Special education and Section 504 advocates for Community Consolidated School District 62 families in Des Plaines.
4 based in Illinois · 3 virtual advocates who work with Illinois schools
The job is plain. An advocate knows what services the school owes your child and asks for them in writing.
Parents in Des Plaines usually start looking for an advocate when a meeting is already on the calendar.
During a Des Plaines IEP meeting an advocate writes down what the team agrees to and asks for it in the document before anyone leaves the room.
Records live with Community Consolidated School District 62, 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 Des Plaines as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of Illinois, and each card names the city.
Based in Arlington Heights, IL
Special Education Advocate
I am a former special education teacher, with experience in public and therapeutic day schools.
Based in Inverness, IL
Special Education Advocate
I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University and a Master’s of Education from DePaul University, with a dual certification in elementary and…
Based in Bloomington, IL
Founder & Advocate
Jade is a former special education teacher who has taught everything from pre-k all the way to transition classrooms with students up to age 21.
These advocates are not based in Illinois. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Austin, TX · works with Illinois schools
Special Education Advocate
Hi, My name is David Gonzales. Living in Austin, TX, but originally from Los Angeles, CA. I carry a masters degree in special education and currently practice as a sped teacher.
Virtual · based in Springfield, MA · works with Illinois schools
N/A
My parent advocacy experience in special education began with students diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum, assisting parents with IEP language, asking the appropriate questions to get the answers they…
Virtual · based in Houston, TX · works with Illinois schools
Special Education Advocate
~Beginning of school year document review sale - $50(Up to 4hrs) Non-Attorney Certified Special Education Advocate with 13 years of healthcare experience & 2 years of advocacy experience.
See all 27 virtual advocates who work with Illinois families
11 public schools inside Des Plaines belong to Community Consolidated School District 62. 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. Des Plaines addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
The deadline for finishing an initial evaluation in Illinois is 60 school days. Put that date on your calendar the day the paperwork goes in.
Bring the last two report cards and the current plan. That is usually enough paper to start.
Illinois gives a school district 60 school days to finish an initial special education evaluation. A written request for an evaluation has to be answered inside 14 school days. Missed deadlines are handled by the Illinois State Board of Education, Special Education Department, which takes written state complaints from parents.
Illinois does not license or certify special education advocates. Anyone in Des Plaines can print a card with the word advocate on it.
A certificate says nothing about Community Consolidated School District 62. Ask instead what the advocate has filed there and what came back.
Advocates are not attorneys. No advocate in Des Plaines can file a lawsuit for you or give you legal advice about the case.
What worked for a family in Orland Park may not fit yours. Ask the advocate what is different about your file before you copy anyone.
Video is normal now. 27 of the advocates listed for Des Plaines work with families by phone or video instead of driving to the school.
Ask for two references from cases like yours. Somebody who cannot produce one has not worked many.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Des Plaines, Illinois, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What is the hourly rate for a parent advocate?
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.
When should I hire a special education advocate in Des Plaines?
No fixed trigger exists. The useful test is whether you can tell from the paperwork what the school is actually offering, and whether the last thing you asked for came back in writing.
Is an IEP advocate a type of lawyer?
An advocate is not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice or file a lawsuit. What an advocate can do is build the written record a lawyer would need later.
Does Community Consolidated School District 62 cover every Des Plaines address?
Community Consolidated School District 62 runs the IEP meetings for most Des Plaines students. District lines and city lines are not the same, so confirm yours by address before you send a letter.
Who investigates a school for missing an IEP deadline?
Written complaints go to the Illinois State Board of Education. It decides on the paperwork rather than at a hearing, so dates and documents are what the decision turns on.
Official Illinois links for parents in Des Plaines.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Illinois rules apply in Orland Park, Skokie, Mount Prospect, Palatine and the other cities listed here, or see every Illinois advocate.
Start with two calls, not six. Ask each advocate what they would do first with a Des Plaines file, and hire the one whose answer is specific enough that you could write it down as a task.
Say the name of your school and Community Consolidated School District 62 in the first message. That is enough for an advocate to know whether they can take the case.
