Advocates here work with Miami Gardens families and Miami-Dade County Public Schools teams. Each profile lists a rate when the advocate shares one.
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 Gardens usually start looking for an advocate when a meeting is already on the calendar.
During a Miami Gardens IEP meeting an advocate writes down what the team agrees to and asks for it in the document before anyone leaves the room.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools can charge for copies of a file. Asking to inspect the record in person instead costs nothing under federal rules.
No advocate in this directory lists Miami Gardens 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 Austin, TX · works with Florida 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 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 Philadelphia, PA · works with Florida schools
Educational Consultant
I began this journey because my own daughter was issued an IEP in 3rd grade. I didn't understand special education.
15 public schools inside Miami Gardens belong to Miami-Dade 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.
District lines and city lines are not the same thing. A street can sit inside one city and be zoned to the district next door.
Confirm your child's district by address before you send a letter or name a district-specific process.
A written request for an evaluation starts a second clock in Florida, and the district has to answer inside 30 days.
Bring the last two report cards and the current plan. That is usually enough paper to start.
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.
Certification programs exist and some advocates hold them. None of them is issued by the Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services, and none of them is required to sit in a Florida IEP meeting.
A certificate says nothing about Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Ask instead what the advocate has filed there and what came back.
Advocates are not attorneys. No advocate in Miami Gardens can file a lawsuit for you or give you legal advice about the case.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools answers to the parent on the paperwork, so an advocate can draft the letter and you still have to be the one who sends it.
Rates and openings decide most of this. An advocate who cannot meet before your Miami Gardens 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 Gardens, Florida, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
How much does an IEP advocate cost in Miami Gardens?
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.
Can an advocate join an IEP meeting by video?
Video is normal now. A remote advocate reads the file, drafts your concerns and joins the meeting by phone. What a remote advocate cannot do is walk the building or read the room.
Which school district serves Miami Gardens, Florida?
Most Miami Gardens families work with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Charter and magnet enrollment can change which agency owes the service, so ask that question before the first meeting.
How many state indicators does Miami-Dade County Public Schools meet?
41 of 64 indicators met. Read that as a compliance signal rather than a rating, because a district can meet the indicator and still miss the service your child needs.
Is there low cost IEP help anywhere?
Free guidance exists. Parent centers, disability rights agencies and local parent groups all give it, and none of them will attend the meeting as your representative.
Official Florida links for parents in Miami Gardens.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Florida rules apply in Brandon, Clearwater, Lakeland, Riverview 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 Gardens list will ask for it.
Two questions sort most of this out. What would you do first with this file, and what does that cost.
