Special education and Section 504 advocates for NOLA Public Schools (Orleans Parish School Board) families in New Orleans.
3 virtual advocates who work with Louisiana schools
The job is plain. An advocate knows what services the school owes your child and asks for them in writing.
Parents in New Orleans usually start looking for an advocate when a meeting is already on the calendar.
During a New Orleans 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 NOLA Public Schools (Orleans Parish School Board), 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 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 Oscoda, MI · works with Louisiana 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 Bloomington, IL · works with Louisiana schools
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.
See all 31 virtual advocates who work with Louisiana families
NOLA Public Schools (Orleans Parish School Board) takes most New Orleans addresses, but not all of them. Check yours before you send a letter, because a request that lands in the wrong district office does not start the evaluation clock at all.
District lines and city lines are not the same thing. A street can sit inside one city and be zoned to the district next door.
Almost every New Orleans public school is a charter that operates as its own local education agency, so IEP and Section 504 obligations sit with the individual school. Start with your child's school, and use NOLA Public Schools for authorizer-level complaints.
Federal law lets a state write its own evaluation deadline instead of using the national one. What Louisiana actually requires is 60 business days.
Keep every email. Most of what an advocate does with a New Orleans file is date-stamping what the school already told you.
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 NOLA Public Schools (Orleans Parish School Board). Ask instead what the advocate has filed there and what came back.
Advocates are not attorneys. No advocate in New Orleans can file a lawsuit for you or give you legal advice about the case.
What worked for a family in Shreveport may not fit yours. Ask the advocate what is different about your file before you copy anyone.
No advocate is listed in every city. A remote advocate who knows Louisiana rules is usually a better hire for New Orleans than a local one who does not.
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 New Orleans, Louisiana, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
How much does an IEP advocate cost in New Orleans?
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.
Which school district serves New Orleans, Louisiana?
Most of the city sits inside NOLA Public Schools (Orleans Parish School Board). The district writes the plan and holds the special education budget, which is why a complaint about a missed service names the district and not the school.
How long does the IEP evaluation process take in Louisiana?
The deadline in Louisiana for finishing an initial evaluation is 60 business days. Put that date on your calendar the day you sign consent, because the district counts from the paperwork and not from the conversation.
Do advocates handle accommodation plans?
Nearly every advocate on this page takes both. Compare profiles for experience with accommodations, 504 meetings and school compliance, and ask the school in writing before you bring anyone to a 504 meeting.
Who decides a special education complaint in Louisiana?
The Louisiana Department of Education takes written complaints from parents about missed deadlines and services never delivered. An advocate can prepare one. The advocate does not decide it and cannot make the district settle.
Official Louisiana links for parents in New Orleans.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Louisiana rules apply in Shreveport, Metairie, Lafayette, Lake Charles and the other cities listed here, or see every Louisiana advocate.
If nobody here fits, check the Shreveport page next. The same Louisiana rules apply there.
Two questions sort most of this out. What would you do first with this file, and what does that cost.
