Minnesota Special Education Guide f or Families
Client: Self-initiated project (no external client)
My role: CInstructional designer and accessibility lead
Scope of contribution: I led the instructional design, writing, and build. A contracted special education director served as subject matter expert, advising on the topic list, reviewing scripts for accuracy and parent-friendly language, and reviewing videos for parent-supportive visuals.
Timeline: January 2025 to April 2025
Public artifacts: Special education resource hub, IEP overview transcript, Procedural safeguards transcript
Project context
While developing professional development for educators, I saw a problem that training alone did not solve. Special education teachers carry a heavy, often invisible workload, and a large part of it is explaining the special education process over and over, to general education colleagues and especially to parents. The parent conversations are the hardest, because families are often handed dense process information at the same meeting where they first learn their child has a disability. I built this resource to take that repetitive explanation off educators' plates and to give families information they can absorb on their own terms.
What I contributed
A content structure covering 25 topics across the special education process, from referral and evaluation through IEP meetings, services, discipline, and transition out of school
Plain-language scripts that translate the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Minnesota special education rules into clear explanations for a non-specialist audience
A short instructional video for each of the 25 topics
A full text transcript for every video, so the content works for people who use a screen reader, prefer reading, or cannot play audio, and so it is searchable
An AI question-and-answer assistant configured on IDEA and Minnesota Rules, with a clear note that it offers information, not legal advice
The page build and publication on the KShep Creative site
I led the instructional design and built the resource. To keep the plain-language content accurate, I contracted a special education director as a subject matter expert to shape the topic list, review every script, and review the videos. The result is a single, maintainable resource that updates easily as rules change.
Design decisions and approach
Designed around when and how families actually learn
Families are usually handed the most important process information at the same meeting where they first learn their child has a disability, which is the moment they are least able to absorb it. On-demand access lets parents come to the content when they are ready and return as often as they need, rather than relying on what they retained during an overwhelming meeting. I also organized the topics around the decisions a family faces, such as a first evaluation, an initial IEP meeting, an annual review, or a discipline decision, so people can start where their situation actually is.
Designed to be shared, so educators explain less
Each topic stands alone, so a special education team can send the right piece at the right time: the initial IEP meeting video with the meeting invite, the progress reports video alongside the reports. Instead of re-explaining the same process to every family, educators point to the resource and spend their meeting time on what is specific to the child. The library supports families directly and takes a recurring task off staff.
Accessibility built into the format
Every video has a full transcript. The page includes a skip link to main content, and the AI assistant has keyboard guidance and a "skip past" option so it never traps keyboard users. Accessibility was part of the design from the start, not added at the end.
An AI assistant anchored to primary sources
I configured the question-and-answer assistant on IDEA and Minnesota Rules so its answers stay tied to authoritative content rather than general web text. A plain disclaimer makes clear it offers information, not legal advice, which keeps families safe while still giving them quick answers.
Project notes
This project came from a simple observation: training that helps educators do their jobs does not always make their jobs smaller. Much of what overloads special education teams is repetitive explanation, and a well-built resource can absorb that. The same method applies to staff onboarding, family engagement, and compliance-ready training. If your team spends time explaining the same complex process again and again, this is the approach I would bring.
This project was developed independently by KShep Creative.