Miami-Dade County Public Schools staff run the IEP meetings in Miami Beach. These advocates sit on your side of the table.
3 based in Florida · 3 virtual advocates who work with Florida schools
The job is plain. An advocate knows what services the school owes your child and asks for them in writing.
Parents in Miami Beach usually start looking for an advocate when a meeting is already on the calendar.
Before the meeting an advocate reads the current IEP against the evaluation reports, pulls the progress data to see whether the goals are actually being met, writes your concerns into one page, and sends it to the team in advance.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools keeps progress data on every goal in the plan. Ask for it as a table of dates and numbers rather than a paragraph.
No advocate in this directory lists Miami Beach 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
Hello! 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 San Antonio, TX · works with Florida schools
FamilyADDventures.com
Nicole Santiago is a learning specialist and an advocate (IEP coach). She is a member of COPAA.org and ensures special education students receive the most appropriate educational services possible.
Virtual · based in Coraopolis, PA · works with Florida schools
Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Special Education Advocate
Hi there! I'm Brittany, owner and founder of Balanced Behaviors, LLC. I'm a Behavior Analyst and Licensed Behavior Specialist in Pennsylvania with a Master’s in Special Education from Slippery Rock…
Virtual · based in Lamar, CO · works with Florida schools
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.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools runs the IEP meetings for most Miami Beach students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
Buildings do not fund services and districts do. Ask which office is deciding before you spend a meeting arguing with the wrong one.
Confirm your child's district by address before you send a letter or name a district-specific process.
The clock that matters starts when you sign consent. In Florida it runs 60 calendar days.
Keep every email. Most of what an advocate does with a Miami Beach file is date-stamping what the school already told you.
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.
Attorneys are licensed. Advocates hold no license, and the difference matters most when a case gets close to a hearing, which is the point where the Miami Beach district starts talking to its own lawyer.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools does not approve or bar advocates. Federal rules let a parent bring anyone with knowledge of the child to the meeting.
An advocate cannot make the district agree. What moves a district is the record you build, not the person sitting next to you, and a good advocate spends more hours on the record than in the room.
What worked for a family in Doral may not fit yours. Ask the advocate what is different about your file before you copy anyone.
Rates and openings decide most of this. An advocate who cannot meet before your Miami Beach meeting date is the wrong hire, and the second-best advocate who is free this month usually beats the best one who is not.
Read a profile for what the advocate actually did, not for what the profile claims. Case detail is the tell.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Miami Beach, Florida, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
How much does an IEP advocate cost in Miami Beach?
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.
Which school district serves Miami Beach, Florida?
Miami-Dade County Public Schools runs the IEP meetings for most Miami Beach students. District lines and city lines are not the same, so confirm yours by address before you send a letter.
How many state indicators does Miami-Dade County Public Schools meet?
The state publishes a district report every year. In the latest one Miami-Dade County Public Schools met 41 of 64, and the link sits with the district facts on this page.
Should my child have an IEP or a Section 504 plan?
The short version. IEP means the school changes what is taught and how, and Section 504 means the school changes the conditions around it.
Who decides a special education complaint in Florida?
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 Miami Beach.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Florida rules apply in Doral, Kendall, Kissimmee, Weston and the other cities listed here, or see every Florida advocate.
Print the current IEP and bring it to the first call. Every advocate on the Miami Beach list will ask for it.
Say the name of your school and Miami-Dade County Public Schools in the first message. That is enough for an advocate to know whether they can take the case.
