Physician-Generated Advocacy Letters for Individualized Education Programs

Pediatricians can advocate for families seeking special educational services by writing a letter to schools and advocating for an individualized education program (IEP) evaluation or additional services.

An electronic health record-based health-related social needs screening (HRSN) tool and referral model was implemented in 3 urban, hospital-based pediatric primary care sites. Caregivers of school-aged children who completed HRSN screening, reported unmet educational needs for their child, and received an IEP letter were surveyed. Of these caregivers, 73.7% presented the letter to the school, and 61.9% of those caregivers reported that the school initiated an evaluation or provided a new service.

Families with educational concerns who gave letters to their child's school reported that the process led to school action, such as IEP evaluation or receipt of services. This supports screening for unmet educational needs, standardizing letter templates in the EHR for pediatric providers, and strengthening collaborations between pediatric providers and schools.

Integrating the IEP letter template into the electronic health record allows for a timely social care intervention, providing families with a simple way to advocate for special education services.