Advocacy for Parents Key to IDEA Case

Nonlawyer has long fought to join due-process hearings and to be paid.

Palmyra, N.J.

The modest building here that houses the southern outpost of the Parent Information Center of New Jersey is just another classroom for Marilyn Arons.

For years, Ms. Arons, 67, has taught parents how to use the main federal special education law to get the most appropriate education for their children. And now, the role of experts such as Ms. Arons is at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court case that will be heard next week.

One night last month, Ms. Arons was serving once again as a human Rosetta stone, translating cryptic government prose into concrete guidance for parents who were preparing for annual reviews of their children’s individualized education programs. Those plans, known as IEPs, guide teachers and schools on educational accommodations...