When my daughter was diagnosed with autism, I believed the hardest part would be understanding her diagnosis.
I was wrong.
The hardest part has been navigating the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process in Prince George’s County Public Schools — a process that has taught me far more than I expected about how families experience special education.
I write this as a father who entered the IEP process with trust. I believed that a system designed to support children with disabilities would guide families with clarity, consistency and care. Instead, I learned how confusing timelines, dense paperwork and inconsistent communication can turn what should be a collaborative process into an exhausting one.
IEP meetings are filled with acronyms and technical language that are rarely explained in plain terms. Parents are handed lengthy documents and expected to make quick decisions, often without full context. Over time, I realized that parents are frequently placed in the position of having to prove — repeatedly — why their child needs support, rather than being met with a system designed to proactively provide it.
For many Black fathers and working parents in Prince George’s County, these challenges are magnified. Meetings are often scheduled during work hours. Notices arrive late. Follow-ups can take weeks or months. Families without legal knowledge or outside advocates are left to navigate a complex process on their own, and children lose valuable instructional time in the process.
This is not an indictment of teachers or school staff. Many educators care deeply about their students and are doing their best under significant constraints, including staff shortages and heavy caseloads. The challenge is structural. The system itself is overburdened and not consistently designed around the realities families face.
An IEP is more than a document. It is access to speech therapy, behavioral supports, classroom accommodations and the opportunity for a child to learn and thrive. When evaluations are delayed or services are inconsistent, the effects on a child’s development can be long-lasting.
As a father, this experience has been a powerful lesson in the importance of advocacy. I’ve learned to ask questions, seek clarity and push for accountability, not out of confrontation, but out of necessity. No parent should feel like they have to master bureaucracy just to ensure their child receives appropriate support.
Prince George’s County has an opportunity to improve how families experience special education. That means clearer communication, timely evaluations, adequate staffing and a process that treats parents as partners from the start. IEP meetings should feel collaborative, not transactional.
Our children are not paperwork. They are learners with unique needs, talents and potential. The systems built to support them should reflect that truth, consistently and without unnecessary struggle.
Anthony Tilghman is a Prince George’s County father, award-winning photographer, educator and community advocate.