Grassroots organizing has recently sprung up as a common community group. In the realm of special education, grassroots organizations tend to focus on supporting families through community meetings in addition to special education advocacy. Grassroots organizations are a resource for struggling parents of children with special needs requiring additional educational assistance and support. Grassroots organizations are prevailing throughout the United States and are making great strides in creating their own educational reform footprint.

Special education grassroots organizations typically form in response to inadequate social and educational circumstances. Special education grassroots organizations form around a community’s school. Groups of parents and teachers unsatisfied with their child’s educational condition come together with advocates passionate about special education form a coalition of individuals seeking change.

Special education grassroots organizations are striving to achieve equal educational opportunities and rights for students with special needs. Public school’s are legally required to provide special education, and unfortunately sometimes parents have to fight to have their child receive the additional resources their students need. In an attempt to compensate for the lacking educational opportunities from schools, parents and teachers come together to form sources of additional support by means of information and communal resources.

Unfortunately, special education is not at the forefront of educational reform. Grassroots organizations obtain their influence through the power of voice, but lack the ability to enact the educational change they seek. Only the government and schools themselves have the power to adhere to educational change, all grassroots organizations can do is push for reform and voice their opinions.

In areas where special education is a prevalent issue, grassroots organizations have bee able to spread awareness and information regarding the needs of children with special needs. Alternatively, not much appears to have changed within the institutional structures of schools. Special education grassroots tend to focus on educational opportunities outside of school walls due to the lack of influence they have because of the lack of academic priority towards special education.

Grassroots organizations have minimal authority when it comes to executing educational reform decisions as a result of their lack of political power, but that doesn’t prevent them from making an impact on their local community. Special education grassroots continue to be extremely resourceful to parents and teachers in need of additional educational support for their children and students beyond school. Special education grassroots are currently not in the general public’s spotlight, but through persistency and determination, one day they will nationally shine.