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 Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont ISD staff run the IEP meetings in Beaumont. These advocates sit on your side of the table.
5 based in Texas · 3 virtual advocates who work with Texas schools
What an advocate does for a Beaumont family
An advocate is a paid professional who reads the evaluation reports, drafts your concerns, sits beside you at the IEP table, and follows up on whatever the school agreed to do.
Beaumont is the 38th-largest city in Texas. Size has nothing to do with how well a district runs its IEP meetings, and a small district with one experienced case manager often does better than a large one.
What the work looks like
During a Beaumont IEP meeting an advocate writes down what the team agrees to and asks for it in the document before anyone leaves the room.
Beaumont 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 Beaumont 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 Los Angeles, CA · works with Texas schools
Sara Westin
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.
- From $250 per hour
- Meets in person or by video
Virtual · based in Arlington Heights, IL · works with Texas schools
Angela Williams
Special Education Advocate
I am a former special education teacher, with experience in public and therapeutic day schools.
- Autism, Behavioral Support, Developmental Delay, Learning Disabilities
- Contact for rate
- Meets in person or by video
Virtual · based in Coraopolis, PA · works with Texas schools
Brittany Maurizi
Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Special Education Advocate
Hi there! I'm Brittany, owner and founder of Balanced Behaviors, LLC. I'm a Behavior Analyst and Licensed Behavior Specialist in Pennsylvania with a Master’s in Special Education from Slippery Rock…
- Autism, Behavioral Support, Developmental Delay, Intellectual Disability
- From $75 per hour
- Free first call
- Meets in person or by video
Which district is in the room
Beaumont ISD takes most Beaumont 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.
Buildings do not fund services and districts do. Ask which office is deciding before you spend a meeting arguing with the wrong one.
- District Beaumont ISD
- County Jefferson County
- Public schools inside Beaumont 21
- State special education indicators met 46 of 62 · Texas 2026 report
- Size Beaumont is the 38th-largest city in Texas by the 2024 Census estimate
- Closest listed advocate Midland, TX
Confirm your child's district by address. Beaumont addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
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.
Ask the Beaumont 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
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.
Beaumont 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
Advocates are not attorneys. No advocate in Beaumont can file a lawsuit for you or give you legal advice about the case.
Beaumont 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 Beaumont 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.
Beaumont IEP and Section 504 advocate FAQ
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Beaumont, 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.
Can I hire a virtual advocate if we live in Beaumont?
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.
Does Beaumont ISD cover every Beaumont address?
Beaumont ISD runs the IEP meetings for most Beaumont students. District lines and city lines are not the same, so confirm yours by address before you send a letter.
Does Beaumont have a good special education program?
46 of 62 indicators met. Read that as a compliance signal rather than a rating, because a district can meet the indicator and still miss the service your child needs.
How do I know where an advocate actually works from?
No advocate is listed in every town, and each card here says where that person lives. Somebody who knows the state rules and has an opening this month usually beats the nearest name on the list.
Official special education resources in Texas
Official Texas links for parents in Beaumont.
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 Allen, Tyler, Sugar Land, The Woodlands and the other cities listed here, or see every Texas advocate.
What to do next
Print the current IEP and bring it to the first call. Every advocate on the Beaumont list will ask for it.
Two questions sort most of this out. What would you do first with this file, and what does that cost.
