Advancing Educational Equity: Protecting the Rights of Students with Disabilities and their Families

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Every student deserves access to a meaningful, inclusive, and high-quality education. But ensuring that students with disabilities receive the services, supports, and protections to which they are entitled requires knowledge, collaboration, and effective advocacy.

This session will introduce participants to the work of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and enforcing the legal and civil rights of students with disabilities and their families. Participants will explore COPAA’s mission, its role in advancing educational equity, and its work to strengthen the voices and capacity of parents, students, special education advocates, attorneys, and allied professionals.

The session will highlight COPAA’s major areas of work, including professional development and training, community building, public policy advocacy, systemic litigation, and resources that support families and professionals navigating special education systems. Participants will also learn how COPAA works to address inequities in educational opportunities and promote meaningful parent and student participation in educational decision-making, including current collaborative efforts with The Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), The Center for Learner Equity (CLE) and The Council of Exceptional Children (CEC).

Through an overview of COPAA’s resources, initiatives, and opportunities for engagement, participants will gain a better understanding of how national advocacy efforts connect to their day-to-day work of supporting students and families at the local and state levels.

Workshop Objectives

By the end of this session, participants will:

• Understand COPAA’s mission and its role in protecting the educational and civil rights of students with disabilities.
• Identify key programs, resources, and initiatives offered by COPAA.
• Explore how COPAA advances systemic change through training, litigation, policy advocacy, and collaboration.
• Identify ways to connect with COPAA and use its resources to strengthen advocacy efforts.
• Recognize the importance of collective action in advancing educational equity and inclusive opportunities for all students.

About Presenter Denise Stile Marshall, M.S.

Denise has led the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) since 2005. She graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a Master of Science in Applied Behavioral Science. Denise has over 40 years’ experience in the field of disabilities in a variety of support, management, and advocacy capacities. She has a wealth of non-profit association management experience and is a dynamic trainer, experienced in leading sessions for participants of diverse abilities and experience levels. Prior to becoming the CEO of COPAA Denise was the Director of Training and Educational Outreach for the national organization TASH from 1995-2005, the Program Manager and trainer for Maryland Leaders in Disability Policy; and a Positive Behavior Support specialist and Director of the National Training Center for The Kennedy Krieger Institute in Maryland among other consulting and management positions. Denise’s specific areas of interest are civil right to quality education, positive behavioral supports, prevention and reduction in the use of restraints, abolishment of seclusion and aversive techniques, family supports, grassroots advocacy, self-advocacy, and experiential learning. Denise and her husband are the parents of two children and have three grandchildren, one of whom has Down syndrome.