See who is based in Leonardtown and who works with Maryland schools by video before you contact anyone.
1 based in Leonardtown · 3 virtual advocates who work with Maryland schools
The job is plain. An advocate knows what services the school owes your child and asks for them in writing.
Most of the work happens before anyone sits down in a Leonardtown conference room.
Before the meeting an advocate reads the current IEP against the evaluation reports, pulls the progress data to see whether the goals are actually being met, writes your concerns into one page, and sends it to the team in advance.
Read the evaluation report twice. The second read is where the missing service usually shows up.
This advocate lists Leonardtown as their home base. Compare rates, read their background, and message them directly.
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 Katy, TX · works with Maryland 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.
Virtual · based in Elmo, UT · works with Maryland schools
Parent Advocate or School Navigation Consultant.
With a Master's in School Counseling and years inside public schools, I bring an insider's perspective. I've led hundreds of IEP and 504 meetings, backed by specialized legal training.
Virtual · based in Springfield, MA · works with Maryland schools
N/A
My parent advocacy experience in special education began with students diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum, assisting parents with IEP language, asking the appropriate questions to get the answers they…
See all 26 virtual advocates who work with Maryland families
Districts, not schools, hold the special education money in Maryland, which is why the answer in a Leonardtown meeting is sometimes about a budget nobody in the room controls.
Buildings do not fund services and districts do. Ask which office is deciding before you spend a meeting arguing with the wrong one.
No Maryland deadline applies to a written evaluation request. Federal rules still require a response within a reasonable time.
Keep every email. Most of what an advocate does with a Leonardtown file is date-stamping what the school already told you.
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.
Certification programs exist and some advocates hold them. None of them is issued by the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special Education, and none of them is required to sit in a Maryland IEP meeting.
Advocates who work Capitol Heights and here see the same state rules twice a week. Repetition inside one state is the practice worth paying for.
Advocates are not attorneys. No advocate in Leonardtown can file a lawsuit for you or give you legal advice about the case.
Advocates who have never seen the file cannot tell you what is missing from it. Send the records first and book the call second.
One advocate listed here, Doug, works out of Leonardtown. The others reach Maryland families by video or by driving in.
Advocates who take Capitol Heights cases usually take these too. Say where you are in the first email so nobody wastes a week finding out.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Leonardtown, Maryland, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
How much does an IEP advocate cost in Leonardtown?
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.
How long does the IEP evaluation process take in Maryland?
Maryland sets its own deadline and it is 60 days after parental consent and 90 days after the written referral. Federal law lets a state do that, so a timeline a parent reads on a national site may not be the one running here.
What records should I ask for before an IEP meeting?
Ask in writing and address it to the district rather than the front office. Schools have to let parents inspect the education records they keep, and inspection has to happen before the next IEP meeting.
Should my child have an IEP or a Section 504 plan?
The short version. IEP means the school changes what is taught and how, and Section 504 means the school changes the conditions around it.
How do I prepare for an IEP meeting in Leonardtown?
Bring the current IEP or 504 plan, the most recent evaluation report, the last two progress reports and any email where the school said no. An advocate who has those before the call can tell you what is missing in ten minutes.
Official Maryland links for parents in Leonardtown.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Maryland rules apply in Capitol Heights, Hyattsville, Greenbelt, Upper Marlboro and the other cities listed here, or see every Maryland advocate.
Print the current IEP and bring it to the first call. Every advocate on the Leonardtown list will ask for it.
Free calls are common. Use them to compare people, not to collect advice for nothing.
