About
Who I am.
Rachel Schlosser
I am an educational advocate and established Special Education Advocacy for Families LLC, located in Pittsburgh, in 2020. I provide support to families with school age students who have a disability or are suspected to need additional educational or behavioral supports in school. My practice includes helping families with evaluation, eligibility, IEP goal making, and ensuring school compliance, and I place an emphasis on supporting families with the most vulnerable students. I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with two undergraduate degrees and with a Masters in Library and Information Science. Prior to becoming an advocate, I was a librarian at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. I live in Squirrel Hill with my husband, two kids who both attend Pittsburgh Public Schools, and two very snuggly cats.
Experience
I have been working as an advocate in the Pittsburgh area for three years supporting families to work with their school teams to create appropriate educational programs and supports. As a mom of two, each with a disability, I began advocacy work while championing for inclusion for our son who has a rare neurological disability and is a complex learner. Advocating for our son drove me to learn more about the rights of students with disabilities so that I could share that expertise with other families and help support them through the special education process from evaluations and eligibility to IEP goals and SDIs and the compliance of paperwork and timelines. Since 2015, I have been attending conferences, seminars, and training on the rights of students with disabilities taught by experts and other advocates. Additionally I served as co-chair of the Pittsburgh Local Task Force on the Right to Education for four years and now serve as a Governor appointed panel member to the Pennsylvania Special Education Advisory Panel.
Organizations.
Member, Pennsylvania Special Education Advisory Panel
September 2019 - present
The Special Education Advisory Panel (SEAP) is a Governor appointed panel that works to improve special education across the Commonwealth.
As a SEAP panel member, Rachel advises the Secretary of Education and the Department of Education on the unmet educational needs of students with disabilities, on corrective action plans, and on developing and implementing policies to improve coordination of services to these students. The panel also reviews and comments on Pennsylvania’s Annual Performance Report, on proposed special education regulations, and on funding procedures, and helps the Department of Education develop and report information that is required by law to the U.S. Secretary of Education.
Co-Chair, Pittsburgh Local Task Force on the Right to Education
July 2015-August 2020
The Pittsburgh Local Task Force, part of the State Task Force, is a parent majority organization whose primary functions are to act as advocates and advisory bodies to school districts while working collaboratively to improve special education for students with disabilities.
As Pittsburgh LTF Co-Chair, Rachel connected parents with district and local resources, provided parent to parent support, organized parent trainings, and collaborated with administrators from the Pittsburgh Public Schools to improve, strengthen, and expand educational services for students with disabilities.
Trainings.
Institute of Special Education Advocacy, Hosted by PELE Clinic, College of William and Mary Law Schoo,l and Wrightslaw, completed January 2021
PEAL Family Leadership Institute, completed 2018
PDE Bureau of Special Education Peer Monitoring Training, completed 2019
PDE Bureau of Special Education Gifted Peer Monitoring Training, completed 2019
Education.
University of Pittsburgh
Masters of Library and Information Science, 2007
Bachelor of Science, Psychology, 1999
Bachelor of Arts, Communications, 1999
“I was very fortunate to have met and worked with Rachel during my daughters middle school years. Her knowledge and support were extremely helpful to us as we embarked upon rewriting my daughters IEP and advocating for the necessary school support to help her become more successful in the classroom. I would highly recommend Rachel to work with any parent needing support to navigate this process.”
— Leslie O.