What the Advisor is and how to use it

The Advisor is a chat surface you can ask questions of about your IEP. It reads the document you uploaded plus a curated knowledge base on special-education process, using federal IDEA fallback nationwide and reviewed state sources where available.

What it's good at

Surfacing patterns. "Are the reading goals SMART? Which ones aren't measurable?"
Drafting questions. "What should I ask the team about my child's progress on the social-emotional goals?"
Translating jargon. "What's the difference between accommodations and modifications?"
Process orientation. "What happens if I disagree with the proposed IEP?"

How to use it well

Be specific. "What's missing in the math goals?" gets a better answer than "Is this IEP good?" Quote the exact text you're asking about when you can. Ask follow-ups — the Advisor remembers the conversation, so layered questions work better than a single long question.

What it isn't

It isn't legal advice. It isn't your advocate at the meeting. It isn't a substitute for the people who know your child best — you and your child's teachers. PrepIEP surfaces patterns and questions for you to raise with your IEP team. If your situation needs an advocate or attorney (due-process prep, a BSEA hearing, complex compensatory ed), the Advisor will tell you so and point you to your local Parent Training and Information center.

When the Advisor gets something wrong, hit the thumbs-down on the message and tell us why. Every flag goes into prompt iteration — see Why the Advisor sometimes gets things wrong.