Palm Beach County Public Schools staff run the IEP meetings in West Palm Beach. These advocates sit on your side of the table.
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.
West Palm Beach parents tend to call at one of two moments. The first is before an initial evaluation and the second is after a service quietly disappears from the plan.
Paperwork is where cases are won or lost, and an advocate who has read every progress report in the file will find the sentence a West Palm Beach team wrote two years ago that contradicts what it is saying now.
Note what changed at home. Teachers see one room for one hour and parents see the rest of the day.
No advocate in this directory lists West Palm Beach 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 New York, NY · works with Florida schools
Special Education Advocate
Clara Liriano, M.S., is a Special Education Advocate and New York State Certified Special Education Teacher with more than 20 years of experience supporting children and individuals with…
Virtual · based in San Antonio, TX · works with Florida schools
FamilyADDventures.com
Nicole Santiago is a learning specialist and an advocate (IEP coach). She is a member of COPAA.org and ensures special education students receive the most appropriate educational services possible.
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.
33 public schools inside West Palm Beach belong to Palm Beach 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 Coral Springs 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.
Put the request in writing and date it. An email to the West Palm Beach school counts as writing.
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 West Palm Beach IEP meetings an advocate sat in last year learns more than a certificate would show.
Membership in a professional body is not a licence. It usually means dues were paid and a code of conduct was signed.
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.
You sign, not the advocate. Consent and the plan itself both need a parent signature.
No advocate is listed in every city. A remote advocate who knows Florida rules is usually a better hire for West Palm Beach than a local one who does not.
Advocates who take Coral Springs 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 West Palm Beach, Florida, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What do special education advocates charge in West Palm Beach, Florida?
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.
Who runs special education for West Palm Beach schools?
Palm Beach County Public Schools runs the IEP meetings for most West Palm Beach students. District lines and city lines are not the same, so confirm yours by address before you send a letter.
Are there free IEP advocates in West Palm Beach?
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.
What should a records request say?
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 is the difference between an IEP and a 504 plan?
The short version. IEP means the school changes what is taught and how, and Section 504 means the school changes the conditions around it.
Official Florida links for parents in West Palm Beach.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Florida rules apply in Coral Springs, Lakeland, Clearwater, Miramar and the other cities listed here, or see every Florida advocate.
If nobody here fits, check the Coral Springs page next. The same Florida rules apply there.
Keep a one-page timeline of what happened and when. Every advocate you talk to will start by building the same thing.
