Texas uses its own language. FIIE, ARD, and TEA complaint procedures. Compare advocates who can help you understand the data, prepare for the ARD committee, and act when timelines or services break down.
4 based in Texas · 8 virtual advocates who work with Texas schools
Texas calls the IEP team the Admission, Review, and Dismissal committee, or ARD committee. Initial evaluations are commonly called Full Individual and Initial Evaluations, or FIIEs. Knowing the terminology helps, but the harder work is connecting the evaluation data to eligibility, goals, services, and placement.
An advocate can help the parent enter the ARD meeting with a documented position, a short list of requested actions, and a clear understanding of what the district’s evaluation does, and does not, answer.
Texas special education terms parents will hear
These Texas-specific terms appear throughout evaluations, ARD meetings, notices, and dispute-resolution records.
Paperwork decides most cases. The advocate who has read every progress report in the file will find the line the district wrote two years ago that contradicts what it is saying now.
Families in San Antonio ask for progress data as a table of dates and numbers rather than a paragraph, because a table shows whether a goal moved and a paragraph does not.
These advocates list Texas as their home base. Compare rates, read their backgrounds, and message them directly.
By video
Join on Zoom, Google Meet, or the school's platform.
By phone
Call in when video is not an option.
In person
Some advocates travel to the school when needed.
Based in Austin, TX
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.
Based in San Antonio, TX
Special Education Advocate | National COPAA Instructor
As an experienced Special Education Advocate, Executive Function Specialist, and expert IEP Coach, I offer families pathways to ensure they are informed, prepared, and confident as they navigate…
Based in Houston, TX
Special Education Advocate
Samantha Wolff is a special education advocate serving families in Houston, TX.
Based in Katy, TX
Special Education Advocate
Besides being a parent of a neurodivergent son, I have been a special education teacher, diagnostician, and advocate for the past 30 years. I am a true hands-on, walk in your shoes type of advocate.
These advocates are not based in Texas. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Chicago, IL · works with Texas schools
Special Education & IEP Consultant
help families understand their child’s IEP and feel prepared to participate confidently in the special education process.
Virtual · based in Wesley Chapel, FL · works with Texas 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 Los Angeles, CA · works with Texas schools
Strategic Special Education Advocate
I combine the precision of a Columbia Law attorney with over a decade of special education leadership to help Los Angeles families navigate the IEP process with clarity, confidence, and results.
Virtual · based in Arlington Heights, IL · works with Texas schools
Special Education Advocate
I am a former special education teacher, with experience in public and therapeutic day schools.
Virtual · based in Buford, GA · works with Texas schools
Georgia Special Education & IEP Advocate
Dr. Mary Jo Ray-Jewett is the owner and lead advocate of The IEP Guru, LLC, providing special education advocacy throughout Georgia.
Virtual · based in Bloomington, IL · works with Texas schools
Founder & Advocate
Jade is a former special education teacher who has taught everything from pre-k all the way to transition classrooms with students up to age 21.
Virtual · based in San Diego, CA · works with Texas schools
Special Education Advocate
At the Sanford Autism Advocacy Group (SAAG), we are a small but mighty special education consulting group with an emphasis on Autism and IEPs.
Virtual · based in New York, NY · works with Texas schools
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…
Texas’s ordinary initial-evaluation timeline is 45 school days after written parental consent. Separate Texas rules address student absences and evaluations that cross the end of the school year, so parents should track the actual consent and attendance dates.
Describe why you suspect a disability, the areas that need evaluation, and the educational impact. Keep proof of delivery to a teacher or administrator.
The district should identify the proposed evaluation areas. Ask questions before signing if important suspected needs are omitted.
In the ordinary case, the district must complete the written evaluation report within 45 school days after receiving written consent. Attendance and end-of-year rules can change the calculation.
The initial ARD is generally held within 30 calendar days after the FIIE report is completed, with special rules for reports completed near or during summer.
Exceptions and extensions
TEA’s complaint process addresses alleged violations of IDEA Part B requirements. It does not investigate every school concern, and TEA expressly identifies matters outside the process, including Section 504, harassment, retaliation, personnel issues, and disputes about instructional methodology.
Decision timeline
TEA generally resolves accepted complaints within 60 calendar days.
Extensions are limited to exceptional circumstances or an agreement to extend the timeline for mediation or another dispute-resolution process.
Attorneys are licensed. Advocates in Texas are not, and the difference matters most when a case gets close to a hearing and the district starts talking to its own lawyer.
A certificate says nothing about Houston. Ask what the advocate has filed with a district here and what came back.
An advocate cannot make a district agree. What moves a district is the record you build, and a good advocate spends more hours on the record than in the room.
Districts in Houston and San Antonio answer to the parent on the paperwork, so an advocate can draft the letter and you still have to be the one who sends it.
A state complaint is one path. Mediation, facilitation, due process, OCR, and local escalation each solve a different problem.
4 advocates on this page are based in Texas. The others work with families here by video.
Read a profile for what the advocate actually did and not for what the profile claims. Case detail is the tell.
Video costs less when travel would otherwise be billed. It also removes the excuse that nobody could get to the building.
Ask how the meeting will run before you hire. A school that has never held a video IEP will need lead time.
How it works
Find Parent Advocates is a free directory, not a referral service. You browse profiles, compare rates and reviews, and contact the advocate you choose. We do not assign anyone to you.
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Contact
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Work together
Keep the timeline updated as things happen. It is the document every later step is built from.
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Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Texas, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What is the difference between an FIIE and an ARD meeting?
The FIIE is the evaluation report. The ARD committee uses the evaluation and other data to decide eligibility and, when appropriate, develop the student’s IEP.
Is the Texas evaluation timeline always exactly 45 school days?
Forty-five school days is the ordinary rule after written consent, but student absences and end-of-school-year timing can change the calculation.
Can TEA reconsider a state complaint decision?
No. Texas removed its former complaint reconsideration process effective June 18, 2026, and investigative reports are final under the current rule.
Does TEA investigate Section 504 complaints?
No. TEA’s IDEA written complaint process identifies Section 504 and civil-rights issues as outside its complaint jurisdiction.
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.
When should I hire a special education advocate in Texas?
Most parents call after a school says no to testing, after goals repeat unchanged for a year, or a week before an annual review. Earlier is cheaper. An advocate hired the night before a meeting can only read so much.
These links connect you to your state education agency and complaint options. Advocates on this page can also explain what each step means for your child.
Last reviewed 2026-08-02.
