New York City Public Schools staff run the IEP meetings in Staten Island. These advocates sit on your side of the table.
1 based in New York · 3 virtual advocates who work with New York schools
An advocate is a paid professional who reads the evaluation reports, drafts your concerns, sits beside you at the IEP table, and follows up on whatever the school agreed to do.
Staten Island parents tend to call at one of two moments. The first is before an initial evaluation and the second is after a service quietly disappears from the plan.
Before the meeting an advocate reads the current IEP against the evaluation reports, pulls the progress data to see whether the goals are actually being met, writes your concerns into one page, and sends it to the team in advance.
Records live with New York City Public Schools, 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 Staten Island as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of New York, and each card names the city.
Based in New York, NY
Special Education Advocate
Clara Liriano, M.S., is a Special Education Advocate and New York State Certified Special Education Teacher with more than 20 years of experience supporting children and individuals with…
These advocates are not based in New York. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Wesley Chapel, FL · works with New York 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 Atlanta, GA · works with New York 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.
Virtual · based in San Angelo, TX · works with New York schools
Special Education Advocate/IEP Consultant
Hello! My journey began as a middle and high school teacher in 2006. After 2 years in the general education classroom, I began my journey with special education and became an elementary inclusion…
See all 19 virtual advocates who work with New York families
71 public schools inside Staten Island belong to New York City Public Schools. 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 before you send a letter or name a district-specific process.
The deadline for finishing an initial evaluation in New York is 60 calendar days. Put that date on your calendar the day the paperwork goes in.
Keep every email. Most of what an advocate does with a Staten Island file is date-stamping what the school already told you.
New York gives a school district 60 calendar days to finish an initial special education evaluation. Missed deadlines are handled by the New York State Education Department, Office of Special Education, which takes written state complaints from parents.
New York does not license or certify special education advocates. Anyone in Staten Island can print a card with the word advocate on it.
New York City Public Schools does not approve or bar advocates. Federal rules let a parent bring anyone with knowledge of the child to the meeting.
Advocates are not attorneys. No advocate in Staten Island 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. 19 of the advocates listed for Staten Island work with families by phone or video instead of driving to the school.
Ask for two references from cases like yours. Somebody who cannot produce one has not worked many.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Staten Island, New York, 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.
Can I hire a virtual advocate if we live in Staten Island?
Yes, with one condition. The school has to agree to the meeting format, so put the request in writing before the date is set.
Does New York City Public Schools cover every Staten Island address?
Most of the city sits inside New York City Public Schools. 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.
How long can a school take to test my child?
The rule here is 60 calendar days. It covers the evaluation only. Writing the plan after a child is found eligible is a separate step with its own timing.
How do I get my child school records?
Ask for the full file, which means every evaluation, the progress data behind each goal and any email where the school said no. Put it in writing and keep the date.
Official New York links for parents in Staten Island.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same New York rules apply in Bronx, Buffalo, Manhattan, Yonkers and the other cities listed here, or see every New York advocate.
Search is free. You contact advocates directly.
Say the name of your school and New York City Public Schools in the first message. That is enough for an advocate to know whether they can take the case.
