Find an advocate for your next Louisiana IEP meeting. Advocates are not attorneys and cannot represent you in court.
8 virtual advocates who work with Louisiana schools
Nobody is required to bring one. Federal law lets a parent walk into an IEP meeting alone.
Search happens late. Most people reach this page with a meeting already on the calendar.
Before the meeting an advocate reads the plan against the evaluation and pulls the progress data to see whether the goals actually moved.
Read the report a second time. What is missing usually turns up on that pass and not the first one.
These advocates are not based in Louisiana. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Philadelphia, PA · works with Louisiana schools
Educational Consultant
I began this journey because my own daughter was issued an IEP in 3rd grade. I didn't understand special education.
Virtual · based in Hawthorne, NJ · works with Louisiana 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 Kansas City, MO · works with Louisiana 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.
Virtual · based in Hialeah, FL · works with Louisiana schools
Advocate
I look forward to helping families and their students get the crucial support they need. I have varied experience working with families and educators at the state and local levels.
Virtual · based in Harrisburg, PA · works with Louisiana schools
Special Education Advocate
I’m a special education teacher with experience supporting students with behavioral, intellectual, and learning needs.
Virtual · based in San Diego, CA · works with Louisiana 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 San Antonio, TX · works with Louisiana schools
Special Education Advocate | National COPAA Instructor
As an experienced Special Education Advocate, Executive Function Specialist, and expert IEP Coach, I offer families pathways to ensure they are informed, prepared, and confident as they navigate…
Virtual · based in Austin, TX · works with Louisiana 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.
The state does not attend your meeting. It steps in afterward, once somebody puts a complaint in writing.
Autism accounts for 7,520 students counted under IDEA here.
Once you sign consent for testing, a district in Louisiana has 60 business days to finish an initial evaluation, and that clock keeps running while a case manager is out.
Advocates who take New Orleans cases and advocates who take Shreveport cases work from the same statute, so ask about district experience rather than distance.
Louisiana routes formal complaints to the department's Legal Division, not its Diverse Learners staff. Email the signed complaint to disputeresolution.doe@la.gov, fax it to 225-342-1197, or mail it to the Legal Division, Louisiana Department of Education, P.O. Box 94064, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9064.
Decision timeline
Louisiana does not run one 60-day clock. The department sends your complaint to the district first for a 15-day early resolution period, and the investigator then has 45 days after that ends. Waive early resolution and it is 60 days from receipt. Email after 4:30 p.m. is dated the next business day.
Attorneys are licensed. Advocates in Louisiana are not, and the difference matters most when a case gets close to a hearing and the district starts talking to its own lawyer.
A certificate says nothing about New Orleans. Ask what the advocate has filed with a district here and what came back.
An advocate cannot make a district agree. What moves a district is the record you build, and a good advocate spends more hours on the record than in the room.
What worked for a family in New Orleans may not fit yours, and the first thing worth asking an advocate is what is different about your file.
Video is normal now. 28 of the advocates listed for Louisiana work with families by phone or video instead of driving to the school.
Distance is a scheduling problem and not a legal one. Meetings run by video whenever the parent and the school both agree to it.
Federal rules put no distance requirement on who a parent may bring. Your advocate does not have to live in Louisiana.
A phone call cannot read a classroom. If the question is whether the placement fits, somebody has to go and look.
How it works
Find Parent Advocates is a free directory, not a referral service. You browse profiles, compare rates and reviews, and contact the advocate you choose. We do not assign anyone to you.
Browse
Read the profiles on this page. Rates, service area and case history are the three worth comparing.
Contact
Write to two people rather than six. The first email should carry the district and the meeting date.
Hire
You hire the advocate directly. The agreement is between the two of you.
Work together
Send the file, take the prep call and go into the meeting with a written list.
Find Parent Advocates is not a party to your contractual relationship with the advocate. We are not responsible for the fees or services provided.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Louisiana, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
How much does an IEP advocate cost in Louisiana?
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.
At what point do parents usually call an advocate?
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.
How long does the IEP evaluation process take in Louisiana?
The rule here is 60 business days. It covers the evaluation only. Writing the plan after a child is found eligible is a separate step with its own timing.
Do advocates handle accommodation plans?
Yes, and the rules differ slightly. Section 504 does not spell out who may attend the way IDEA does, so ask the school in writing before the meeting and keep the answer.
Is there low cost IEP help anywhere?
No public program assigns you a private advocate. The links under official resources on this page go to the state agency and to the complaint process, and both cost nothing to use.
Should my child have an IEP or a Section 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.
These links connect you to your state education agency and complaint options. Advocates on this page can also explain what each step means for your child.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
