TIGER
Learn your child’s rights.
Learn the special education system.
Applications for 2024-2025 TIGER are coming soon.
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TIGER is a hands-on, Know Your Rights training designed and taught by Learning Rights so families in need can successfully self-advocate within the special education system. Since 2005, we have helped over 2,500 families residing in economically-marginalized communities in Southern California and beyond. Participants must complete an application and be admitted to the TIGER program to attend. Classes generally run between September and June.
Through this course TIGER participants will develop an understanding of the basics of special education law and the rights that protect their children’s education, including but not limited to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). TIGER participants will gain a fundamental understanding of their own rights as parents who have children in the public education system, such as procedural safeguards and the right to meaningful participation. TIGER participants will learn how to exercise their rights so that they can be active, intentional, and effective advocates with respect to their children’s education.
TIGER Transitions, Supports, and Services with SCDD
This class is intended to complement knowledge of special education and advocacy learned in TIGER Know Your Rights. Participants will review concepts related to special education laws and services while also gaining a broader understanding of general systems affecting individuals with disabilities (beyond education), how to maneuver those systems effectively, and how to plan for their child(ren)’s future. Special emphasis will be paid to youth transitioning out of special education services to adulthood. Concurrent enrollment in other TIGER courses is permitted. This series of TIGER classes is taught in partnership with the State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD).
TIGER Plus
This series of modules is intended as a supplement to TIGER Know Your Rights and TIGER Services and Supports with SCDD. TIGER Plus is meant to expand parent/caregiver knowledge, understanding and skills of advocacy as related to their children’s education and disability rights.
In addition to the TIGER core classes, TIGER also hosts a series of “enrichment” classes and events for parents with children in the special education system. While TIGER core classes inform parents about the legal structure and legal rights rooted in the U.S. educational system, the enrichment classes offer parents a practical understanding of the disabilities affecting their children. TIGER enrichment classes are taught by neuropsychologist, Mariana Lenero Solar. Her popular series of classes include “Understanding Disability” and “Understanding Assessments.”