Special education and Section 504 advocates for DeKalb County Public Schools families in Decatur.
4 based in Georgia · 3 virtual advocates who work with Georgia 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 Decatur 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.
Records live with DeKalb 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 Decatur as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of Georgia, and each card names the city.
Based in Flowery Branch, GA
Special education advocate/ IEP consultant
I am a certified special education teacher and I am also a behavior specialist. I am also a mother to a child with Behavioral issues on an IEP, and another child with a 504.
Based in Atlanta, GA
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.
Based in Atlanta, GA
School Psychologist & Parent Advocate
I’m a certified School Psychologist, Parent Advocate, and Coach dedicated to helping families navigate special education with confidence.
These advocates are not based in Georgia. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Hawthorne, NJ · works with Georgia 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 Leesburg, FL · works with Georgia schools
CEO IEP Advocate Espanol
Evelyn Roman-Santos is a bilingual Special Education Advocate with 30 years of experience as a School Social Worker.
Virtual · based in Harrisburg, PA · works with Georgia schools
Special Education Advocate
I’m a special education teacher with experience supporting students with behavioral, intellectual, and learning needs.
DeKalb County Public Schools takes most Decatur 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.
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. Decatur addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
Once you sign consent for testing, a Georgia district has 60 calendar days to finish an initial evaluation, and that clock does not stop because a case manager is out or the file went to the wrong building.
Keep every email. Most of what an advocate does with a Decatur file is date-stamping what the school already told you.
Georgia gives a school district 60 calendar days to finish an initial special education evaluation. No Georgia rule sets a separate deadline for answering a written request, so the federal reasonable-time standard is what applies. Missed deadlines are handled by the Georgia Department of Education, Division for Exceptional Children, 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 Decatur district starts talking to its own lawyer.
Advocates who work Sugar Hill and here see the same state rules twice a week. Repetition inside one state is the practice worth paying for.
Advocates are not attorneys. No advocate in Decatur can file a lawsuit for you or give you legal advice about the case.
Nobody can undo a meeting you already agreed to in writing. Read the page you are asked to sign before the room empties.
Rates and openings decide most of this. An advocate who cannot meet before your Decatur meeting date is the wrong hire, and the second-best advocate who is free this month usually beats the best one who is not.
Distance is a scheduling problem and not a legal one. Meetings run by video whenever the parent and the school both agree to it.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Decatur, Georgia, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
How much does an IEP advocate cost in Decatur?
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.
Do I need a lawyer or an advocate for my child?
No. Advocates prepare for meetings, read the records and negotiate with the district. Attorneys file due process complaints and appear at hearings, which an advocate cannot do.
Which school district serves Decatur, Georgia?
Most of the city sits inside DeKalb 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.
Do advocates handle accommodation plans?
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.
How do I prepare for an IEP meeting in Decatur?
Bring the current IEP or 504 plan, the most recent evaluation report, the last two progress reports and any email where the school said no. An advocate who has those before the call can tell you what is missing in ten minutes.
Official Georgia links for parents in Decatur.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Georgia rules apply in Sugar Hill, Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Winder and the other cities listed here, or see every Georgia advocate.
Print the current IEP and bring it to the first call. Every advocate on the Decatur list will ask for it.
Say the name of your school and DeKalb County Public Schools in the first message. That is enough for an advocate to know whether they can take the case.
