San Jose Unified School District staff run the IEP meetings in San Jose. These advocates sit on your side of the table.
3 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 San Jose and San Diego 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.
After the meeting the work is dull. The advocate reads the draft against the notes and sends a correction back the same week.
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 San Jose as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of California, and each card names the city.
Based in Torrance, CA
Special Education Advocate
I’m April, and I'm totally excited to help you develop a solid action plan for your child! After writing thousands of reports and just as many IEPs, I developed breakthrough coaching methods, Do It…
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 Cumming, GA · works with California schools
Founder
I’m Russell Lloyd, founder of YourChild.org, author, mentor, and special education advocate. I review the record, find the gaps, build the strategy, prepare the parent, and lead IEP meetings.
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 Midland, TX · works with California schools
Special Education Advocate
Kate Keenan is a special education advocate serving families in Midland, TX.
See all 24 virtual advocates who work with California families
40 public schools inside San Jose belong to San Jose Unified School District. Each one has its own case manager and its own backlog, and the answer you get about scheduling depends on which building your child attends.
Parents in San Diego face the same paperwork. Rules do not change from one town to the next inside a state.
Confirm your child's district by address. San Jose addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
Once you sign consent for testing, a California district has 60 days to finish an initial evaluation, and that clock does not stop because a case manager is out or the file went to the wrong building.
If the San Jose team says no, ask for the refusal in 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.
The California Department of Education oversees special education in California. It does not license the advocates parents hire.
Check the references and not the letters after the name. Two calls to past clients settle it faster than any credential list.
No advocate can promise a placement or an outcome in San Jose. Anyone who does is selling you something.
San Jose Unified School District is allowed to say no. What it is not allowed to do is say no without written notice that explains the reason.
Being listed for California is not the same as taking San Jose cases, so read the service area on each of the 3 in-state profiles before you write to anyone.
Ask whether the advocate has sat in a San Jose 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 San Jose, California, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What do special education advocates charge in San Jose, California?
Most advocates on this directory charge $75 to $150 per hour. A standard cycle with two hours of prep and two hours in the meeting runs about $400. Travel and extra meetings cost more.
What is the difference between an IEP advocate and a special education attorney?
An advocate is not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice or file a lawsuit. What an advocate can do is build the written record a lawyer would need later.
Can we work with an advocate who lives outside California?
Yes, with one condition. The school has to agree to the meeting format, so put the request in writing before the date is set.
Who runs special education for San Jose schools?
San Jose Unified School District runs the IEP meetings for most San Jose students. District lines and city lines are not the same, so confirm yours by address before you send a letter.
Where does a written special education complaint go?
Written complaints go to the California Department of Education. It decides on the paperwork rather than at a hearing, so dates and documents are what the decision turns on.
Official California links for parents in San Jose.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same California rules apply in San Diego, San Francisco, Fresno, Los Angeles and the other cities listed here, or see every California advocate.
Send the same two questions to every advocate you contact in San Jose and San Diego. Ask for the rate and for the first date they can meet.
Have the most recent San Jose Unified School District progress report open on the first call. It shows whether the goals moved at all.
