Miami-Dade County Public Schools staff run the IEP meetings in Pinecrest. 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.
Most of the work happens before anyone sits down in a Pinecrest conference room.
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 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 Pinecrest 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 Diego, CA · works with Florida schools
Special Education Advocate
At the Sanford Autism Advocacy Group (SAAG), we are a small but mighty special education consulting group with an emphasis on Autism and IEPs.
Virtual · based in Atlanta, GA · works with Florida schools
Special Education Advocate
My name is Jalani Traxler and I have loved teaching sense I myself was a student with an IEP receiving my own accommodations in elementary school.
Virtual · based in Inverness, IL · works with Florida schools
Special Education Advocate
I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University and a Master’s of Education from DePaul University, with a dual certification in elementary and…
Miami-Dade County Public Schools takes most Pinecrest addresses, but not all of them. Check yours before you send a letter, because a request that lands in the wrong district office does not start the evaluation clock at all.
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 contacting a school.
The deadline for finishing an initial evaluation in Florida is 60 calendar days. Put that date on your calendar the day the paperwork goes in.
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.
Florida does not license or certify special education advocates. Anyone in Pinecrest can print a card with the word advocate on it.
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.
Hiring an advocate does not pause a deadline or undo a meeting that already happened. The work starts from wherever the Pinecrest file sits today.
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.
Video is normal now. 22 of the advocates listed for Pinecrest work with families by phone or video instead of driving to the school.
Ask for two references from cases like yours. Somebody who cannot produce one has not worked many.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Pinecrest, Florida, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What is the hourly rate for a parent advocate?
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.
Does Miami-Dade County Public Schools cover every Pinecrest address?
Most Pinecrest 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 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.
Can an advocate help with a 504 plan and not an IEP?
Yes. Section 504 work looks the same as IEP work, which is records, a written request and somebody in the room who knows what the school already agreed to.
What should I have ready before the first call with an advocate?
Start with a one-page timeline of what happened and when. Every advocate you talk to will build the same thing, so writing it yourself saves an hour of billed time.
Official Florida links for parents in Pinecrest.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Florida rules apply in Naples, New Port Richey, Opa-locka, Zephyrhills 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 a Pinecrest file, and hire the one whose answer is specific enough that you could write it down as a task.
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.
