Tyler ISD staff run the IEP meetings in Tyler. These advocates sit on your side of the table.
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.
The search usually starts the week a parent reads an evaluation report and cannot tell from it whether Tyler schools are offering enough.
After the meeting the work is dull. The advocate reads the draft against the notes and sends a correction back the same week.
Request the full file in writing before you hire anyone. Schools have to give parents the education records they keep.
No advocate in this directory lists Tyler 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 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.
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 Cumming, GA · works with Texas schools
Founder
I’m Russell Lloyd, founder of YourChild.org, author, mentor, and special education advocate. I review the record, find the gaps, build the strategy, prepare the parent, and lead IEP meetings.
24 public schools inside Tyler belong to Tyler 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.
Parents in Beaumont face the same paperwork. Rules do not change from one town to the next inside a state.
Confirm your child's district by address. Tyler 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.
Write down what you want the school to add, in one page, before you walk into the Tyler meeting, because a team that reads your list in advance cannot pretend it never came up.
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.
Training varies, and so does what it proves. A parent who asks how many Tyler IEP meetings an advocate sat in last year learns more than a certificate would show.
Check the references and not the letters after the name. Two calls to past clients settle it faster than any credential list.
Advocates do not decide complaints. The Texas Education Agency does, and only after someone files one in writing.
Tyler ISD is allowed to say no. What it is not allowed to do is say no without written notice that explains the reason.
No advocate is listed in every city. A remote advocate who knows Texas rules is usually a better hire for Tyler than a local one who does not.
Ask whether the advocate has sat in a Tyler ISD meeting before. The answer is a yes or a no and it tells you a great deal.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Tyler, Texas, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
How much should I budget for one IEP meeting?
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.
Is it too late to bring in an advocate?
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.
What district will be at my IEP meeting in Tyler?
Most of the city sits inside Tyler 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 many advocates on this page are based in Texas?
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.
How do I file a state special education complaint in Texas?
Three routes stay open when you disagree. Mediation is voluntary for both sides, a written state complaint is decided on the record by the Texas Education Agency, and a due process hearing takes evidence.
Official Texas links for parents in Tyler.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Texas rules apply in Beaumont, Sugar Land, Allen, Georgetown and the other cities listed here, or see every Texas advocate.
You are not limited to advocates inside Tyler. The closest listed office is in Midland, and distance matters less than whether that person has worked a case in your district.
Free calls are common. Use them to compare people, not to collect advice for nothing.
