Eligibility is based on income guidelines for your household size. If your income is at or below the level indicated in the chart for your household, move to Step 2.
Do I need a Special Education Advocate or Attorney?
Advocate
Advocates provide knowledge & guidance to families in the special education process.
They can help you write letters, rewrite goals, understand timelines, attend meetings with you, & much more. Advocates do not practice law & cannot attend a due process hearing with you or review legal documents.
The Advocate Grant Program provides a one-time $1000 grant to families who:
Attorney
Families sometimes need legal support because they have reached an impasse with their school about their student’s education.
The Attorney Grant Program provides a one-time grant of $6000 for a qualified special education attorney. Families must:
Once you’ve decided which program is right for you, click on the button for the Advocate Grant Program or the Attorney Grant Program to begin the application process. You may only apply to one program at a time. If you submit a prescreen for both programs, your second prescreening request will be denied.
In the prescreen you will answer 4 questions to determine if you are eligible for the program. We will respond within 72 hours with next steps.
If you are eligible, you will receive an application within 72 hours of submitting your prescreen.
Complete the application through the link and attach the required documents, including proof of income, IEP Plan (Attorney Grant), IEP or 504 Plan (Advocate Grant), and Evaluation (Attorney Grant), by the 15th of the month.
The completed application and documents are due by the 15th of the month.
If S.E.L.F. accepts your application, we will contact you via email to schedule a phone interview.
The phone interview is mandatory and must be completed by the 22nd for your application to be considered for funding.
S.E.L.F. reviews applications on a monthly basis during the academic year.
All applicants will be notified of the status of their application by the end of the month in which they apply.
Once you’ve been approved, you must complete a mandatory on-boarding call with S.E.L.F. If you have an attorney already, you will receive documents to sign for you and your attorney upon notification. Check your approval email for links to those documents. If you do not yet have an attorney, you have 30 days from the notice of your grant approval to select an attorney. Please interview more than one attorney if possible and indicate that you are a S.E.L.F. grant recipient. While initial consultations are not funded under the Attorney Grant Program, some attorneys may waive initial consultation fees for S.E.L.F. grant recipients.
Watch How to Apply for a Grant
Attorneys must meet the following requirements: practice special education or disability rights law for 7 years or more, practice special education law as a majority of their practice, and be affiliated with the American Bar Association, Connecticut Bar Association, or New York Bar Association, and be licensed to practice law in Connecticut or New York.
