Knowledge Library
A curated, cited library of plain-English content on disabilities, accommodations, interventions, IEP components, procedural rights, and common situations.
Most of what advocates teach in $200–$2,000 certification courses is already published — by the federal government, by peer-reviewed centers, by parent-training networks. SENTINEL·IEP organizes that public material into structured, searchable entries and ships it with the app so parents can read on their own time, not on someone else's clock.
How to open it
Click Reference in the top nav, then the Knowledge Library tab. The library opens with entries grouped on the left and the first entry's content on the right.
What's in the library
The library is organized into six categories:
- Disability deep-dives — the 13 IDEA categories plus common sub-presentations (dyslexia, ADHD-in-school, dyscalculia, dysgraphia)
- Accommodations — extended time, separate setting, calculators, audiobooks, speech-to-text, preferential seating, breaks, visual schedules, note-taking support
- Interventions — structured literacy / Orton-Gillingham, ABA, school-based CBT, MTSS/RTI
- IEP components — Present Levels (PLOP), goals, services, Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), transition planning
- Procedural rights — initial evaluation rights, Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE), Prior Written Notice (PWN), dispute resolution options
- Specific situations — Manifestation Determination Review (MDR), 504 vs. IDEA IEP, Extended School Year (ESY)
What each entry contains
Most entries follow a parent-friendly structure:
- Summary — one sentence so you know if this is the right entry
- What it is — 2-4 plain-English paragraphs
- How it helps (for accommodations/interventions) — broken down by cognitive function where relevant
- When it helps most / when it may not help — honest distinctions, not just marketing
- How to know it's working — measurable signs to look for
- What to watch for — common implementation problems
- Questions to ask the team — direct, useable in a meeting
- Research basis — what the evidence actually says
- Sources — citations to the federal/peer-reviewed material we drew from
Disability entries swap in different sections — eligibility criteria, common indicators, what assessment should include. Procedural entries focus on your rights, timelines, and what to do if denied.
Where the content comes from
Every entry cites the public material it draws from. The primary sources are:
- CPIR — Center for Parent Information & Resources (federally funded, public domain)
- OSEP — Office of Special Education Programs (US Dept of Ed, public domain)
- IRIS Center at Vanderbilt (peer-reviewed)
- What Works Clearinghouse (federal evidence ratings)
- National Center on Intensive Intervention
- International Dyslexia Association (for dyslexia content)
- ASHA — American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (for speech/language)
- eCFR Title 34, Part 300 (federal special-ed regulations)
How entries are produced
Content is generated through a multi-AI agreement pipeline. For each topic, two AI systems (GPT and Gemini) independently draft an entry from the listed authoritative sources. A third (Claude) reconciles the two drafts, removing anything unsupported and producing a single synthesis. Each entry is stamped with a generation date and the sources it used.
The seed entries (Prior Written Notice, Extended Time, Specific Learning Disability) were written by hand against the same sources and serve as quality anchors.
Searching and navigating
Use the left sidebar to scroll through categories and entries. Mouse wheel scrolls the list. Click an entry to open it on the right. Each entry's Related topics section at the bottom links to other relevant entries — for example, the Extended Time entry links to Separate Testing Setting and to the Specific Learning Disability deep-dive.
What's missing
The library is shallow on first launch — about 40 entries covering all 13 IDEA categories plus common accommodations and procedural topics. Depth comes over time. State-specific procedural details, less common disabilities, and emerging research will be added in future releases.
Last updated: 2026-05-26