Special education and Section 504 advocates for Mt. Diablo Unified School District families in Concord.
2 based in California · 3 virtual advocates who work with California schools
Advocates get hired after a meeting goes badly, rarely before the first one, which is why most of them start by reading a file that already carries a year of history in it.
Families in Concord and Berkeley run into the same problem. The school says the current plan is working, and the progress report shows the same goal repeated from last year with the same numbers under it.
Paperwork is where cases are won or lost, and an advocate who has read every progress report in the file will find the sentence a Concord team wrote two years ago that contradicts what it is saying now.
Note what changed at home. Teachers see one room for one hour and parents see the rest of the day.
No advocate in this directory lists Concord as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of California, and each card names the city.
Based in San Diego, CA
Special Education Advocate
At the Sanford Autism Advocacy Group (SAAG), we are a small but mighty special education consulting group with an emphasis on Autism and IEPs.
Based in Los Angeles, CA
Strategic Special Education Advocate
I combine the precision of a Columbia Law attorney with over a decade of special education leadership to help Los Angeles families navigate the IEP process with clarity, confidence, and results.
These advocates are not based in California. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Austin, TX · works with California schools
Special Education Advocate
Hi, My name is David Gonzales. Living in Austin, TX, but originally from Los Angeles, CA. I carry a masters degree in special education and currently practice as a sped teacher.
Virtual · based in Bloomington, IL · works with California schools
Founder & Advocate
Jade is a former special education teacher who has taught everything from pre-k all the way to transition classrooms with students up to age 21.
Virtual · based in Alamo, TX · works with California schools
Bilingual Special Education Advocate and Interpreter
Félix Ramos Jr. es fundador de RIO Advocates, LLC, donde brinda servicios bilingües de defensa educativa e interpretación en inglés y español.
See all 29 virtual advocates who work with California families
Mt. Diablo Unified School District runs the IEP meetings for most Concord students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
Families who move between Berkeley and here change districts, and the new team is not required to keep the old plan word for word.
Confirm your child's district by address before you send a letter or name a district-specific process.
A written request for an evaluation starts a second clock in California, and the district has to answer inside 15 days.
Put the request in writing and date it. An email to the Concord school counts as writing.
California gives a school district 60 days to finish an initial special education evaluation. A written request for an evaluation has to be answered inside 15 days. Missed deadlines are handled by the California Department of Education, Special Education Division, which takes written state complaints from parents.
Training varies, and so does what it proves. A parent who asks how many Concord IEP meetings an advocate sat in last year learns more than a certificate would show.
Ask what training the advocate actually finished and who ran it. A one-day webinar and a two-year program both end in a certificate.
Advocates charge for this. At $75 to $150 per hour, a standard IEP cycle with two hours of prep and two hours in the meeting runs about $400, and that money does not come back if the answer is still no.
Advocates who have never seen the file cannot tell you what is missing from it. Send the records first and book the call second.
No advocate is listed in every city. A remote advocate who knows California rules is usually a better hire for Concord than a local one who does not.
Ask whether the advocate has sat in a Mt. Diablo Unified School District meeting before. The answer is a yes or a no and it tells you a great deal.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Concord, California, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
How much should I budget for one IEP meeting?
Rates run $75 to $250 per hour. What moves the number is experience, the type of case, and whether anyone has to drive to the meeting. Profiles here show the rate when the advocate publishes one.
What district will be at my IEP meeting in Concord?
Most Concord families work with Mt. Diablo Unified School District. Charter and magnet enrollment can change which agency owes the service, so ask that question before the first meeting.
How many days does an initial evaluation take?
The deadline in California for finishing an initial evaluation is 60 days. Put that date on your calendar the day you sign consent, because the district counts from the paperwork and not from the conversation.
Does the state provide a free advocate?
Every state has a federally funded Parent Training and Information Center that answers questions at no charge. Free help usually means general guidance rather than somebody sitting next to you in the meeting.
Is a 504 plan weaker than an IEP?
An IEP is the stronger document because it carries goals, service minutes and progress reporting. Section 504 plans are faster to write and easier for a district to agree to.
Official California links for parents in Concord.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same California rules apply in Berkeley, Santa Clara, Carlsbad, Pasadena and the other cities listed here, or see every California advocate.
If nobody here fits, check the Berkeley page next. The same California rules apply there.
Have the most recent Mt. Diablo Unified School District progress report open on the first call. It shows whether the goals moved at all.
