LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – After years of fighting school districts to secure legally required services for their own children, two Michigan mothers decided to stop simply navigating the special education system and start changing it.
Working alongside Senator Joe Bellino (R-Monroe), parent advocate Carrie Dickerson and special education advocate Maria Giancotti helped draft Senate Bill 952, a sweeping proposal that would expand special education training for educators, strengthen oversight, improve transparency, and add new safeguards before students with disabilities can be suspended or expelled.
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The legislation grew directly from the women’s personal experiences – and from what they say are hundreds of similar stories shared by Michigan families.
A problem bigger than just a few families.
Dickerson, whose battle with Dundee Community Schools was previously documented by Michigan News Source, said she eventually realized her daughter’s experience reflected a much larger statewide problem.
While sitting in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting concerning her child, Dickerson realized, ”It was clear to us that federal laws were being violated, enforcement was not in place, and the school was pretty consistently non-compliant.”
An Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting is a legally required planning meeting for students who qualify for special education services under federal law. During the meeting, parents, teachers, school administrators, and other specialists review the student’s academic progress, discuss challenges, set annual goals, and determine what specialized instruction, accommodations, therapies, or other services the child needs to succeed. The resulting IEP serves as a legally binding document that outlines the school’s responsibilities for providing those services.
Dickerson also noticed something important. “The vast majority of the teachers sitting in there wanted to do the right thing, but they didn’t know what that was.”
That realization changed her focus. “When nearly everybody in the room wants to help, that’s not a lack of will,” she said, and then asked, “So where is this lack of skill coming from?”
Training instead of finger-pointing.
Rather than blaming teachers for failing to properly implement special education services, Dickerson and Giancotti concluded many educators simply aren’t receiving enough instruction on special education law.
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The emphasis on better training reflects the reality of today’s classrooms. According to the Michigan Department of Education, 73.86% of Michigan students with disabilities – 146,998 children – spend at least 80% of their school day in regular education classrooms alongside their non-disabled peers.
Another 9.62% spend less than 40% of the day in general education settings, with the remainder receiving services somewhere in between. Because nearly three out of every four Michigan students receiving special education are educated primarily in general classrooms, advocates say it is critical that all teachers – not just special education staff – understand federal disability law and how to properly implement IEPs.
Giancotti, founder of Student Advocacy Michigan, said she has helped hundreds of Michigan families over the past six years, ranging from parents just beginning the IEP process to those involved in contentious legal disputes with school districts.
She said the goal of the legislation was never to create an “us versus them” bill. When talking about the schools, she said, “We want to elevate their abilities so that they can get it right the first time. It would be beneficial not only to parents and students, but also to the schools in terms of saving time, getting it right the first time, giving them the knowledge they need to develop the appropriate plan for a student, but then be able to execute it as well.”
Among its major provisions, Senate Bill 952 would require at least 25% of teachers’ required professional development to be devoted to special education competencies, including federal and state special education law, disability accommodations, inclusive classroom practices, and collaboration with IEP teams.
More transparency and stronger protections.
But the proposal goes beyond training. Dickerson said parents often fear retaliation when filing complaints because Michigan currently requires them to notify the very school district they’re accusing of violating the law. The bill would allow confidential complaints that could protect both parents and educators serving as whistleblowers.
The legislation also seeks greater public reporting of special education data and reinforces existing federal legal requirements before students with disabilities can face long-term suspensions or expulsions. Giancotti said too many students are disciplined for behaviors directly related to their disabilities before schools complete required behavioral assessments and develop appropriate behavior intervention plans.
“We want to ensure the laws that are already written under IDEA are now codified in Michigan law,” she said. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the federal law that guarantees children with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education tailored to their individual needs. The law requires public schools to identify eligible students, develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP) outlining the services and accommodations they will receive, and educate them in the least restrictive environment whenever appropriate, alongside their non-disabled peers.
A broader conversation.
The advocates insist the legislation isn’t about punishing schools but improving consistency statewide. “We wanted to identify what was the lowest common denominator,” Dickerson said. “That appeared to be the training, professional development and continuing it. If you correct that, it should begin to at least mitigate a lot of the downstream issues we were seeing.”
What Michiganders can do.
The advocates said supporters can help move the bill forward by contacting members of the Senate Education Committee and urging them to hold a hearing on Senate Bill 952. They also encouraged parents, educators and other supporters to participate in the Michigan State Board of Education meeting on Aug. 11 by emailing board members and providing public comment – either in person or virtually – to share their experiences and explain why stronger special education reforms are needed. The meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. in Lansing, Michigan. You can visit www.michigan.gov/mde for instructions related to connecting online to the meeting. Detailed information for viewing the meeting and providing public comment during the meeting will be available on August 10, 2026.
Dickerson and Giancotti said keeping the conversation going and demonstrating public support will be critical to advancing the legislation.
Whether lawmakers act soon may depend in part on how many Michigan families are willing to speak out. For two mothers whose journeys began with trying to help their own children, Senate Bill 952 represents something larger: an effort to make sure future Michigan parents don’t have to become experts in federal disability law simply to secure the education their children are already entitled to receive.
