Special education and Section 504 advocates for Fort Worth ISD families in Fort Worth.
4 based in Texas · 3 virtual advocates who work with Texas schools
The job is plain. An advocate knows what services the school owes your child and asks for them in writing.
Fort Worth is the 4th-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.
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.
Records live with Fort Worth ISD, not with the front office of one building, and a request addressed to the district gets a faster answer than one that is not.
No advocate in this directory lists Fort Worth as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of Texas, and 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 Los Angeles, CA · works with Texas schools
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.
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.
Virtual · based in Hawthorne, NJ · works with Texas schools
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.
Fort Worth ISD takes most Fort Worth 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.
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.
Confirm your child's district by address. Fort Worth addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
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.
Keep every email. Most of what an advocate does with a Fort Worth 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.
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 Fort Worth district starts talking to its own lawyer.
Fort Worth ISD does not approve or bar advocates. Federal rules let a parent bring anyone with knowledge of the child to the meeting.
An advocate cannot make the district agree. What moves a district is the record you build, not the person sitting next to you, and a good advocate spends more hours on the record than in the room.
Nobody can undo a meeting you already agreed to in writing. Read the page you are asked to sign before the room empties.
Video is normal now. 21 of the advocates listed for Fort Worth work with families by phone or video instead of driving to the school.
Ask for two references from cases like yours. Somebody who cannot produce one has not worked many.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Fort Worth, Texas, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What is the hourly rate for a parent advocate?
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.
Does Fort Worth ISD cover every Fort Worth address?
Most of the city sits inside Fort Worth 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.
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.
Which plan covers therapy and specialized instruction?
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.
What should I have ready before the first call with an advocate?
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 Texas links for parents in Fort Worth.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Texas rules apply in Austin, Dallas, El Paso, San Antonio and the other cities listed here, or see every Texas advocate.
Start with two calls, not six. Ask each advocate what they would do first with a Fort Worth 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 Fort Worth ISD in the first message. That is enough for an advocate to know whether they can take the case.
