Garland ISD staff run the IEP meetings in Garland. These advocates sit on your side of the table.
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.
Parents in Garland usually start looking for an advocate when a meeting is already on the calendar.
Advocates also coach. Some Garland parents hire one for two hours of prep and go into the meeting alone.
Records live with Garland 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 Garland 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 Inverness, IL · works with Texas schools
Special Education Advocate
I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University and a Master’s of Education from DePaul University, with a dual certification in elementary and…
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 Arlington Heights, IL · works with Texas schools
Special Education Advocate
I am a former special education teacher, with experience in public and therapeutic day schools.
Garland ISD runs the IEP meetings for most Garland students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
Buildings do not fund services and districts do. Ask which office is deciding before you spend a meeting arguing with the wrong one.
Confirm your child's district by address. Garland 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.
Ask the Garland 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.
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.
Garland 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.
What worked for a family in Frisco may not fit yours. Ask the advocate what is different about your file before you copy anyone.
Rates and openings decide most of this. An advocate who cannot meet before your Garland meeting date is the wrong hire, and the second-best advocate who is free this month usually beats the best one who is not.
Read a profile for what the advocate actually did, not for what the profile claims. Case detail is the tell.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Garland, Texas, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What is the hourly rate for a parent advocate?
Most advocates on this directory charge $75 to $150 per hour. A standard cycle with two hours of prep and two hours in the meeting runs about $400. Travel and extra meetings cost more.
When should I hire a special education advocate in Garland?
Bring somebody in when the file stops making sense to you. A routine review with services in place and progress data that moves usually does not need one.
Is an IEP advocate a type of lawyer?
No. Advocates prepare for meetings, read the records and negotiate with the district. Attorneys file due process complaints and appear at hearings, which an advocate cannot do.
Does Garland ISD cover every Garland address?
Most of the city sits inside Garland 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 long can a school take to test my child?
The rule here is 45 school days. It covers the evaluation only. Writing the plan after a child is found eligible is a separate step with its own timing.
Official Texas links for parents in Garland.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Texas rules apply in Frisco, Irving, Laredo, McKinney 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 Garland 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 Garland ISD in the first message. That is enough for an advocate to know whether they can take the case.
