FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Area military and retiree parents of special needs children have an opportunity to learn how to become better advocates for their children in a free October class offered by the Fort Carson Army Community Service Exceptional Family Member Program.

School Advocacy 101 will be held 5:30-6:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at ACS, building 1526. It is being taught by Shirley Swope from the Peak Parent Center in Colorado Springs.

The class will focus on parents' and students' rights and responsibilities, the special education evaluation process, Individualized Education Plans and advocacy, said Jessica Brown and Sunny Ginter, EFMP systems navigators. It is designed for parents of preschool through high school students. The class will have information beneficial for parents whose students have already been assessed as having special needs as well as for those whose children may need to be evaluated.

Brown and Ginter encouraged parents to attend the class in order to learn ways to make their responsibilities a little easier.

"In a way, it makes their life easier because they have the knowledge and they don't have to constantly seek help," Ginter said. "And as soon as you get intervention and those systems working for a child, the better their quality of life is going to be."

Ginter said Swope will talk about students' rights and parents' responsibilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The information will pertain to students already evaluated as falling under the IDEA and those needing to be assessed.

Brown said the class will help parents understand how the evaluation process works and how to request an assessment as well as what comes after the process.

The IEP portion of the class will include plan goals, information about how plans are written, how to make sure they are written appropriately and how parents can request plans and IEP meetings.

Swope will also talk to parents about how to effectively advocate for their children through what can be a difficult situation.

"Sometimes parents come in and they're just very emotional because it's their child," Brown said. "They want to do what's best for their child. (Swope is) going to kind of explain how to channel that into an effective way to advocate for that child and to make sure that while working with the IDEA and the school (they are) able to go through the correct process to make sure the (child is) getting what they need."

Parents can go to http://www.eventbrite.com and search for "Fort Carson School Advocacy 101" to register. They can also search "Fort Carson Exceptional Family Member" on Facebook to find a link to the registration page on Eventbrite. Child care will not be provided.