This qualitative study situates parents' perceptions of their participation and role in special education planning in multiple contexts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 diverse parents of children with disabilities. The findings reveal the existence of special education discourses and practices that are entrenched in a deficit-based model and in implicit educational ideologies that sanction segregated education for many children with disabilities. Parents' perception of themselves as advocates was a key theme. Decisions about the placement of children with disabilities in inclusive classrooms appeared to be parent-driven. The findings shed light on the socioeconomic contexts in which family-professional partnerships and educational decision-making for children with disabilities are embedded.