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 Austin, Texas
See who is based in Austin and who works with Texas schools by video before you contact anyone.
5 based in Texas · 3 virtual advocates who work with Texas schools
What an advocate does for an Austin family
The job is plain. An advocate knows what services the school owes your child and asks for them in writing.
Most of the work happens before anyone sits down in an Austin conference room.
What the work looks like
Before the meeting an advocate reads the current IEP against the evaluation reports, pulls the progress data to see whether the goals are actually being met, writes your concerns into one page, and sends it to the team in advance.
Austin 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 Austin and elsewhere in Texas
2 of these advocates work from Austin. The rest are based elsewhere in Texas. 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 Leesburg, FL · works with Texas 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 Lamar, CO · works with Texas schools
Jordan Kemp
Special Education Advocate
I’ve been a science teacher, a Director of Financial Aid, and a Dean of Students at a rural community college — always at the table with students and families navigating systems not built for them.
- From $95 per hour
- Meets in person or by video
Virtual · based in Kansas City, MO · works with Texas schools
Diane Plunkett
Navigate Special Education with Clarity and Confidence - Guiding Families. Building Futures.
Dr. Diane is a special education advocate and founder of Steppingstone Services, LLC. She holds a Ph.D.
- Behavioral & Emotional, Behavioral Support, Developmental Delay, Early Childhood
- From $150 per hour
- Free first call
- Meets in person or by video
Which district is in the room
Austin ISD takes most Austin addresses, but not all of them. Check yours before you send a letter, because a request that lands in the wrong district office does not start the evaluation clock at all.
Charter and magnet enrollment changes who owes the service. Ask which agency is responsible before the first meeting.
- District Austin ISD
- County Travis County
- Public schools inside Austin 106
- Size Austin is the 5th-largest city in Texas by the 2024 Census estimate
- Closest listed advocate San Antonio, TX
Confirm your child's district by address. Austin addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
The deadlines that apply in Texas
Once you sign consent for testing, a Texas district has 45 school 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.
Keep every email. Most of what an advocate does with an Austin file is date-stamping what the school already told you.
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.
Austin 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 Austin file sits today.
What worked for a family in El Paso may not fit yours. Ask the advocate what is different about your file before you copy anyone.
Local advocates and video advocates
2 advocates on this page are based in Austin. The rest work with Texas families by video.
Ask for two references from cases like yours. Somebody who cannot produce one has not worked many.
Austin IEP and Section 504 advocate FAQ
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Austin, Texas, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
How much does an IEP advocate cost in Austin?
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.
Can an advocate join an IEP meeting by video?
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.
Which school district serves Austin, Texas?
Austin ISD runs the IEP meetings for most Austin students. District lines and city lines are not the same, so confirm yours by address before you send a letter.
Are there any IEP advocates near Austin?
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.
How do I prepare for an IEP meeting in Austin?
Start with a one-page timeline of what happened and when. Every advocate you talk to will build the same thing, so writing it yourself saves an hour of billed time.
Official special education resources in Texas
Official Texas links for parents in Austin.
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 El Paso, Fort Worth, Arlington, Dallas 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 Austin file, and hire the one whose answer is specific enough that you could write it down as a task.
Do not sign anything at the first meeting if you are unsure. Consent can wait a day.
