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 Southlake, Texas
Advocates here work with Southlake families and Carroll ISD teams. Each profile lists a rate when the advocate shares one.
5 based in Texas · 3 virtual advocates who work with Texas schools
What an advocate does for a Southlake family
An IEP advocate goes to school meetings with you and argues for services your child is not getting.
Most of the work happens before anyone sits down in a Southlake conference room.
What the work looks like
Advocates also coach. Some Southlake parents hire one for two hours of prep and go into the meeting alone.
Records live with Carroll 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.
Advocates based in Texas
No advocate in this directory lists Southlake 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 San Diego, CA · works with Texas schools
Sanford Autism Advocacy Group
Special Education Advocate
At the Sanford Autism Advocacy Group (SAAG), we are a small but mighty special education consulting group with an emphasis on Autism and IEPs.
- Autism, Other Health Impairment, Speech/Language, IDEA
- From $200 per hour
- Meets in person or by video
Virtual · based in Kansas City, MO · works with Texas schools
Diane Plunkett
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.
- Behavioral & Emotional, Behavioral Support, Developmental Delay, Early Childhood
- From $150 per hour
- Free first call
- Meets in person or by video
Virtual · based in Leesburg, FL · works with Texas schools
Evelyn Roman-Santos
CEO IEP Advocate Espanol
Evelyn Roman-Santos is a bilingual Special Education Advocate with 30 years of experience as a School Social Worker.
- From $120 per hour
- Meets in person or by video
Which district is in the room
11 public schools inside Southlake belong to Carroll ISD. Each one has its own case manager and its own backlog, and the answer you get about scheduling depends on which building your child attends.
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.
- District Carroll ISD
- County Tarrant County
- Public schools inside Southlake 11
- Size Southlake is the 114th-largest city in Texas by the 2024 Census estimate
- Closest listed advocate Katy, TX
Confirm your child's district by address before you send a letter or name a district-specific process.
The deadlines that apply in Texas
Once you sign consent for testing, a Texas district has 45 school days to finish an initial evaluation, and that clock does not stop because a case manager is out or the file went to the wrong building.
Keep every email. Most of what an advocate does with a Southlake 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.
Who licenses advocates in Texas
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 Southlake district starts talking to its own lawyer.
A certificate says nothing about Carroll ISD. Ask instead what the advocate has filed there and what came back.
What an advocate cannot do
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.
Local advocates and video advocates
Rates and openings decide most of this. An advocate who cannot meet before your Southlake meeting date is the wrong hire, and the second-best advocate who is free this month usually beats the best one who is not.
Distance is a scheduling problem and not a legal one. Meetings run by video whenever the parent and the school both agree to it.
Southlake IEP and Section 504 advocate FAQ
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Southlake, 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.
Can I hire a virtual advocate if we live in Southlake?
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.
Does Carroll ISD cover every Southlake address?
Most Southlake families work with Carroll ISD. Charter and magnet enrollment can change which agency owes the service, so ask that question before the first meeting.
How long can a school take to test my child?
The deadline in Texas for finishing an initial evaluation is 45 school days. Put that date on your calendar the day you sign consent, because the district counts from the paperwork and not from the conversation.
What can I do if I cannot afford an advocate?
Free guidance exists. Parent centers, disability rights agencies and local parent groups all give it, and none of them will attend the meeting as your representative.
Official special education resources in Texas
Official Texas links for parents in Southlake.
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.
What to do next
Print the current IEP and bring it to the first call. Every advocate on the Southlake list will ask for it.
Say the name of your school and Carroll ISD in the first message. That is enough for an advocate to know whether they can take the case.
