Special education and Section 504 advocates for DeKalb County Public Schools families in Dunwoody.
5 based in Georgia · 3 virtual advocates who work with Georgia schools
Advocates get hired after a meeting goes badly, rarely before the first one, which is why most of them start by reading a file that already carries a year of history in it.
Families in Dunwoody and Gainesville run into the same problem. The school says the current plan is working, and the progress report shows the same goal repeated from last year with the same numbers under it.
After the meeting the work is dull. The advocate reads the draft against the notes and sends a correction back the same week.
Read the evaluation report twice. The second read is where the missing service usually shows up.
No advocate in this directory lists Dunwoody 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 San Diego, CA · works with Georgia 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 Leonardtown, MD · works with Georgia schools
Special Education Advocate
Douglas Hubscher is the Founder and President of Kids Are First, LLC, a special education advocacy firm dedicated to helping families navigate the IEP and 504 process with confidence, clarity, and…
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 runs the IEP meetings for most Dunwoody students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
A Gainesville 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.
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.
Put the request in writing and date it. An email to the Dunwoody school counts as 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.
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 Georgia rules is usually a better hire for Dunwoody than a local one who does not.
Ask whether the advocate has sat in a DeKalb County Public Schools meeting before. The answer is a yes or a no and it tells you a great deal.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Dunwoody, Georgia, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What do special education advocates charge in Dunwoody, Georgia?
Flat fees are common for a single meeting and hourly billing is common for everything else. Many advocates give a free first call. Nobody bills you through this site, so ask each person how they invoice.
Who runs special education for Dunwoody schools?
Most Dunwoody 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.
What should a records request say?
Ask for the full file, which means every evaluation, the progress data behind each goal and any email where the school said no. Put it in writing and keep the date.
What is the difference between an IEP and a 504 plan?
An IEP is the stronger document because it carries goals, service minutes and progress reporting. Section 504 plans are faster to write and easier for a district to agree to.
What documents does an advocate need from me?
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 Dunwoody.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Georgia rules apply in Gainesville, Valdosta, Newnan, Smyrna and the other cities listed here, or see every Georgia advocate.
Send the same two questions to every advocate you contact in Dunwoody and Gainesville. Ask for the rate and for the first date they can meet.
Have the most recent DeKalb County Public Schools progress report open on the first call. It shows whether the goals moved at all.
