan — and tell you plainly what it says, what it leaves out, and what I would want changed.
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Helping parents clarify priorities and prepare for meetings
You cannot fix everything in one meeting. We decide together what matters most for your child this year, and we build a short written list you can hold the meeting to.
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Attending CSE and IEP meetings with you, or in your place
I can sit beside you as the person you bring to the table, or — with your written permission — attend when you cannot be there and tell you the same day what happened. Either way the decisions and any consent stay with you, and someone at that table has done this hundreds of times.
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Coaching you to handle the next one yourself
What to put in writing. What to ask for. What the district's answer actually means. The goal is that you need me less over time, not more.
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Whatever else your family needs along the way
Special education does not stay inside neat categories. If you have a question about the process and I can help, ask me.
Pricing
What it costs
The first conversation is free. After that there are two ways to work with me — on a monthly retainer, or one meeting at a time. For a family with a live case the retainer usually costs less in the end, and the reason is preparation, which I have explained below the rates.
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The first conversation
Free
One email exchange, or about ten minutes on the phone. Enough for me to hear what is happening and tell you honestly whether I am the right help.
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Ongoing support
$250 / month
Communication with you and with your child’s school, as often as the case needs it, and ongoing review of the file so that I am current when a meeting is called.
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Attending a meeting, in person
$100 / hour
Plus travel. Preparation for the meeting is billed at the same rate.
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Attending a meeting, remotely
$80 / hour
The same rate for preparation, and no travel to bill.
Preparation is the part people underestimate
On the retainer, billable preparation for a meeting will not exceed twice the scheduled meeting time. A ninety-minute meeting means no more than three hours of preparation on the invoice. I can hold that line because I have been following the case all year and I am not starting from nothing.
Without the retainer, I will still come to a single meeting for you. But I am reading your child’s file cold, and doing that properly usually takes four to five times the length of the meeting. That is the honest number, and it is the main reason the retainer works out cheaper for anyone with more than one meeting ahead of them.
Travel depends on distance. Inside twenty miles there is no travel charge. From twenty to a hundred miles it is mileage at the federal rate. Further than that we work it out before you commit — and attending remotely is usually the better answer anyway.
How it starts
The first conversation is a conversation
Call or email and tell me what is going on with your child. I will tell you honestly whether I am the right help, what I think the situation actually needs, and what it would look like to work together.
If what you need is something I do not do — or something that calls for an attorney rather than an advocate — I will say so and point you somewhere better. There is also real help that costs nothing, and I would rather you used it than sat on a problem assuming help had to be paid for.
Contact
Tell me what is going on with your child.
Parents and professionals are both welcome to call, text, or email. I primarily serve families across New York's greater Capital Region, and I support families remotely anywhere in the United States.
- Call or text 518-221-4619
- Email Kevin@mcginniepcoaching.com