Novi Community School District staff run the IEP meetings in Novi. These advocates sit on your side of the table.
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.
Most of the work happens before anyone sits down in a Novi conference room.
Advocates also coach. Some Novi parents hire one for two hours of prep and go into the meeting alone.
Novi Community School District keeps progress data on every goal in the plan. Ask for it as a table of dates and numbers rather than a paragraph.
No advocate in this directory lists Novi 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 Fairfax, VA · works with Michigan schools
Special Education Advocate
As the founder of The Table Advocacy and parent, I understand how important it is to feel heard, supported, and confident when advocating for your child.
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 Elmo, UT · works with Michigan schools
Parent Advocate or School Navigation Consultant.
With a Master's in School Counseling and years inside public schools, I bring an insider's perspective. I've led hundreds of IEP and 504 meetings, backed by specialized legal training.
See all 30 virtual advocates who work with Michigan families
8 public schools inside Novi belong to Novi Community School District. Each one has its own case manager and its own backlog, and the answer you get about scheduling depends on which building your child attends.
Buildings do not fund services and districts do. Ask which office is deciding before you spend a meeting arguing with the wrong one.
Confirm your child's district by address. Novi addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
The clock that matters starts when you sign consent. In Michigan it runs 30 school days.
Bring the last two report cards and the current plan. That is usually enough paper to start.
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.
A certificate says nothing about Novi Community School District. Ask instead what the advocate has filed there and what came back.
Hiring an advocate does not pause a deadline or undo a meeting that already happened. The work starts from wherever the Novi file sits today.
Novi Community School District answers to the parent on the paperwork, so an advocate can draft the letter and you still have to be the one who sends it.
Rates and openings decide most of this. An advocate who cannot meet before your Novi meeting date is the wrong hire, and the second-best advocate who is free this month usually beats the best one who is not.
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 Novi, Michigan, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What is the hourly rate for a parent advocate?
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.
Does Novi Community School District cover every Novi address?
Most Novi families work with Novi Community School District. Charter and magnet enrollment can change which agency owes the service, so ask that question before the first meeting.
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?
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.
Which plan covers therapy and specialized instruction?
The short version. IEP means the school changes what is taught and how, and Section 504 means the school changes the conditions around it.
Official Michigan links for parents in Novi.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Michigan rules apply in Kalamazoo, Traverse City, Grand Blanc, Southfield 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 Novi file, and hire the one whose answer is specific enough that you could write it down as a task.
Do not sign anything at the first meeting if you are unsure. Consent can wait a day.
