Special education and Section 504 advocates for Hawaii Department of Education families in Kailua.
3 virtual advocates who work with Hawaii schools
An advocate is a paid professional who reads the evaluation reports, drafts your concerns, sits beside you at the IEP table, and follows up on whatever the school agreed to do.
The search usually starts the week a parent reads an evaluation report and cannot tell from it whether Kailua schools are offering enough.
During a Kailua IEP meeting an advocate writes down what the team agrees to and asks for it in the document before anyone leaves the room.
Hawaii Department of Education can charge for copies of a file. Asking to inspect the record in person instead costs nothing under federal rules.
These advocates are not based in Hawaii. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in San Antonio, TX · works with Hawaii 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 Hawaii 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 New York, NY · works with Hawaii 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…
11 public schools inside Kailua belong to Hawaii Department of Education. 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.
The clock that matters starts when you sign consent. In Hawaii it runs 60 calendar days.
Ask the Kailua 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.
Hawaii 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 15 calendar days. Missed deadlines are handled by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education, Exceptional Support Branch, which takes written state complaints from parents.
Hawaii does not license or certify special education advocates. Anyone in Kailua can print a card with the word advocate on it.
A certificate says nothing about Hawaii Department of Education. Ask instead what the advocate has filed there and what came back.
Hiring an advocate does not pause a deadline or undo a meeting that already happened. The work starts from wherever the Kailua file sits today.
What worked for a family in Kaneohe may not fit yours. Ask the advocate what is different about your file before you copy anyone.
Video is normal now. 26 of the advocates listed for Kailua work with families by phone or video instead of driving to the school.
Read a profile for what the advocate actually did, not for what the profile claims. Case detail is the tell.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Kailua, Hawaii, 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.
When should I hire a special education advocate in Kailua?
Most parents call after a school says no to testing, after goals repeat unchanged for a year, or a week before an annual review. Earlier is cheaper. An advocate hired the night before a meeting can only read so much.
Does Hawaii Department of Education cover every Kailua address?
Most Kailua families work with Hawaii Department of Education. Charter and magnet enrollment can change which agency owes the service, so ask that question before the first meeting.
How long can a school take to test my child?
Hawaii sets its own deadline and it is 60 calendar days. Federal law lets a state do that, so a timeline a parent reads on a national site may not be the one running here.
Can an advocate help with a 504 plan and not an IEP?
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.
Official Hawaii links for parents in Kailua.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Hawaii rules apply in Kaneohe, Waipahu, Hilo, Kahului and the other cities listed here, or see every Hawaii advocate.
If nobody here fits, check the Kaneohe page next. The same Hawaii rules apply there.
Two questions sort most of this out. What would you do first with this file, and what does that cost.
