Based in Austin, TX
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
IEP advocates in Alamo Heights, Texas
Special education and Section 504 advocates for Alamo Heights ISD families in Alamo Heights.
5 based in Texas · 3 virtual advocates who work with Texas schools
What an advocate does for an Alamo Heights family
The job is plain. An advocate knows what services the school owes your child and asks for them in writing.
Parents in Alamo Heights usually start looking for an advocate when a meeting is already on the calendar.
What the work looks like
During an Alamo Heights IEP meeting an advocate writes down what the team agrees to and asks for it in the document before anyone leaves the room.
Alamo Heights ISD can charge for copies of a file. Asking to inspect the record in person instead costs nothing under federal rules.
Advocates based in Texas
No advocate in this directory lists Alamo Heights as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of Texas, and each card names the city.
Based in Austin, TX
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
Based in Midland, TX
Kate Keenan
Special Education Advocate
Kate Keenan is a special education advocate serving families in Midland, TX.
- From $75 per hour
- Meets in person or by video
Virtual advocates who work with Texas families
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 Bloomington, IL · works with Texas schools
Jade Adkins
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.
- Autism, Behavioral Support, Developmental Delay, Intellectual Disability
- Contact for rate
- Meets in person or by video
Virtual · based in Leonardtown, MD · works with Texas schools
Douglas Hubscher
Special Education Advocate
Douglas Hubscher is the Founder and President of Kids Are First, LLC, a special education advocacy firm dedicated to helping families navigate the IEP and 504 process with confidence, clarity, and…
- Anxiety, ADHD / Attention, Autism Spectrum, Behavioral & Emotional
- From $1 per hour
- Meets in person or by video
Virtual · based in Hawthorne, NJ · works with Texas schools
Dalia Rodriguez
IEP Consultant, School Social Worker, Advocacy
I am a Child Study Team School Social Worker, with a Master of Social Work from Fordham University. I have core competencies in special education law, mental health, and behavioral health.
- Autism, Behavioral Support, Developmental Delay, Intellectual Disability
- Contact for rate
- Meets by video or phone
Which district is in the room
Alamo Heights ISD runs the IEP meetings for most Alamo Heights students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
Buildings do not fund services and districts do. Ask which office is deciding before you spend a meeting arguing with the wrong one.
- District Alamo Heights ISD
- County Bexar County
- Public schools inside Alamo Heights 5
- Size Alamo Heights is the 299th-largest city in Texas by the 2024 Census estimate
- Closest listed advocate Katy, TX
Confirm your child's district by address before contacting a school.
The deadlines that apply in Texas
The deadline for finishing an initial evaluation in Texas is 45 school days. Put that date on your calendar the day the paperwork goes in.
Bring the last two report cards and the current plan. That is usually enough paper to start.
Texas gives a school district 45 school days to finish an initial special education evaluation. A written request for an evaluation has to be answered inside 15 school days. Missed deadlines are handled by the Texas Education Agency, Office of Special Populations and Student Supports, which takes written state complaints from parents.
Who licenses advocates in Texas
Certification programs exist and some advocates hold them. None of them is issued by the Texas Education Agency, Office of Special Populations and Student Supports, and none of them is required to sit in a Texas IEP meeting.
Alamo Heights ISD does not approve or bar advocates. Federal rules let a parent bring anyone with knowledge of the child to the meeting.
What an advocate cannot do
Hiring an advocate does not pause a deadline or undo a meeting that already happened. The work starts from wherever the Alamo Heights file sits today.
Alamo Heights ISD 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.
Local advocates and video advocates
Video is normal now. 21 of the advocates listed for Alamo Heights work with families by phone or video instead of driving to the school.
Read a profile for what the advocate actually did, not for what the profile claims. Case detail is the tell.
Alamo Heights IEP and Section 504 advocate FAQ
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Alamo Heights, Texas, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What is the hourly rate for a parent advocate?
Rates run $75 to $250 per hour. What moves the number is experience, the type of case, and whether anyone has to drive to the meeting. Profiles here show the rate when the advocate publishes one.
Is an IEP advocate a type of lawyer?
Two different jobs. The advocate works the IEP process and the attorney works the legal one. If a hearing is already filed, you need the attorney.
Does Alamo Heights ISD cover every Alamo Heights address?
Most of the city sits inside Alamo Heights ISD. 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.
Can an advocate help with a 504 plan and not an IEP?
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.
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.
Official special education resources in Texas
Official Texas links for parents in Alamo Heights.
Sources for the Texas rules on this page
- 19 TAC Chapter 89, Subchapter AA, currently in effect (TEA) (19 TAC 89.1011(d)(1))
- TEA, Full and Individual Initial Evaluation timeline (19 TAC 89.1011(d)(1) and Tex. Educ. Code 29.004(a)(1))
- TEA special education complaints process
- TEA special education
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
Nearby cities in Texas
The same Texas rules apply in Helotes, Sealy, Brookshire, Leon Valley and the other cities listed here, or see every Texas advocate.
What to do next
Start with two calls, not six. Ask each advocate what they would do first with an Alamo Heights file, and hire the one whose answer is specific enough that you could write it down as a task.
Two questions sort most of this out. What would you do first with this file, and what does that cost.
