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 Amarillo, Texas
Special education and Section 504 advocates for Amarillo ISD families in Amarillo.
5 based in Texas · 3 virtual advocates who work with Texas schools
What an advocate does for an Amarillo family
The job is plain. An advocate knows what services the school owes your child and asks for them in writing.
Parents in Amarillo usually start looking for an advocate when a meeting is already on the calendar.
What the work looks like
Advocates also coach. Some Amarillo parents hire one for two hours of prep and go into the meeting alone.
Amarillo ISD keeps progress data on every goal in the plan. Ask for it as a table of dates and numbers rather than a paragraph.
Advocates based in Texas
No advocate in this directory lists Amarillo 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 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 Cumming, GA · works with Texas schools
Russell Lloyd
Founder
I’m Russell Lloyd, founder of YourChild.org, author, mentor, and special education advocate. I review the record, find the gaps, build the strategy, prepare the parent, and lead IEP meetings.
- Anxiety, ADHD / Attention, Autism Spectrum, Behavioral & Emotional
- From $95 per hour
- Meets in person or by video
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
Which district is in the room
54 public schools inside Amarillo belong to Amarillo ISD. 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.
District lines and city lines are not the same thing. A street can sit inside one city and be zoned to the district next door.
- District Amarillo ISD
- County Potter County
- Public schools inside Amarillo 54
- Size Amarillo is the 17th-largest city in Texas by the 2024 Census estimate
- Closest listed advocate Midland, TX
Confirm your child's district by address. Amarillo addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
The deadlines that apply in Texas
A written request for an evaluation starts a second clock in Texas, and the district has to answer inside 15 school days.
Ask the Amarillo team for the evaluation report before the meeting, not at it, because nobody reads a long report accurately while the rest of the team waits.
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
Attorneys are licensed. Advocates hold no license, and the difference matters most when a case gets close to a hearing, which is the point where the Amarillo district starts talking to its own lawyer.
Advocates who work Brownsville and here see the same state rules twice a week. Repetition inside one state is the practice worth paying for.
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 Amarillo file sits today.
What worked for a family in Brownsville may not fit yours. Ask the advocate what is different about your file before you copy anyone.
Local advocates and video advocates
Video is normal now. 21 of the advocates listed for Amarillo work with families by phone or video instead of driving to the school.
Distance is a scheduling problem and not a legal one. Meetings run by video whenever the parent and the school both agree to it.
Amarillo IEP and Section 504 advocate FAQ
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Amarillo, 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?
An advocate is not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice or file a lawsuit. What an advocate can do is build the written record a lawyer would need later.
Can I hire a virtual advocate if we live in Amarillo?
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 Amarillo ISD cover every Amarillo address?
Amarillo ISD runs the IEP meetings for most Amarillo students. District lines and city lines are not the same, so confirm yours by address before you send a letter.
Can an advocate help with a 504 plan and not an IEP?
Nearly every advocate on this page takes both. Compare profiles for experience with accommodations, 504 meetings and school compliance, and ask the school in writing before you bring anyone to a 504 meeting.
Official special education resources in Texas
Official Texas links for parents in Amarillo.
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.
What to do next
Start with two calls, not six. Ask each advocate what they would do first with an Amarillo file, and hire the one whose answer is specific enough that you could write it down as a task.
Say the name of your school and Amarillo ISD in the first message. That is enough for an advocate to know whether they can take the case.
