Special education and Section 504 advocates for Flint School District families in Flint.
1 based in Michigan · 3 virtual advocates who work with Michigan schools
The job is plain. An advocate knows what services the school owes your child and asks for them in writing.
Flint is the 12th-largest city in Michigan. Size has nothing to do with how well a district runs its IEP meetings, and a small district with one experienced case manager often does better than a large one.
Advocates also coach. Some Flint parents hire one for two hours of prep and go into the meeting alone.
Flint School District can charge for copies of a file. Asking to inspect the record in person instead costs nothing under federal rules.
No advocate in this directory lists Flint as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of Michigan, and each card names the city.
Based in Oscoda, MI
Special Education Advocate | Certified Neurodiversity Coach | Certified Neuropsychology Coach
Michelle Velazquez is a Special Education Advocate, Educational Consultant, Master IEP Coach®, and Certified Neurodiversity and Neuropsychology Coach.
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 Portland, OR · works with Michigan schools
Experienced Special Education Advocate & Former District Administrator
Chelsea Venegas, M.Ed., is the Founder & Special Education Advocate at Access & Bloom. A former special education teacher, school administrator, and district leader, she supports families with IEPs,…
Virtual · based in Leesburg, FL · works with Michigan schools
CEO IEP Advocate Espanol
Evelyn Roman-Santos is a bilingual Special Education Advocate with 30 years of experience as a School Social Worker.
Virtual · based in Atlanta, GA · works with Michigan schools
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.
See all 30 virtual advocates who work with Michigan families
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.
Charter and magnet enrollment changes who owes the service. Ask which agency is responsible before the first meeting.
Confirm your child's district by address. Flint addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
A written request for an evaluation starts a second clock in Michigan, and the district has to answer inside 10 school days.
Ask the Flint team for the evaluation report before the meeting, not at it, because nobody reads a long report accurately while the rest of the team waits.
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.
Michigan does not license or certify special education advocates. Anyone in Flint can print a card with the word advocate on it.
Flint School District does not approve or bar advocates. Federal rules let a parent bring anyone with knowledge of the child to the meeting.
An advocate cannot make the district agree. What moves a district is the record you build, not the person sitting next to you, and a good advocate spends more hours on the record than in the room.
What worked for a family in Farmington Hills may not fit yours. Ask the advocate what is different about your file before you copy anyone.
Video is normal now. 30 of the advocates listed for Flint 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 Flint, Michigan, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What is the hourly rate for a parent advocate?
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.
Does Flint School District cover every Flint address?
Most Flint families work with Flint School District. Charter and magnet enrollment can change which agency owes the service, so ask that question before the first meeting.
How do I know where an advocate actually works from?
No advocate is listed in every town, and each card here says where that person lives. Somebody who knows the state rules and has an opening this month usually beats the nearest name on the list.
Can an advocate help with a 504 plan and not an IEP?
Yes. Section 504 work looks the same as IEP work, which is records, a written request and somebody in the room who knows what the school already agreed to.
Which plan covers therapy and specialized instruction?
An IEP provides specialized instruction and related services under IDEA. A 504 plan provides accommodations under a civil rights law and does not require specialized instruction. Eligibility rules differ, so a child can qualify for one and not the other.
Official Michigan links for parents in Flint.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Michigan rules apply in Farmington Hills, Rochester Hills, Southfield, Troy and the other cities listed here, or see every Michigan advocate.
Start with two calls, not six. Ask each advocate what they would do first with a Flint file, and hire the one whose answer is specific enough that you could write it down as a task.
Say the name of your school and Flint School District in the first message. That is enough for an advocate to know whether they can take the case.
