Madison Metropolitan School District staff run the IEP meetings in Madison. These advocates sit on your side of the table.
3 virtual advocates who work with Wisconsin 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 Madison schools are offering enough.
The meeting itself is the smallest part of the job. Nearly all the hours go into records and email before the Madison team ever sits down.
Request the full file in writing before you hire anyone. Schools have to give parents the education records they keep.
These advocates are not based in Wisconsin. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Cumming, GA · works with Wisconsin 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.
Virtual · based in Wesley Chapel, FL · works with Wisconsin schools
Special Education Advocate
With 24 years of experience in the K-12 sector, I serves as a Student Support Specialist specializing in academic and behavioral ESE services.
Virtual · based in Austin, TX · works with Wisconsin schools
Educational Advocate
Chelsea Venegas is a special education advocate serving families in Austin, TX.
See all 26 virtual advocates who work with Wisconsin families
Madison Metropolitan School District runs the IEP meetings for most Madison students, and its special education staff will be on the other side of the table when you walk in.
Families who move between Green Bay 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 before you send a letter or name a district-specific process.
Federal law lets a state write its own evaluation deadline instead of using the national one. What Wisconsin actually requires is 60 calendar days.
Put the request in writing and date it. An email to the Madison school counts as writing.
Wisconsin gives a school district 60 calendar days to finish an initial special education evaluation. A written request for an evaluation has to be answered inside 15 business days. Missed deadlines are handled by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Special Education Team, 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.
Membership in a professional body is not a licence. It usually means dues were paid and a code of conduct was signed.
Advocates do not decide complaints. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction does, and only after someone files one in writing.
Advocates who have never seen the file cannot tell you what is missing from it. Send the records first and book the call second.
Video is normal now. 26 of the advocates listed for Madison work with families by phone or video instead of driving to the school.
Advocates who take Green Bay 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 Madison, Wisconsin, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What do special education advocates charge in Madison, Wisconsin?
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.
What is the difference between an IEP advocate and a special education attorney?
No. Advocates prepare for meetings, read the records and negotiate with the district. Attorneys file due process complaints and appear at hearings, which an advocate cannot do.
Who runs special education for Madison schools?
Most of the city sits inside Madison Metropolitan 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 Wisconsin?
Wisconsin sets its own deadline and it is 60 calendar 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.
Where does a written special education complaint go?
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction takes written complaints from parents about missed deadlines and services never delivered. An advocate can prepare one. The advocate does not decide it and cannot make the district settle.
Official Wisconsin links for parents in Madison.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Wisconsin rules apply in Green Bay, Milwaukee, Kenosha, Racine and the other cities listed here, or see every Wisconsin advocate.
Print the current IEP and bring it to the first call. Every advocate on the Madison list will ask for it.
Keep a one-page timeline of what happened and when. Every advocate you talk to will start by building the same thing.
