Special education and Section 504 advocates for Leon County Public Schools families in Tallahassee.
3 based in Florida · 3 virtual advocates who work with Florida schools
An IEP advocate goes to school meetings with you and argues for services your child is not getting.
Most of the work happens before anyone sits down in a Tallahassee conference room.
Advocates also coach. Some Tallahassee parents hire one for two hours of prep and go into the meeting alone.
Records live with Leon County Public Schools, not with the front office of one building, and a request addressed to the district gets a faster answer than one that is not.
No advocate in this directory lists Tallahassee 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 Las Vegas, NV · works with Florida schools
IEP Consultant
Hey there! I’ve been a special education teacher for nearly a decade, so helping unique learners thrive is truly my life’s work.
Virtual · based in Cumming, GA · works with Florida schools
Founder
I’m Russell Lloyd, founder of YourChild.org, author, mentor, and special education advocate. I review the record, find the gaps, build the strategy, prepare the parent, and lead IEP meetings.
Virtual · based in Atlanta, GA · works with Florida schools
School Psychologist & Parent Advocate
I’m a certified School Psychologist, Parent Advocate, and Coach dedicated to helping families navigate special education with confidence.
39 public schools inside Tallahassee belong to Leon 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.
A written request for an evaluation starts a second clock in Florida, and the district has to answer inside 30 days.
Ask the Tallahassee 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.
Florida does not license or certify special education advocates. Anyone in Tallahassee can print a card with the word advocate on it.
A certificate says nothing about Leon County Public Schools. Ask instead what the advocate has filed there and what came back.
Advocates are not attorneys. No advocate in Tallahassee can file a lawsuit for you or give you legal advice about the case.
Leon 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 Tallahassee meeting date is the wrong hire, and the second-best advocate who is free this month usually beats the best one who is not.
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 Tallahassee, 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.
Can I hire a virtual advocate if we live in Tallahassee?
Yes. IDEA, the federal special education law, requires parent participation in IEP meetings and allows alternative means such as video or phone when you and the school agree. Your advocate does not have to live nearby.
Does Leon County Public Schools cover every Tallahassee address?
Most of the city sits inside Leon 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.
How do I get my child school records?
A district can charge for copies. Asking to inspect the record in person costs nothing under federal rules, and it is usually faster than waiting for a copy set.
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 Tallahassee.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Florida rules apply in Cape Coral, Fort Lauderdale, Hialeah, Pembroke Pines 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 Tallahassee 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 Leon County Public Schools in the first message. That is enough for an advocate to know whether they can take the case.
