Special education and Section 504 advocates for Salina Public Schools families in Salina.
3 virtual advocates who work with Kansas schools
Hiring one is optional. Nothing in federal law requires a parent to bring an advocate to an IEP meeting.
Salina parents tend to call at one of two moments. The first is before an initial evaluation and the second is after a service quietly disappears from the plan.
Paperwork is where cases are won or lost, and an advocate who has read every progress report in the file will find the sentence a Salina team wrote two years ago that contradicts what it is saying now.
Note what changed at home. Teachers see one room for one hour and parents see the rest of the day.
These advocates are not based in Kansas. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Oscoda, MI · works with Kansas schools
Special Education Advocate | Certified Neurodiversity Coach | Certified Neuropsychology Coach
Michelle Velazquez is a Special Education Advocate, Educational Consultant, Master IEP Coach®, and Certified Neurodiversity and Neuropsychology Coach.
Virtual · based in Inverness, IL · works with Kansas schools
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…
Virtual · based in Kansas City, MO · works with Kansas schools
Navigate Special Education with Clarity and Confidence - Guiding Families. Building Futures.
Dr. Diane is a special education advocate and founder of Steppingstone Services, LLC. She holds a Ph.D.
Salina Public Schools runs the IEP meetings for most Salina students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
Parents in Manhattan face the same paperwork. Rules do not change from one town to the next inside a state.
Confirm your child's district by address before you send a letter or name a district-specific process.
No Kansas deadline applies to a written evaluation request. Federal rules still require a response within a reasonable time.
Put the request in writing and date it. An email to the Salina school counts as writing.
Kansas gives a school district 60 school days to finish an initial special education evaluation. No Kansas 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 Kansas State Department of Education, Special Education team, Division of Learning Services, which takes written state complaints from parents.
The Kansas State Department of Education oversees special education in Kansas. 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.
No advocate can promise a placement or an outcome in Salina. Anyone who does is selling you something.
You sign, not the advocate. Consent and the plan itself both need a parent signature.
Video is normal now. 31 of the advocates listed for Salina work with families by phone or video instead of driving to the school.
Ask whether the advocate has sat in a Salina 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 Salina, Kansas, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What do special education advocates charge in Salina, Kansas?
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.
Do I need an advocate for a routine annual review?
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.
What is the difference between an IEP advocate and a special education attorney?
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.
Who runs special education for Salina schools?
Salina Public Schools runs the IEP meetings for most Salina students. District lines and city lines are not the same, so confirm yours by address before you send a letter.
Can I bring an advocate to a Section 504 meeting?
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 Kansas links for parents in Salina.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Kansas rules apply in Manhattan, Lenexa, Shawnee, Lawrence and the other cities listed here, or see every Kansas advocate.
Send the same two questions to every advocate you contact in Salina and Manhattan. Ask for the rate and for the first date they can meet.
Have the most recent Salina Public Schools progress report open on the first call. It shows whether the goals moved at all.
