Advocates here work with Livonia families and Livonia Public School District teams. Each profile lists a rate when the advocate shares one.
1 based in Michigan · 3 virtual advocates who work with Michigan schools
An IEP advocate goes to school meetings with you and argues for services your child is not getting.
Livonia is the 8th-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.
During a Livonia IEP meeting an advocate writes down what the team agrees to and asks for it in the document before anyone leaves the room.
Records live with Livonia Public School District, not with the front office of one building, and a request addressed to the district gets a faster answer than one that is not.
No advocate in this directory lists Livonia 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 Newcastle, OK · works with Michigan schools
Special Education Advocate - IEP Consultant
Former special education teacher and educational advocate with experience on both sides of the IEP table.
Virtual · based in Avondale, PA · works with Michigan schools
Personalized support from an Experienced Advocate
I'm Lisa Lightner, a Special Education Advocate with 16 years of experience helping families navigate IEPs, evaluations, placement disputes, and special education challenges.
Virtual · based in Hawthorne, NJ · works with Michigan 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.
See all 30 virtual advocates who work with Michigan families
Livonia Public School District takes most Livonia 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.
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. Livonia 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.
Keep every email. Most of what an advocate does with a Livonia file is date-stamping what the school already told you.
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.
Certification programs exist and some advocates hold them. None of them is issued by the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education, and none of them is required to sit in a Michigan IEP meeting.
Advocates who work Dearborn and here see the same state rules twice a week. Repetition inside one state is the practice worth paying for.
Advocates are not attorneys. No advocate in Livonia can file a lawsuit for you or give you legal advice about the case.
Nobody can undo a meeting you already agreed to in writing. Read the page you are asked to sign before the room empties.
Video is normal now. 30 of the advocates listed for Livonia work with families by phone or video instead of driving to the school.
Read a profile for what the advocate actually did, not for what the profile claims. Case detail is the tell.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Livonia, 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 Livonia Public School District cover every Livonia address?
Most Livonia families work with Livonia Public School District. Charter and magnet enrollment can change which agency owes the service, so ask that question before the first meeting.
How long can a school take to test my child?
The deadline in Michigan for finishing an initial evaluation is 30 school days. Put that date on your calendar the day you sign consent, because the district counts from the paperwork and not from the conversation.
What can I do if I cannot afford an advocate?
No public program assigns you a private advocate. The links under official resources on this page go to the state agency and to the complaint process, and both cost nothing to use.
How do I get my child school records?
A district can charge for copies. Asking to inspect the record in person costs nothing under federal rules, and it is usually faster than waiting for a copy set.
Official Michigan links for parents in Livonia.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Michigan rules apply in Dearborn, Troy, Farmington Hills, Lansing and the other cities listed here, or see every Michigan advocate.
Search is free. You contact advocates directly.
Two questions sort most of this out. What would you do first with this file, and what does that cost.
