Special education and Section 504 advocates for Lee County Public Schools families in Fort Myers.
3 based in Florida · 3 virtual advocates who work with Florida schools
Advocates work for you, not for the school. That is the whole difference.
The search usually starts the week a parent reads an evaluation report and cannot tell from it whether Fort Myers schools are offering enough.
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 Fort Myers team wrote two years ago that contradicts what it is saying now.
Read the evaluation report twice. The second read is where the missing service usually shows up.
No advocate in this directory lists Fort Myers 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 Arlington Heights, IL · works with Florida schools
Special Education Advocate
I am a former special education teacher, with experience in public and therapeutic day schools.
Virtual · based in Kansas City, MO · works with Florida schools
Navigate Special Education with Clarity and Confidence - Guiding Families. Building Futures.
Dr. Diane is a special education advocate and founder of Steppingstone Services, LLC. She holds a Ph.D.
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.
Lee County Public Schools met 34 of 64 state special education indicators in the most recent Florida report.
A Daytona Beach 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.
If the Fort Myers team says no, ask for the refusal in 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 Myers 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.
No advocate can promise a placement or an outcome in Fort Myers. Anyone who does is selling you something.
Lee County Public Schools 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 Florida is not the same as taking Fort Myers cases, so read the service area on each of the 3 in-state profiles before you write to anyone.
Advocates who take Daytona Beach cases usually take these too. Say where you are in the first email so nobody wastes a week finding out.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Fort Myers, Florida, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What do special education advocates charge in Fort Myers, Florida?
Flat fees are common for a single meeting and hourly billing is common for everything else. Many advocates give a free first call. Nobody bills you through this site, so ask each person how they invoice.
Who runs special education for Fort Myers schools?
Lee County Public Schools runs the IEP meetings for most Fort Myers students. District lines and city lines are not the same, so confirm yours by address before you send a letter.
How is Lee County Public Schools doing on special education?
Lee County Public Schools met 34 of 64 state special education indicators in the most recent report. Indicators measure compliance and outcomes across a whole district and say nothing about one classroom.
What is the difference between an IEP and a 504 plan?
An IEP provides specialized instruction and related services under IDEA. A 504 plan provides accommodations under a civil rights law and does not require specialized instruction. Eligibility rules differ, so a child can qualify for one and not the other.
Where does a written special education complaint go?
Three routes stay open when you disagree. Mediation is voluntary for both sides, a written state complaint is decided on the record by the Florida Department of Education, and a due process hearing takes evidence.
Official Florida links for parents in Fort Myers.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Florida rules apply in Daytona Beach, Plantation, Boca Raton, Homestead and the other cities listed here, or see every Florida advocate.
You are not limited to advocates inside Fort Myers. The closest listed office is in Wesley Chapel, and distance matters less than whether that person has worked a case in your district.
Free calls are common. Use them to compare people, not to collect advice for nothing.
