Advocates here work with Houma families and Terrebonne Parish Public Schools teams. Each profile lists a rate when the advocate shares one.
3 virtual advocates who work with Louisiana schools
An IEP advocate goes to school meetings with you and argues for services your child is not getting.
Most of the work happens before anyone sits down in a Houma conference room.
During a Houma 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 Terrebonne Parish Public Schools, not with the front office of one building, and a request addressed to the district gets a faster answer than one that is not.
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 Newcastle, OK · works with Louisiana schools
Special Education Advocate - IEP Consultant
Former special education teacher and educational advocate with experience on both sides of the IEP table.
Virtual · based in Leesburg, FL · works with Louisiana schools
CEO IEP Advocate Espanol
Evelyn Roman-Santos is a bilingual Special Education Advocate with 30 years of experience as a School Social Worker.
Virtual · based in Katy, TX · works with Louisiana schools
Special Education Advocate
Besides being a parent of a neurodivergent son, I have been a special education teacher, diagnostician, and advocate for the past 30 years. I am a true hands-on, walk in your shoes type of advocate.
See all 25 virtual advocates who work with Louisiana families
Terrebonne Parish Public Schools runs the IEP meetings for most Houma students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
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. Houma addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
The deadline for finishing an initial evaluation in Louisiana is 60 business days. Put that date on your calendar the day the paperwork goes in.
Ask the Houma 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.
Louisiana gives a school district 60 business days to finish an initial special education evaluation. A written request for an evaluation has to be answered inside 10 business days. Missed deadlines are handled by the Louisiana Department of Education, Division of Diverse Learners, which takes written state complaints from parents.
Certification programs exist and some advocates hold them. None of them is issued by the Louisiana Department of Education, Division of Diverse Learners, and none of them is required to sit in a Louisiana IEP meeting.
A certificate says nothing about Terrebonne Parish Public Schools. Ask instead what the advocate has filed there and what came back.
Advocates are not attorneys. No advocate in Houma can file a lawsuit for you or give you legal advice about the case.
Nobody can undo a meeting you already agreed to in writing. Read the page you are asked to sign before the room empties.
Video is normal now. 25 of the advocates listed for Houma 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 Houma, Louisiana, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What is the hourly rate for a parent advocate?
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.
Does Terrebonne Parish Public Schools cover every Houma address?
Most Houma families work with Terrebonne Parish Public Schools. 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?
Louisiana sets its own deadline and it is 60 business 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.
What can I do if I cannot afford an advocate?
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.
Official Louisiana links for parents in Houma.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Louisiana rules apply in Prairieville, Slidell, Alexandria, Mandeville and the other cities listed here, or see every Louisiana advocate.
Send the same two questions to every advocate you contact in Houma and Prairieville. Ask for the rate and for the first date they can meet.
Do not sign anything at the first meeting if you are unsure. Consent can wait a day.
