Prince George's County Public Schools staff run the IEP meetings in Fort Washington. These advocates sit on your side of the table.
1 based in Maryland · 3 virtual advocates who work with Maryland schools
An advocate is a paid professional who reads the evaluation reports, drafts your concerns, sits beside you at the IEP table, and follows up on whatever the school agreed to do.
Most of the work happens before anyone sits down in a Fort Washington conference room.
Advocates also coach. Some Fort Washington parents hire one for two hours of prep and go into the meeting alone.
Prince George's County Public Schools keeps progress data on every goal in the plan. Ask for it as a table of dates and numbers rather than a paragraph.
No advocate in this directory lists Fort Washington as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of Maryland, and each card names the city.
Based in Leonardtown, MD
Special Education Advocate
Douglas Hubscher is the Founder and President of Kids Are First, LLC, a special education advocacy firm dedicated to helping families navigate the IEP and 504 process with confidence, clarity, and…
These advocates are not based in Maryland. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Hialeah, FL · works with Maryland schools
Advocate
Hello! 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 Newcastle, OK · works with Maryland 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 Austin, TX · works with Maryland 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.
See all 25 virtual advocates who work with Maryland families
12 public schools inside Fort Washington belong to Prince George's County Public Schools. 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.
Charter and magnet enrollment changes who owes the service. Ask which agency is responsible before the first meeting.
Confirm your child's district by address before you send a letter or name a district-specific process.
Federal law lets a state write its own evaluation deadline instead of using the national one. What Maryland actually requires is 60 days after parental consent and 90 days after the written referral.
Ask the Fort Washington 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.
Maryland gives a school district 60 days after parental consent and 90 days after the written referral to finish an initial special education evaluation. No Maryland 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 Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special Education, which takes written state complaints from parents.
Maryland does not license or certify special education advocates. Anyone in Fort Washington can print a card with the word advocate on it.
Prince George's County Public Schools does not approve or bar advocates. Federal rules let a parent bring anyone with knowledge of the child to the meeting.
Hiring an advocate does not pause a deadline or undo a meeting that already happened. The work starts from wherever the Fort Washington file sits today.
Prince George's County Public Schools answers to the parent on the paperwork, so an advocate can draft the letter and you still have to be the one who sends it.
Rates and openings decide most of this. An advocate who cannot meet before your Fort Washington meeting date is the wrong hire, and the second-best advocate who is free this month usually beats the best one who is not.
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 Fort Washington, Maryland, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What is the hourly rate for a parent advocate?
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.
When should I hire a special education advocate in Fort Washington?
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.
Does Prince George's County Public Schools cover every Fort Washington address?
Prince George's County Public Schools runs the IEP meetings for most Fort Washington students. District lines and city lines are not the same, so confirm yours by address before you send a letter.
How long can a school take to test my child?
The deadline in Maryland for finishing an initial evaluation is 60 days after parental consent and 90 days after the written referral. Put that date on your calendar the day you sign consent, because the district counts from the paperwork and not from the conversation.
Can an advocate help with a 504 plan and not an IEP?
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.
Official Maryland links for parents in Fort Washington.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Maryland rules apply in Crofton, Glenn Dale, Beltsville, Lanham and the other cities listed here, or see every Maryland advocate.
Start with two calls, not six. Ask each advocate what they would do first with a Fort Washington 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 Prince George's County Public Schools in the first message. That is enough for an advocate to know whether they can take the case.
