Advocates here work with Boulder families and Boulder Valley School District teams. Each profile lists a rate when the advocate shares one.
1 based in Colorado · 3 virtual advocates who work with Colorado 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.
The search usually starts the week a parent reads an evaluation report and cannot tell from it whether Boulder schools are offering enough.
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 Boulder as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of Colorado, and each card names the city.
Based in Lamar, CO
Special Education Advocate
I’ve been a science teacher, a Director of Financial Aid, and a Dean of Students at a rural community college — always at the table with students and families navigating systems not built for them.
These advocates are not based in Colorado. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in New York, NY · works with Colorado schools
Special Education Advocate
Clara Liriano, M.S., is a Special Education Advocate and New York State Certified Special Education Teacher with more than 20 years of experience supporting children and individuals with…
Virtual · based in Los Angeles, CA · works with Colorado schools
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.
Virtual · based in Katy, TX · works with Colorado schools
Special Education Advocate
Besides being a parent of a neurodivergent son, I have been a special education teacher, diagnostician, and advocate for the past 30 years. I am a true hands-on, walk in your shoes type of advocate.
See all 24 virtual advocates who work with Colorado families
Boulder Valley School District runs the IEP meetings for most Boulder students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
Parents in Centennial face the same paperwork. Rules do not change from one town to the next inside a state.
Confirm your child's district by address before you send a letter or name a district-specific process.
Federal law lets a state write its own evaluation deadline instead of using the national one. What Colorado actually requires is 60 calendar days.
Write down what you want the school to add, in one page, before you walk into the Boulder meeting, because a team that reads your list in advance cannot pretend it never came up.
Colorado gives a school district 60 calendar days to finish an initial special education evaluation. No Colorado rule sets a separate deadline for answering a written request, so the federal reasonable-time standard is what applies. Missed deadlines are handled by the Colorado Department of Education, Office of Special Education, which takes written state complaints from parents.
Training varies, and so does what it proves. A parent who asks how many Boulder 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 Colorado rules is usually a better hire for Boulder than a local one who does not.
Experience with Boulder Valley School District matters more than the number of years printed on a profile page.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Boulder, Colorado, 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.
Is remote IEP advocacy allowed?
Yes. IDEA, the federal special education law, requires parent participation in IEP meetings and allows alternative means such as video or phone when you and the school agree. Your advocate does not have to live nearby.
What district will be at my IEP meeting in Boulder?
Most of the city sits inside Boulder Valley School District. The district writes the plan and holds the special education budget, which is why a complaint about a missed service names the district and not the school.
How many advocates on this page are based in Colorado?
Every card on this page names the city the advocate works from. Advocates listed under the virtual heading live somewhere else and work with families here by video or phone.
What is the fastest way to see the school file?
A district can charge for copies. Asking to inspect the record in person costs nothing under federal rules, and it is usually faster than waiting for a copy set.
Official Colorado links for parents in Boulder.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Colorado rules apply in Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, Pueblo and the other cities listed here, or see every Colorado advocate.
Send the same two questions to every advocate you contact in Boulder and Centennial. Ask for the rate and for the first date they can meet.
Have the most recent Boulder Valley School District progress report open on the first call. It shows whether the goals moved at all.
