Advocates here work with Plano families and Plano ISD teams. Each profile lists a rate when the advocate shares one.
4 based in Texas · 3 virtual advocates who work with Texas schools
Advocates work for you, not for the school. That is the whole difference.
Plano parents tend to call at one of two moments. The first is before an initial evaluation and the second is after a service quietly disappears from the plan.
Paperwork is where cases are won or lost, and an advocate who has read every progress report in the file will find the sentence a Plano team wrote two years ago that contradicts what it is saying now.
Read the evaluation report twice. The second read is where the missing service usually shows up.
No advocate in this directory lists Plano 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 Newcastle, OK · works with Texas schools
Special Education Advocate - IEP Consultant
Former special education teacher and educational advocate with experience on both sides of the IEP table.
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 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.
Plano ISD runs the IEP meetings for most Plano students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
A Corpus Christi parent group can tell you how the same district handled a case like yours, which is worth more to read than a policy page.
Confirm your child's district by address. Plano addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
Federal law lets a state write its own evaluation deadline instead of using the national one. What Texas actually requires is 45 school days.
Put the request in writing and date it. An email to the Plano school counts as writing.
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 do not decide complaints. The Texas Education Agency does, and only after someone files one in writing.
Plano ISD is allowed to say no. What it is not allowed to do is say no without written notice that explains the reason.
Being listed for Texas is not the same as taking Plano cases, so read the service area on each of the 4 in-state profiles before you write to anyone.
Experience with Plano ISD matters more than the number of years printed on a profile page.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Plano, Texas, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What do special education advocates charge in Plano, 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. IDEA, the federal special education law, requires parent participation in IEP meetings and allows alternative means such as video or phone when you and the school agree. Your advocate does not have to live nearby.
Who runs special education for Plano schools?
Most Plano families work with Plano ISD. Charter and magnet enrollment can change which agency owes the service, so ask that question before the first meeting.
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.
Do I have to use an advocate from my own town?
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.
Official Texas links for parents in Plano.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Texas rules apply in Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Arlington, Laredo and the other cities listed here, or see every Texas advocate.
Send the same two questions to every advocate you contact in Plano and Corpus Christi. Ask for the rate and for the first date they can meet.
Keep a one-page timeline of what happened and when. Every advocate you talk to will start by building the same thing.
