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 Scranton, Pennsylvania
Special education and Section 504 advocates for Scranton School District families in Scranton.
3 based in Pennsylvania · 3 virtual advocates who work with Pennsylvania schools
What an IEP advocate is
Hiring one is optional. Nothing in federal law requires a parent to bring an advocate to an IEP meeting.
Scranton 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 and after a Scranton 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 a Scranton 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 Scranton as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of Pennsylvania, and each card names the city.
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
Based in Avondale, PA
Lisa Lightner
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.
- From $250 per hour
- 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 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
Virtual · based in Alamo, TX · works with Pennsylvania schools
Felix Ramos
Bilingual Special Education Advocate and Interpreter
Félix Ramos Jr. es fundador de RIO Advocates, LLC, donde brinda servicios bilingües de defensa educativa e interpretación en inglés y español.
- Due Process, FBA BIP, ESY, IDEA
- From $50 per hour
- Free first call
- Meets in person or by video
Virtual · based in Houston, TX · works with Pennsylvania schools
Samantha Wolff
Special Education Advocate
~Beginning of school year document review sale - $50(Up to 4hrs) Non-Attorney Certified Special Education Advocate with 13 years of healthcare experience & 2 years of advocacy experience.
- From $50 per hour
- Meets in person or by video
See all 28 virtual advocates who work with Pennsylvania families
The district behind a Scranton IEP
Scranton School District runs the IEP meetings for most Scranton students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
Families who move between Bethlehem and here change districts, and the new team is not required to keep the old plan word for word.
- District Scranton School District
- County Lackawanna County
- Public schools inside Scranton 15
- Size Scranton is the 7th-largest city in Pennsylvania by the 2024 Census estimate
- Closest listed advocate Harrisburg, PA
Confirm your child's district by address before you send a letter or name a district-specific process.
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.
Put the request in writing and date it. An email to the Scranton school counts as writing.
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
Training varies, and so does what it proves. A parent who asks how many Scranton IEP meetings an advocate sat in last year learns more than a certificate would show.
Ask what training the advocate actually finished and who ran it. A one-day webinar and a two-year program both end in a certificate.
Where advocacy stops
Advocates charge for this. At $75 to $150 per hour, a standard IEP cycle with two hours of prep and two hours in the meeting runs about $400, and that money does not come back if the answer is still no.
Advocates who have never seen the file cannot tell you what is missing from it. Send the records first and book the call second.
Who serves Scranton today
Being listed for Pennsylvania is not the same as taking Scranton cases, so read the service area on each of the 3 in-state profiles before you write to anyone.
Ask whether the advocate has sat in a Scranton School District meeting before. The answer is a yes or a no and it tells you a great deal.
Scranton IEP and Section 504 advocate FAQ
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Scranton, Pennsylvania, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What do special education advocates charge in Scranton, Pennsylvania?
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.
Who runs special education for Scranton schools?
Most Scranton families work with Scranton School District. Charter and magnet enrollment can change which agency owes the service, so ask that question before the first meeting.
What is the evaluation deadline in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania sets its own deadline and it is 60 calendar days. Federal law lets a state do that, so a timeline a parent reads on a national site may not be the one running here.
Can I bring an advocate to a Section 504 meeting?
Yes, and the rules differ slightly. Section 504 does not spell out who may attend the way IDEA does, so ask the school in writing before the meeting and keep the answer.
Where does a written special education complaint go?
Written complaints go to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. It decides on the paperwork rather than at a hearing, so dates and documents are what the decision turns on.
Official special education resources in Pennsylvania
Official Pennsylvania links for parents in Scranton.
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, Lancaster, Erie, Levittown and the other cities listed here, or see every Pennsylvania advocate.
Before you contact anyone
You are not limited to advocates inside Scranton. The closest listed office is in Harrisburg, and distance matters less than whether that person has worked a case in your district.
Free calls are common. Use them to compare people, not to collect advice for nothing.
