See who is based in Austin and who works with Texas schools by video before you contact anyone.
4 based in Texas · 3 virtual advocates who work with Texas schools
Advocates get hired after a meeting goes badly, rarely before the first one, which is why most of them start by reading a file that already carries a year of history in it.
Families in Austin and El Paso run into the same problem. The school says the current plan is working, and the progress report shows the same goal repeated from last year with the same numbers under it.
Paperwork is where cases are won or lost, and an advocate who has read every progress report in the file will find the sentence an Austin 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.
One of these advocates works from Austin. The rest are based elsewhere in Texas. Each card names the city.
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 Midland, TX
Special Education Advocate
Kate Keenan is a special education advocate serving families in Midland, TX.
Based in San Antonio, TX
FamilyADDventures.com
Nicole Santiago is a learning specialist and an advocate (IEP coach). She is a member of COPAA.org and ensures special education students receive the most appropriate educational services possible.
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 Leesburg, FL · works with Texas schools
CEO IEP Advocate Espanol
Evelyn Roman-Santos is a bilingual Special Education Advocate with 30 years of experience as a School Social Worker.
Virtual · based in Lamar, CO · works with Texas schools
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.
Virtual · based in Kansas City, MO · works with Texas schools
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.
Austin ISD runs the IEP meetings for most Austin students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
Parents in El Paso face the same paperwork. Rules do not change from one town to the next inside a state.
Confirm your child's district by address. Austin addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
The clock that matters starts when you sign consent. In Texas it runs 45 school days.
Write down what you want the school to add, in one page, before you walk into the Austin meeting, because a team that reads your list in advance cannot pretend it never came up.
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.
The Texas Education Agency oversees special education in Texas. It does not license the advocates parents hire.
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.
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.
You sign, not the advocate. Consent and the plan itself both need a parent signature.
One advocate listed here, David, works out of Austin. The others reach Texas families by video or by driving in.
Advocates who take El Paso cases usually take these too. Say where you are in the first email so nobody wastes a week finding out.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Austin, Texas, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What do special education advocates charge in Austin, Texas?
Flat fees are common for a single meeting and hourly billing is common for everything else. Many advocates give a free first call. Nobody bills you through this site, so ask each person how they invoice.
Can we work with an advocate who lives outside Texas?
Yes, with one condition. The school has to agree to the meeting format, so put the request in writing before the date is set.
Who runs special education for Austin schools?
Most of the city sits inside Austin 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.
What is the evaluation deadline in Texas?
Texas sets its own deadline and it is 45 school 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.
What is the difference between an IEP and a 504 plan?
An IEP is the stronger document because it carries goals, service minutes and progress reporting. Section 504 plans are faster to write and easier for a district to agree to.
Official Texas links for parents in Austin.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Texas rules apply in El Paso, Fort Worth, Arlington, Dallas and the other cities listed here, or see every Texas advocate.
Send the same two questions to every advocate you contact in Austin and El Paso. Ask for the rate and for the first date they can meet.
Free calls are common. Use them to compare people, not to collect advice for nothing.
