Northshore School District staff run the IEP meetings in Bothell. These advocates sit on your side of the table.
3 virtual advocates who work with Washington schools
Advocates get hired after a meeting goes badly, rarely before the first one, which is why most of them start by reading a file that already carries a year of history in it.
Families in Bothell and Lynnwood run into the same problem. The school says the current plan is working, and the progress report shows the same goal repeated from last year with the same numbers under it.
The meeting itself is the smallest part of the job. Nearly all the hours go into records and email before the Bothell team ever sits down.
Read the evaluation report twice. The second read is where the missing service usually shows up.
These advocates are not based in Washington. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Katy, TX · works with Washington schools
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.
Virtual · based in Arlington Heights, IL · works with Washington schools
Special Education Advocate
I am a former special education teacher, with experience in public and therapeutic day schools.
Virtual · based in Leonardtown, MD · works with Washington schools
Special Education Advocate
Douglas Hubscher is the Founder and President of Kids Are First, LLC, a special education advocacy firm dedicated to helping families navigate the IEP and 504 process with confidence, clarity, and…
See all 26 virtual advocates who work with Washington families
18 public schools inside Bothell belong to Northshore School District. 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.
Families who move between Lynnwood and here change districts, and the new team is not required to keep the old plan word for word.
Confirm your child's district by address. Bothell addresses may fall in more than one public school district.
Once you sign consent for testing, a Washington district has 35 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.
If the Bothell team says no, ask for the refusal in writing.
Washington gives a school district 35 school days to finish an initial special education evaluation. A written request for an evaluation has to be answered inside 25 school days. Missed deadlines are handled by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Special Education Division, which takes written state complaints from parents.
No state license exists for special education advocacy. No federal agency issues one either, and no exam stands between a person and the title.
Check the references and not the letters after the name. Two calls to past clients settle it faster than any credential list.
Advocates charge for this. At $75 to $150 per hour, a standard IEP cycle with two hours of prep and two hours in the meeting runs about $400, and that money does not come back if the answer is still no.
You sign, not the advocate. Consent and the plan itself both need a parent signature.
Rates and openings decide most of this. An advocate who cannot meet before your Bothell meeting date is the wrong hire, and the second-best advocate who is free this month usually beats the best one who is not.
Advocates who take Lynnwood cases usually take these too. Say where you are in the first email so nobody wastes a week finding out.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in Bothell, Washington, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What do special education advocates charge in Bothell, Washington?
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.
Who runs special education for Bothell schools?
Most of the city sits inside Northshore School District. 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.
What is the evaluation deadline in Washington?
The deadline in Washington for finishing an initial evaluation is 35 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.
Are there free IEP advocates in Bothell?
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.
What is the difference between an IEP and a 504 plan?
The short version. IEP means the school changes what is taught and how, and Section 504 means the school changes the conditions around it.
Official Washington links for parents in Bothell.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Washington rules apply in Lynnwood, Olympia, Issaquah, Sammamish and the other cities listed here, or see every Washington advocate.
Print the current IEP and bring it to the first call. Every advocate on the Bothell list will ask for it.
Free calls are common. Use them to compare people, not to collect advice for nothing.
