Virtual · based in Austin, TX · works with Michigan schools
Chelsea Venegas
Educational Advocate
Chelsea Venegas is a special education advocate serving families in Austin, TX.
- From $175 per hour
- Meets by video or phone
IEP advocates in Flint, Michigan
Special education and Section 504 advocates for Flint School District families in Flint.
3 virtual advocates who work with Michigan schools
What an IEP advocate is
Hiring one is optional. Nothing in federal law requires a parent to bring an advocate to an IEP meeting.
The search usually starts the week a parent reads an evaluation report and cannot tell from it whether Flint schools are offering enough.
Before and after a Flint IEP meeting
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 Flint 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.
Virtual advocates who work with Michigan families
These advocates are not based in Michigan. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Leesburg, FL · works with Michigan schools
Evelyn Roman-Santos
CEO IEP Advocate Espanol
Evelyn Roman-Santos is a bilingual Special Education Advocate with 30 years of experience as a School Social Worker.
- From $120 per hour
- Meets in person or by video
Virtual · based in Atlanta, GA · works with Michigan schools
Jalani Traxler
Special Education Advocate
My name is Jalani Traxler and I have loved teaching sense I myself was a student with an IEP receiving my own accommodations in elementary school.
- Dyslexia, Early Childhood, Emotional Regulation, ESY
- From $65 per hour
- Meets in person or by video
See all 26 virtual advocates who work with Michigan families
The district behind a Flint IEP
Flint School District takes most Flint addresses, but not all of them. Check yours before you send a letter, because a request that lands in the wrong district office does not start the evaluation clock at all.
A Farmington Hills parent group can tell you how the same district handled a case like yours, which is worth more to read than a policy page.
- District Flint School District
- County Genesee County
- Public schools inside Flint 11
- Size Flint is the 12th-largest city in Michigan by the 2024 Census estimate
Confirm your child's district by address. Flint addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
What the clock is here
A written request for an evaluation starts a second clock in Michigan, and the district has to answer inside 10 school days.
Put the request in writing and date it. An email to the Flint school counts as writing.
Michigan gives a school district 30 school days to finish an initial special education evaluation. A written request for an evaluation has to be answered inside 10 school days. Missed deadlines are handled by the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education, which takes written state complaints from parents.
No license, no required certification
The Michigan Department of Education oversees special education in Michigan. It does not license the advocates parents hire.
Check the references and not the letters after the name. Two calls to past clients settle it faster than any credential list.
Where advocacy stops
No advocate can promise a placement or an outcome in Flint. Anyone who does is selling you something.
Advocates who have never seen the file cannot tell you what is missing from it. Send the records first and book the call second.
Who serves Flint today
No advocate is listed in every city. A remote advocate who knows Michigan rules is usually a better hire for Flint than a local one who does not.
Advocates who take Farmington Hills cases usually take these too. Say where you are in the first email so nobody wastes a week finding out.
Flint IEP and Section 504 advocate FAQ
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Flint, Michigan, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What do special education advocates charge in Flint, Michigan?
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.
Do I need an advocate for a routine annual review?
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.
Can we work with an advocate who lives outside Michigan?
Video is normal now. A remote advocate reads the file, drafts your concerns and joins the meeting by phone. What a remote advocate cannot do is walk the building or read the room.
Who runs special education for Flint schools?
Most of the city sits inside Flint School District. 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.
What documents does an advocate need from me?
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 special education resources in Michigan
Official Michigan links for parents in Flint.
Sources for the Michigan rules on this page
- Mich. Admin. Code R 340.1721b (Mich. Admin. Code R 340.1721b)
- Mich. Admin. Code R 340.1721 (Mich. Admin. Code R 340.1721)
- MDE Dispute Resolution Options
- MDE Special Education
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
Nearby cities in Michigan
The same Michigan rules apply in Farmington Hills, Rochester Hills, Southfield, Troy and the other cities listed here, or see every Michigan advocate.
Before you contact anyone
Send the same two questions to every advocate you contact in Flint and Farmington Hills. Ask for the rate and for the first date they can meet.
Have the most recent Flint School District progress report open on the first call. It shows whether the goals moved at all.
