IEP and 504 Q&A, Saturday September 5

Free hour on Zoom for Lee County families with a child on an IEP or a 504, Saturday September 5 at 4pm Eastern. Send your question in advance and educational advocate Sergio Cruz answers it live. Questions are read anonymously. Hosted with India Palencia and the Catalyst 4 Change Foundation.

Saturday, September 5, 2026 · 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. · Eastern time

An hour on Zoom for Lee County families with a child on an IEP or a 504. Send your question in advance and educational advocate Sergio Cruz answers it on the record.

Presented by: Jenn McDaigle and India Palencia

Co-hosted by: India Palencia and Ali Olivo

Watch live on social media. Nothing to install and nothing to join — you open the stream and watch. Nobody watching can see who else is watching, and you are never on camera. Registering is only how you send a question in advance and get a reminder; anyone can watch without registering at all.

If your child has an IEP or a 504, this hour is for you. Send the question you have been carrying — about an evaluation that has not happened, services that are on the paper but not in the day, a meeting that did not go the way you expected, or a timeline you were told to wait out — and Sergio Cruz answers it live.

Questions sent in advance are the ones that get answered. They are read and sorted before the hour starts, so the time goes on what families actually asked instead of on whoever unmutes first. You do not have to appear, speak, or give your name: a question sent through the box on this page is read anonymously unless you tick the box asking us to use your first name.

Nothing said here is legal advice, and nobody here can promise you an outcome. What you get is a straight answer about how the process is supposed to work and what you can ask for next.

What happens in the hour

• 4:00 p.m. — Welcome, and what this hour is for
• 4:10 p.m. — IEP and 504 questions submitted in advance, answered by Sergio Cruz
• 4:50 p.m. — Where to go next, and what we do with what we heard

Who is speaking

Sergio Cruz, Guest — educational advocate

Sergio Cruz is Founder and Executive Director of the Catalyst 4 Change Foundation, dedicated to empowering individuals with autism and other disabilities while strengthening the families and communities that support them. His journey into advocacy began through his personal experience as a father navigating the disability world after his son was diagnosed with autism. Today, Sergio works to bridge gaps between families, schools, and communities by promoting awareness, inclusion, and innovative approaches to communication, development, and social programs.

Ali Olivo, Co-host — Parents for Transparency

Ali is a Fort Myers mom with two kids, 12 and 9. She has served on the Golden Apple Selection Committee for the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools and on the United Way Allocations Committee. She has more than 18 years of experience in corporate business, M&A, and law.

India Palencia, Co-host — community advocate

India is a mom of three kids in our public schools, a prior School Board Candidate, a Substitute Teacher, and long time community advocate with years of experience advocating for our Public Schools, attending Board Meetings and workshops regularly. She is also an active member in various community organizations, organizing to provide support for our Public Schools.

This session is recorded

This is a live public broadcast and it is recorded. Only the people speaking are on camera — you are not in it, you cannot be seen, and nobody watching can see that you are watching. If you comment on the stream your name shows the way it always does on that platform, so send your question through the box on this page instead and it is read anonymously. Please do not name your child, their school, or their teacher in a public comment.

Use a personal address, not a district one

A @leeschools.net mailbox belongs to the School District of Lee County. The joining link, the reminder and the recording would all sit on the district’s servers as a record that you registered, and the people who run the district can read it. This form will not accept a district address.

Current teachers and district staff are welcome at this event. Register from a personal address and nothing about it goes through your employer.

Ask your question now, and it gets answered

Questions sent in advance are the ones that actually get answered. They are sorted before the event so the time goes on what people asked about instead of on whoever unmutes first, and a question you send here is one you do not have to say out loud in front of anyone.

Your question is read anonymously. Your name is not attached to it, not on screen and not out loud, unless you tick the box below to say you would like your first name used.

What happens to what you send

• Your name and address are stored in the same private database as everything else on this site and read only by us. Neither is published, and no attendee list is published.
• Your address is never sold, and never handed to a candidate, a party, a political committee, or the district.
• Your question is read anonymously unless you ask us to use your first name.
• Registering for this event does not put you on the email list. That is a separate choice at /email-updates.
• You can cancel at any time. The link to do it is in every email we send about this event, and you can always just write to us instead. Cancelling deletes the record rather than flagging it.