For parents and teachers, Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings can be stressful. Worse, they can be ineffective--with parent, teacher, and student feeling that words were exchanged and passions ignited--without meaningful discussion, let alone effective development of or change in the student's educational program. One way to reduce the stress, expand the discussion, and perhaps improve the environment for a student is to bring to the meetings an Education Advocate, a person trained in federal law, familiar with IEP language and committed to working for the deaf or hard of hearing student. As the need for such trained advocates became acute, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), the civil rights organization of, by, and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals, stepped up and sent invitations to its state associations asking each to send a representative to be trained to the 2012 National Biennial Conference in Louisville, Ky. Twelve states sent individuals to this first training, and other states immediately joined the campaign. By 2018, all 50 states, plus D.C., Guam, and Puerto Rico, had joined, receiving an Education Advocate handbook with information about the role of the Education Advocate and the program itself. Families have appreciated the assistance of Education Advocates as these advocates often assist not only at IEP meetings but also help families benefit from the advocates' experience and cultural knowledge as members of the Deaf community.