Special education and Section 504 advocates for Broward County Public Schools families in Fort Lauderdale.
3 based in Florida · 3 virtual advocates who work with Florida schools
Hiring one is optional. Nothing in federal law requires a parent to bring an advocate to an IEP meeting.
Fort Lauderdale parents tend to call at one of two moments. The first is before an initial evaluation and the second is after a service quietly disappears from the plan.
The meeting itself is the smallest part of the job. Nearly all the hours go into records and email before the Fort Lauderdale team ever sits down.
Read the evaluation report twice. The second read is where the missing service usually shows up.
No advocate in this directory lists Fort Lauderdale as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of Florida, and each card names the city.
Based in Wesley Chapel, FL
Special Education Advocate
With 24 years of experience in the K-12 sector, I serves as a Student Support Specialist specializing in academic and behavioral ESE services.
Based in Leesburg, FL
CEO IEP Advocate Espanol
Evelyn Roman-Santos is a bilingual Special Education Advocate with 30 years of experience as a School Social Worker.
Based in Hialeah, FL
Advocate
I look forward to helping families and their students get the crucial support they need. I have varied experience working with families and educators at the state and local levels.
These advocates are not based in Florida. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Hawthorne, NJ · works with Florida schools
IEP Consultant, School Social Worker, Advocacy
I am a Child Study Team School Social Worker, with a Master of Social Work from Fordham University. I have core competencies in special education law, mental health, and behavioral health.
Virtual · based in Leonardtown, MD · works with Florida schools
Special Education Advocate
Douglas Hubscher is the Founder and President of Kids Are First, LLC, a special education advocacy firm dedicated to helping families navigate the IEP and 504 process with confidence, clarity, and…
Virtual · based in Newcastle, OK · works with Florida schools
Special Education Advocate - IEP Consultant
Former special education teacher and educational advocate with experience on both sides of the IEP table.
23 public schools inside Fort Lauderdale belong to Broward County Public Schools. 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.
A Pembroke Pines parent group can tell you how the same district handled a case like yours, which is worth more to read than a policy page.
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 Florida actually requires is 60 calendar days.
Put the request in writing and date it. An email to the Fort Lauderdale school counts as writing.
Florida gives a school district 60 calendar days to finish an initial special education evaluation. A written request for an evaluation has to be answered inside 30 days. Missed deadlines are handled by the Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services, which takes written state complaints from parents.
Training varies, and so does what it proves. A parent who asks how many Fort Lauderdale IEP meetings an advocate sat in last year learns more than a certificate would show.
Membership in a professional body is not a licence. It usually means dues were paid and a code of conduct was signed.
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.
Being listed for Florida is not the same as taking Fort Lauderdale 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 Broward County Public Schools 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 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
How much should I budget for one IEP meeting?
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.
Can an advocate represent me at a due process hearing in Florida?
No. Advocates prepare for meetings, read the records and negotiate with the district. Attorneys file due process complaints and appear at hearings, which an advocate cannot do.
What district will be at my IEP meeting in Fort Lauderdale?
Most Fort Lauderdale families work with Broward County Public Schools. 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 Florida for finishing an initial evaluation is 60 calendar days. Put that date on your calendar the day you sign consent, because the district counts from the paperwork and not from the conversation.
Is a 504 plan weaker than an IEP?
The short version. IEP means the school changes what is taught and how, and Section 504 means the school changes the conditions around it.
Official Florida links for parents in Fort Lauderdale.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Florida rules apply in Pembroke Pines, Tallahassee, Cape Coral, Hollywood and the other cities listed here, or see every Florida advocate.
If nobody here fits, check the Pembroke Pines page next. The same Florida rules apply there.
Keep a one-page timeline of what happened and when. Every advocate you talk to will start by building the same thing.
