Special education and Section 504 advocates for Orange County Public Schools families in Orlando.
3 based in Florida · 3 virtual advocates who work with Florida schools
An advocate is a paid professional who reads the evaluation reports, drafts your concerns, sits beside you at the IEP table, and follows up on whatever the school agreed to do.
Most of the work happens before anyone sits down in an Orlando conference room.
During an Orlando IEP meeting an advocate writes down what the team agrees to and asks for it in the document before anyone leaves the room.
Orange 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 Orlando 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 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 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 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…
151 public schools inside Orlando belong to Orange 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.
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.
Federal law lets a state write its own evaluation deadline instead of using the national one. What Florida actually requires is 60 calendar days.
Ask the Orlando team for the evaluation report before the meeting, not at it, because nobody reads a long report accurately while the rest of the team waits.
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 Orlando district starts talking to its own lawyer.
Orange 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.
Orange 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.
Video is normal now. 23 of the advocates listed for Orlando work with families by phone or video instead of driving to the school.
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 Orlando, Florida, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What is the hourly rate for a parent advocate?
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.
Does Orange County Public Schools cover every Orlando address?
Orange County Public Schools runs the IEP meetings for most Orlando students. District lines and city lines are not the same, so confirm yours by address before you send a letter.
How do I know where an advocate actually works from?
No advocate is listed in every town, and each card here says where that person lives. Somebody who knows the state rules and has an opening this month usually beats the nearest name on the list.
Which plan covers therapy and specialized instruction?
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 investigates a school for missing an IEP deadline?
The Florida Department of Education takes written complaints from parents about missed deadlines and services never delivered. An advocate can prepare one. The advocate does not decide it and cannot make the district settle.
Official Florida links for parents in Orlando.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Florida rules apply in St. Petersburg, Tampa, Miami, Port St. Lucie and the other cities listed here, or see every Florida advocate.
Start with two calls, not six. Ask each advocate what they would do first with an Orlando file, and hire the one whose answer is specific enough that you could write it down as a task.
Do not sign anything at the first meeting if you are unsure. Consent can wait a day.
