Special education and Section 504 advocates for DeKalb County Public Schools families in Decatur.
5 based in Georgia · 3 virtual advocates who work with Georgia schools
Advocates work for you, not for the school. That is the whole difference.
The search usually starts the week a parent reads an evaluation report and cannot tell from it whether Decatur schools are offering enough.
The meeting itself is the smallest part of the job. Nearly all the hours go into records and email before the Decatur team ever sits down.
Request the full file in writing before you hire anyone. Schools have to give parents the education records they keep.
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 a behavior specialist. Additionally, I am a mother to a child with behavioral issues who has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), as well as…
Based in Buford, GA
Georgia Special Education & IEP Advocate
Dr. Mary Jo Ray-Jewett is the owner and lead advocate of The IEP Guru, LLC, providing special education advocacy throughout Georgia.
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.
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.
Families who move between Sugar Hill and here change districts, and the new team is not required to keep the old plan word for word.
Confirm your child's district by address. Decatur addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
Federal law lets a state write its own evaluation deadline instead of using the national one. What Georgia actually requires is 60 calendar days.
If the Decatur team says no, ask for the refusal in writing.
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.
The Georgia Department of Education oversees special education in Georgia. It does not license the advocates parents hire.
Ask what training the advocate actually finished and who ran it. A one-day webinar and a two-year program both end in a certificate.
Advocates do not decide complaints. The Georgia Department of Education does, and only after someone files one in writing.
DeKalb County Public Schools is allowed to say no. What it is not allowed to do is say no without written notice that explains the reason.
Being listed for Georgia is not the same as taking Decatur cases, so read the service area on each of the 5 in-state profiles before you write to anyone.
Experience with DeKalb County Public Schools matters more than the number of years printed on a profile page.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Decatur, Georgia, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
How much should I budget for one IEP meeting?
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.
What district will be at my IEP meeting in Decatur?
Most Decatur families work with DeKalb County Public Schools. Charter and magnet enrollment can change which agency owes the service, so ask that question before the first meeting.
How many days does an initial evaluation take?
The deadline in Georgia for finishing an initial evaluation is 60 calendar days. Put that date on your calendar the day you sign consent, because the district counts from the paperwork and not from the conversation.
What is the fastest way to see the school file?
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.
Is a 504 plan weaker than an IEP?
An IEP provides specialized instruction and related services under IDEA. A 504 plan provides accommodations under a civil rights law and does not require specialized instruction. Eligibility rules differ, so a child can qualify for one and not the other.
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.
You are not limited to advocates inside Decatur. The closest listed office is in Buford, and distance matters less than whether that person has worked a case in your district.
Free calls are common. Use them to compare people, not to collect advice for nothing.
