Special education and Section 504 advocates for Anne Arundel County Public Schools families in Severn.
1 based in Maryland · 3 virtual advocates who work with Maryland schools
Advocates get hired after a meeting goes badly, rarely before the first one, which is why most of them start by reading a file that already carries a year of history in it.
Severn parents tend to call at one of two moments. The first is before an initial evaluation and the second is after a service quietly disappears from the plan.
Paperwork is where cases are won or lost, and an advocate who has read every progress report in the file will find the sentence a Severn team wrote two years ago that contradicts what it is saying now.
Request the full file in writing before you hire anyone. Schools have to give parents the education records they keep.
No advocate in this directory lists Severn 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 Hawthorne, NJ · works with Maryland schools
IEP Consultant, School Social Worker, Advocacy
I am a Child Study Team School Social Worker, with a Master of Social Work from Fordham University. I have core competencies in special education law, mental health, and behavioral health.
Virtual · based in Bloomington, IL · works with Maryland 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 25 virtual advocates who work with Maryland families
Anne Arundel County Public Schools runs the IEP meetings for most Severn students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
An Odenton parent group can tell you how the same district handled a case like yours, which is worth more to read than a policy page.
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.
Write down what you want the school to add, in one page, before you walk into the Severn meeting, because a team that reads your list in advance cannot pretend it never came up.
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.
Training varies, and so does what it proves. A parent who asks how many Severn IEP meetings an advocate sat in last year learns more than a certificate would show.
Membership in a professional body is not a licence. It usually means dues were paid and a code of conduct was signed.
No advocate can promise a placement or an outcome in Severn. Anyone who does is selling you something.
You sign, not the advocate. Consent and the plan itself both need a parent signature.
No advocate is listed in every city. A remote advocate who knows Maryland rules is usually a better hire for Severn than a local one who does not.
Advocates who take Odenton 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 Severn, Maryland, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
How much should I budget for one IEP meeting?
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.
Is remote IEP advocacy allowed?
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.
What district will be at my IEP meeting in Severn?
Anne Arundel County Public Schools runs the IEP meetings for most Severn students. District lines and city lines are not the same, so confirm yours by address before you send a letter.
Does the state provide a free advocate?
Free guidance exists. Parent centers, disability rights agencies and local parent groups all give it, and none of them will attend the meeting as your representative.
What is the fastest way to see the school file?
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.
Official Maryland links for parents in Severn.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Maryland rules apply in Odenton, Mitchellville, Largo, Lanham and the other cities listed here, or see every Maryland advocate.
You are not limited to advocates inside Severn. The closest listed office is in Leonardtown, and distance matters less than whether that person has worked a case in your district.
Have the most recent Anne Arundel County Public Schools progress report open on the first call. It shows whether the goals moved at all.
