Based in Harrisburg, PA
Boaz Gregory
Special Education Advocate
I’m a special education teacher with experience supporting students with behavioral, intellectual, and learning needs.
- From $100 per hour
- Meets in person or by video
IEP advocates in Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie City School District staff run the IEP meetings in Erie. These advocates sit on your side of the table.
3 based in Pennsylvania · 3 virtual advocates who work with Pennsylvania schools
What an IEP advocate is
Advocates get hired after a meeting goes badly, rarely before the first one, which is why most of them start by reading a file that already carries a year of history in it.
The search usually starts the week a parent reads an evaluation report and cannot tell from it whether Erie schools are offering enough.
Before and after an Erie 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 an Erie 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.
Advocates based in Pennsylvania
No advocate in this directory lists Erie as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of Pennsylvania, and each card names the city.
Based in Coraopolis, PA
Brittany Maurizi
Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Special Education Advocate
Hi there! I'm Brittany, owner and founder of Balanced Behaviors, LLC. I'm a Behavior Analyst and Licensed Behavior Specialist in Pennsylvania with a Master’s in Special Education from Slippery Rock…
- Autism, Behavioral Support, Developmental Delay, Intellectual Disability
- From $75 per hour
- Free first call
- Meets in person or by video
Based in Philadelphia, PA
Karen McCree
Educational Consultant
I began this journey because my own daughter was issued an IEP in 3rd grade. I didn't understand special education.
- ADHD / Attention, Autism Spectrum, Behavioral & Emotional, Behavioral Support
- From $100 per hour
- Free first call
- Meets in person or by video
Virtual advocates who work with Pennsylvania families
These advocates are not based in Pennsylvania. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Austin, TX · works with Pennsylvania schools
David Gonzales
Special Education Advocate
Hi, My name is David Gonzales. Living in Austin, TX, but originally from Los Angeles, CA. I carry a masters degree in special education and currently practice as a sped teacher.
- From $50 per hour
- Meets in person or by video
Virtual · based in Austin, TX · works with Pennsylvania 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
Virtual · based in Leesburg, FL · works with Pennsylvania 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
See all 23 virtual advocates who work with Pennsylvania families
The district behind an Erie IEP
15 public schools inside Erie belong to Erie City 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.
A Bethlehem 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 Erie City School District
- County Erie County
- Public schools inside Erie 15
- Size Erie is the 5th-largest city in Pennsylvania by the 2024 Census estimate
- Closest listed advocate Philadelphia, PA
Confirm your child's district by address. Erie addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
What the clock is here
Once you sign consent for testing, a Pennsylvania district has 60 calendar days to finish an initial evaluation, and that clock does not stop because a case manager is out or the file went to the wrong building.
Write down what you want the school to add, in one page, before you walk into the Erie meeting, because a team that reads your list in advance cannot pretend it never came up.
Pennsylvania gives a school district 60 calendar days to finish an initial special education evaluation. No Pennsylvania rule sets a separate deadline for answering a written request, so the federal reasonable-time standard is what applies. Missed deadlines are handled by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education, which takes written state complaints from parents.
No license, no required certification
No state license exists for special education advocacy. No federal agency issues one either, and no exam stands between a person and the title.
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
Advocates do not decide complaints. The Pennsylvania Department of Education does, and only after someone files one in writing.
Erie City School District is allowed to say no. What it is not allowed to do is say no without written notice that explains the reason.
Who serves Erie today
No advocate is listed in every city. A remote advocate who knows Pennsylvania rules is usually a better hire for Erie than a local one who does not.
Advocates who take Bethlehem cases usually take these too. Say where you are in the first email so nobody wastes a week finding out.
Erie IEP and Section 504 advocate FAQ
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Erie, Pennsylvania, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
How much should I budget for one IEP meeting?
Flat fees are common for a single meeting and hourly billing is common for everything else. Many advocates give a free first call. Nobody bills you through this site, so ask each person how they invoice.
Is it too late to bring in an advocate?
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.
Is remote IEP advocacy allowed?
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.
What district will be at my IEP meeting in Erie?
Most Erie families work with Erie City School District. Charter and magnet enrollment can change which agency owes the service, so ask that question before the first meeting.
How many advocates on this page are based in Pennsylvania?
Every card on this page names the city the advocate works from. Advocates listed under the virtual heading live somewhere else and work with families here by video or phone.
Official special education resources in Pennsylvania
Official Pennsylvania links for parents in Erie.
Sources for the Pennsylvania rules on this page
- 22 Pa. Code 14.123, Evaluation (22 Pa. Code 14.123(b))
- PDE state complaints and dispute resolution
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
Nearby cities in Pennsylvania
The same Pennsylvania rules apply in Bethlehem, Reading, Allentown, Scranton and the other cities listed here, or see every Pennsylvania advocate.
Before you contact anyone
Send the same two questions to every advocate you contact in Erie and Bethlehem. Ask for the rate and for the first date they can meet.
Have the most recent Erie City School District progress report open on the first call. It shows whether the goals moved at all.
