Danielle Randolph, Advocate

Contact

Office | 614.745.2001

Danielle@education-rights.com

DANIELLE RANDOLPH, Special Education Director and Advocate

Mrs. Randolph has gone above and beyond of establishing herself first and foremost as a parent and student advocate. She has a unique skill set of being able to foster positive relationships with parents to help build stronger relationships between the student and staff to help meet the child’s needs. Mrs. Randolph is unbelievable at seeking new methods and researching trends that would help [school] staff find solutions to hurdles their students would be facing in the classroom setting.
— Former Colleague

Danielle serves as the firm’s Special Education Director and as a non-attorney advocate. She earned her undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and then headed to Bowling Green State University where she graduated with a Masters and an Educational Specialist degree in school psychology. She practiced as a school psychologist for several years in a northern Ohio school district while also serving as the district’s special education coordinator for four of those years. While working in these roles Danielle has instructed school personnel in the following: Nonviolent Crisis Intervention, Response to Intervention, Autism, ADHD, and writing/understanding IEPs and ETRs.

Danielle is married to her high school sweetheart, Nick, and is the mother of four lovely little ones. She enjoys spending time outdoors, cooking, and traveling. Professionally, Danielle is passionate about ensuring that children are successful in school. She is a strong advocate for providing appropriate services to all students and helping to support parents every step of the way.

Education

  • Bowling Green State University; Educational Specialist in School Psychology, 2011

  • Bowling Green State University; Masters of Education, 2010

  • The Ohio State University; B.A. in Psychology, 2007 (Magna Cum Laude with Research Distinction)

Licenses

  • 5 Year Professional License - Pupil Services, Ohio Department of Education

  • 5 Year Professional License - Administrative Specialist, Ohio Department of Education

Practice Areas

  • Special Education Advocacy (as a non-attorney advocate)

Affiliations

Presentations + Trainings

  • Co-Presenter, Walkthrough Sections of the IEP, AW Student Rights Conference, July 2024

  • Co-Presenter, Progress Reports & Data-Driven Goals, AW Student Rights Conference, July 2024

  • Co-Presenter, School Choice, Open Enrollment, & Special Ed Scholarships, AW Student Rights Conference, July 2024

Publications

  • Daddis, C. & Randolph, D. (2010). Dating and disclosure: Adolescent management of information regarding romantic involvement. Journal of Adolescence, 33(2), 309-320. 

Recent Representative Matters*

  • Secured 9 hours of compensatory education and homebound instruction for a student-client.

  • Collaborated with the school team to design a personalized schedule for a student returning from a hospitalization.

  • Supported a client in selecting from different homeschooling co-ops, curriculum and programs.

  • Advocated for a dedicated social-emotional goal with the support of a mental health professional for a student with poor coping skills and low self-esteem.

  • Helped a client successfully transition their child from a public school setting to homeschooling.

  • Sucessfully advocated for an initial evaluation on behalf of a gifted student with a suspected learning disability. The student's academic performance was far below their cognitive ability, but still scored in the average range, which required stong advocacy for the initial evaluation.

  • Secured a private, outside educational placement for a student at school district expense.

  • Assisted client in drafting a state complaint seeking compensatory education, district policy change, and an IEE.

  • Worked through multiple transportation-related issues to ensure safe and proper transportation to and from school for a disabled client.

  • Assisted the child's IEP team develop a comprehensive safety plan to ensure the safety of the child and others around him.

  • Helped a client through the independent education evaluation (IEE) process.

  • Obtained an initial evaluation for a student with reading-related delays.

  • Secured Extended School Year (ESY) services for a student whose academic progress regressed during summer break.

  • Advocated for specific phonics-based reading instruction for a student with Dyslexia.

  • Connected with a student's outside providers (County Board of DD and OOD) to help develop a much better transition plan.

  • Advocated for a middle schooler to qualify for an IEP to address social-emotional learning challenges that could not be sufficiently addressed with a 504 accommodation plan.

  • After an elementary client with autism started the year with no special education services and various disciplinary incidents, we secured an IEP under the autism category. We also secured a 1:1 aide to help decrease behaviors and increase engagement, as well as a FBA and subsequent BIP for additional behavior and social-emotional support.

  • Drafted a detailed and supported letter of disagreement when a district denied a student an initial evaluation to determine qualification under IDEA.

  • Assisted a student with slowly returning to in-person classes after being out of school for two years.

  • After a student had previously not qualified for special education services, we requested an IEE at district expense; request was granted, we reviewed the IEE results with the school, and the school agreed to initiate a new evaluation.

  • Worked with a school district on behalf of a disabled client to assure that the client and other chldren with disabilities could attend school during exam week to work on IEP goals and socialization instead of being sent home for the week.

  • Regularly advocate for more trauma-informed care in our school systems.

  • Got agreement by a school district to conduct an initial evaluation for special education services after repeated denials to parents (and offering only a “504 Evaluation”).

  • Conducted a clear and comprehensive file review to assist a client and their attorney in making reasonable and appropriate requests from the school team to improve the level of special education services the student receives.

  • Advocates for appropriate transportation services for a student.

  • Advocated for accommodations and considerations for a student with multiple disabilities to participate in extra curricular activities to the greatest extent possible (i.e. added aide support, modified rehearsal requirements, etc.).

  • Reviewed a client's special education documents and provided feedback on how to self-advocate for appropriate support.

  • Secured 25 hours of extended school year (ESY) services for a high school student with supports provided in the community, focused on IEP goals and post high school transition-related skills.

  • Advocated and secured contingency plans written into the student's IEP to support the student when hospitalized for treatment.

  • Helped transition plan for a preschooler with special needs heading into kindergarten by identifying the appropriate placement and supports.

  • Advocated for extended school year services (ESY) to include Orton Gillingham instruction with a certified instructor.

  • Secured 1200 minutes of compensatory education services for a student based on the school’s delay in starting the evaluation process after a parent request was made.

  • Supported a parent-client in drafting a state complaint to request compensatory education services, training for staff, better identification for Dyslexia, ESY, and ongoing OG (reading intervention) services for the student.

  • Supported parents through the planning process of the evaluation team report (ETR), allowing the parents to slow down the school district’s explanations and obtain truly informed consent to the evaluation.

  • Successfully advocated to maintain special education services for a high school student.

  • Helped a client receive a favorable state complaint outcome which resulted in 16 corrective action items for the school district.

  • Obtained district reimbursement for client to purchase curriculum while the student was receiving home instruction.

  • Was able to secure 8 hours of compensatory education through a state complaint (in Michigan).

  • Assisted a client in moving from MI to OH, including connecting them with the receiving district, helping find possible outside placements, assisting with the Autism scholarship, and ensuring the special education documents were updated appropriately.

  • Successfully secured district transportation for a student on the autism scholarship to an outside placement.

*The results shown are not necessarily indicative of the results that could be expected in any other matter, as the circumstances of each matter are unique and involve multiple factors to consider along with possible outcomes.