Advocates here work with Opa-locka 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
Hiring one is optional. Nothing in federal law requires a parent to bring an advocate to an IEP meeting.
The search usually starts the week a parent reads an evaluation report and cannot tell from it whether Opa-locka schools are offering enough.
The meeting itself is the smallest part of the job. Nearly all the hours go into records and email before the Opa-locka 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 Opa-locka 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 Harrisburg, PA · works with Florida schools
Special Education Advocate
I’m a special education teacher with experience supporting students with behavioral, intellectual, and learning needs.
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 Buford, GA · works with Florida schools
Georgia Special Education & IEP Advocate
Dr. Mary Jo Ray-Jewett is the owner and lead advocate of The IEP Guru, LLC, providing special education advocacy throughout Georgia.
7 public schools inside Opa-locka 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.
A New Port Richey 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.
A written request for an evaluation starts a second clock in Florida, and the district has to answer inside 30 days.
Write down what you want the school to add, in one page, before you walk into the Opa-locka meeting, because a team that reads your list in advance cannot pretend it never came up.
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 Opa-locka 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.
Miami-Dade 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 Opa-locka cases, so read the service area on each of the 3 in-state profiles before you write to anyone.
Advocates who take New Port Richey 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 Opa-locka, Florida, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What do special education advocates charge in Opa-locka, Florida?
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.
Who runs special education for Opa-locka schools?
Most of the city sits inside Miami-Dade County Public Schools. 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.
What is the evaluation deadline in Florida?
Florida sets its own deadline and it is 60 calendar days. Federal law lets a state do that, so a timeline a parent reads on a national site may not be the one running here.
Do I have to use an advocate from my own town?
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 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.
Official Florida links for parents in Opa-locka.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Florida rules apply in New Port Richey, St. Augustine, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest and the other cities listed here, or see every Florida advocate.
You are not limited to advocates inside Opa-locka. The closest listed office is in Leesburg, 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.
