Special education and Section 504 advocates for Montgomery County Public Schools families in Silver Spring.
1 based in Maryland · 3 virtual advocates who work with Maryland schools
Hiring one is optional. Nothing in federal law requires a parent to bring an advocate to an IEP meeting.
Parents in Silver Spring usually start looking for an advocate when a meeting is already on the calendar.
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 Silver Spring team wrote two years ago that contradicts what it is saying now.
Note what changed at home. Teachers see one room for one hour and parents see the rest of the day.
No advocate in this directory lists Silver Spring 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 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 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 Las Vegas, NV · works with Maryland schools
IEP Consultant
Hey there! I’ve been a special education teacher for nearly a decade, so helping unique learners thrive is truly my life’s work.
See all 25 virtual advocates who work with Maryland families
Montgomery County Public Schools runs the IEP meetings for most Silver Spring students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
Families who move between Ellicott City and here change districts, and the new team is not required to keep the old plan word for word.
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 Silver Spring 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.
No state license exists for special education advocacy. No federal agency issues one either, and no exam stands between a person and the title.
Membership in a professional body is not a licence. It usually means dues were paid and a code of conduct was signed.
Advocates do not decide complaints. The Maryland State Department of Education does, and only after someone files one in writing.
You sign, not the advocate. Consent and the plan itself both need a parent signature.
Being listed for Maryland is not the same as taking Silver Spring cases, so read the service area on each of the 1 in-state profiles before you write to anyone.
Experience with Montgomery County Public Schools matters more than the number of years printed on a profile page.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Silver Spring, Maryland, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What do special education advocates charge in Silver Spring, Maryland?
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.
Do I need an advocate for a routine annual review?
Most parents call after a school says no to testing, after goals repeat unchanged for a year, or a week before an annual review. Earlier is cheaper. An advocate hired the night before a meeting can only read so much.
Who runs special education for Silver Spring schools?
Most Silver Spring families work with Montgomery County Public Schools. Charter and magnet enrollment can change which agency owes the service, so ask that question before the first meeting.
What is the evaluation deadline in Maryland?
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.
Where does a written special education complaint go?
Written complaints go to the Maryland State Department of Education. It decides on the paperwork rather than at a hearing, so dates and documents are what the decision turns on.
Official Maryland links for parents in Silver Spring.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Maryland rules apply in Ellicott City, Waldorf, Frederick, Gaithersburg and the other cities listed here, or see every Maryland advocate.
You are not limited to advocates inside Silver Spring. The closest listed office is in Leonardtown, and distance matters less than whether that person has worked a case in your district.
Keep a one-page timeline of what happened and when. Every advocate you talk to will start by building the same thing.
