Educators cannot and should not try to do the job
alone when it comes to the education of students with special needs. They
should form performance partnerships with parents aimed at achieving the
shared goal of creating effective educational practices that will lead to
better results for students. With the support of federal legislation, forming
these partnerships is not only required but facilitated through the direction
provided by the legislation and guidelines. Parents provide a rich source of
information about the strengths and needs of their children. They can be a
resource to the design and delivery of special educational and related
services. Recent reports (Davies, 1996; Lewis & Henderson, 1997) indicate
that parents and families are essential to the success of recent school reform
initiatives. Yet, parental involvement remains a challenge today.