Special education and Section 504 advocates for Montgomery County Public Schools families in Rockville.
1 based in Maryland · 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.
Parents in Rockville usually start looking for an advocate when a meeting is already on the calendar.
Advocates also coach. Some Rockville parents hire one for two hours of prep and go into the meeting alone.
Montgomery 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 Rockville 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 Wesley Chapel, FL · works with Maryland schools
Special Education Advocate
With 24 years of experience in the K-12 sector, I serves as a Student Support Specialist specializing in academic and behavioral ESE services.
Virtual · based in San Diego, CA · works with Maryland 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 Midland, TX · works with Maryland schools
Special Education Advocate
Kate Keenan is a special education advocate serving families in Midland, TX.
See all 24 virtual advocates who work with Maryland families
30 public schools inside Rockville belong to Montgomery 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.
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.
Confirm your child's district by address before you send a letter or name a district-specific process.
The deadline for finishing an initial evaluation in Maryland is 60 days after parental consent and 90 days after the written referral. Put that date on your calendar the day the paperwork goes in.
Bring the last two report cards and the current plan. That is usually enough paper to start.
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.
Attorneys are licensed. Advocates hold no license, and the difference matters most when a case gets close to a hearing, which is the point where the Rockville district starts talking to its own lawyer.
Montgomery County Public Schools does not approve or bar advocates. Federal rules let a parent bring anyone with knowledge of the child to the meeting.
Advocates are not attorneys. No advocate in Rockville can file a lawsuit for you or give you legal advice about the case.
What worked for a family in Bethesda may not fit yours. Ask the advocate what is different about your file before you copy anyone.
Video is normal now. 24 of the advocates listed for Rockville 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.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Rockville, 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.
Is an IEP advocate a type of lawyer?
An advocate is not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice or file a lawsuit. What an advocate can do is build the written record a lawyer would need later.
Can I hire a virtual advocate if we live in Rockville?
Yes. IDEA, the federal special education law, requires parent participation in IEP meetings and allows alternative means such as video or phone when you and the school agree. Your advocate does not have to live nearby.
Does Montgomery County Public Schools cover every Rockville address?
Most of the city sits inside Montgomery County Public Schools. 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.
Who investigates a school for missing an IEP deadline?
The Maryland State 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 Maryland links for parents in Rockville.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Maryland rules apply in Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Ellicott City, Towson 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 Rockville file, and hire the one whose answer is specific enough that you could write it down as a task.
Do not sign anything at the first meeting if you are unsure. Consent can wait a day.
