Tyler ISD staff run the IEP meetings in Tyler. These advocates sit on your side of the table.
5 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.
Most of the work happens before anyone sits down in a Tyler conference room.
Advocates also coach. Some Tyler parents hire one for two hours of prep and go into the meeting alone.
Tyler ISD can charge for copies of a file. Asking to inspect the record in person instead costs nothing under federal rules.
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 Alamo, TX
Bilingual Special Education Advocate and Interpreter
Félix Ramos Jr. es fundador de RIO Advocates, LLC, donde brinda servicios bilingües de defensa educativa e interpretación en inglés y español.
Based in San Antonio, TX
Special Education Advocate | National COPAA Instructor
As an experienced Special Education Advocate, Executive Function Specialist, and expert IEP Coach, I offer families pathways to ensure they are informed, prepared, and confident as they navigate…
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 raised three children with special needs, so I know what it’s like to sit in an IEP meeting and feel like no one is listening.
Tyler ISD runs the IEP meetings for most Tyler students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
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. Tyler 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.
Ask the Tyler 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.
Tyler ISD does not approve or bar advocates. Federal rules let a parent bring anyone with knowledge of the child to the meeting.
Hiring an advocate does not pause a deadline or undo a meeting that already happened. The work starts from wherever the Tyler file sits today.
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. 26 of the advocates listed for Tyler 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 Tyler, Texas, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What is the hourly rate for a parent advocate?
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.
Does Tyler ISD cover every Tyler address?
Tyler ISD runs the IEP meetings for most Tyler students. District lines and city lines are not the same, so confirm yours by address before you send a letter.
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?
No public program assigns you a private advocate. The links under official resources on this page go to the state agency and to the complaint process, and both cost nothing to use.
What should I have ready before the first call with an advocate?
Write down the two things you want changed and bring the paperwork that shows why. Meetings run long when nobody in the room has decided what the ask is.
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.
Search is free. You contact advocates directly.
Say the name of your school and Tyler ISD in the first message. That is enough for an advocate to know whether they can take the case.
