Building Bridges, Not Barriers: Strengthening Partnerships Through Trust, & Collaboration

This session explores strategies to strengthen family-school partnerships in special education by centering family voice, trust, and collaboration. Advocates, researchers, and practitioners will share culturally responsive approaches, conflict-prevention tools, and AI-supported strategies that foster equity, improve IEP quality, and promote better academic and functional outcomes for students with disabilities. Participants will be able to: 1. Apply family-centered and culturally responsive communication practices that build trust, invite empathy, and strengthen engagement throughout the IEP process. 2. Implement proactive, equity-driven strategies for collaboration that reduce conflict, promote shared decision-making, and elevate the voices of advocates and families. 3. Design actionable frameworks or blueprints for schoolwide family-school partnerships that improve the quality of IEP goals, foster consistency in implementation, and advance academic and functional outcomes for students with disabilities.