Our advocate has been the best money we've spent. At the time we paid,, I think, $1800 retainer, which is fair because they need to do a lot of work to get up to speed on your kid. You don't want one who says, yeah, pay me and I'll be at your meeting on Tuesday. You need a records review, observation and parent interview at a minimum, to get going. A good advocate will then know when to bring on the lawyer. Once you stay longterm with the advocate you are just paying hourly for meetings.

Anonymous wrote:We paid $35,000 over 18 months and got no change in placement and nothing positive for our child. Lovely lawyer, but no impact.

I wish we had put that toward private school. Big regrets.

Wow. That is a crazy amount of money

We paid $35,000 over 18 months and got no change in placement and nothing positive for our child. Lovely lawyer, but no impact.

I wish we had put that toward private school. Big regrets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI

https://www.riseeducationaladvocacy.com/blog/iep-special-education-attorney-advocate-coach

this is not accurate

signed,

a special ed attorney

This is OP
I've created a throw-away email account, "dcurbanThrowAWAY" at Gmail dot com. If you practice in Maryland, I would be grateful if you could reach out and let me know how to contact your office this week to setup a consultation.
Thank you!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What type of accommodations are you requesting? How old is your kid? Make sure the accommodations will be helpful and feasible before you go to the expense of hiring a lawyer/advocate

This doesn’t really make since since you hire them to determine what/where the school is lacking, what the child needs, and legally what can be done to achieve what the child needs.

It's definitely good to go into the relationship knowing your child's needs and what accommodations are reasonable to ask for. Some advocates limit their asks, in order to ensure an easy success and to maintain their long-term relationship with the schools. You have to take an active role and not just accept whatever the advocate says. POP said "the school has told me to stop intervening" so OP is in a weak position, making this even more important.

Anonymous wrote:FYI

https://www.riseeducationaladvocacy.com/blog/iep-special-education-attorney-advocate-coach

this is not accurate

signed,

a special ed attorney

We found special ed attorneys were less than $500/hr and hired one who is $375/hr.

FYI

https://www.riseeducationaladvocacy.com/blog/iep-special-education-attorney-advocate-coach

Anonymous wrote:What type of accommodations are you requesting? How old is your kid? Make sure the accommodations will be helpful and feasible before you go to the expense of hiring a lawyer/advocate

This doesn’t really make since since you hire them to determine what/where the school is lacking, what the child needs, and legally what can be done to achieve what the child needs.

Anonymous wrote:DCs 504 isn't being followed. The school has told me to stop intervening (and has denied IEP despite clear connection between disability and inability to complete curriculum)

I'm ready to call a lawyer but would like to be prepared for the cost range though I realize this will vary greatly.

Thank you for your time

That's not the standard for an IEP -- it's whether they need specialized instruction.

An advocate will cost around $250 an hour, a lawyer perhaps twice that.

What type of accommodations are you requesting? How old is your kid? Make sure the accommodations will be helpful and feasible before you go to the expense of hiring a lawyer/advocate

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want a lawyer or an advocate or an advocate that’s also a lawyer?

Probably need someone who is both

That’s going to be high end then, but the option I’d choose as well if you’re serious about getting things moving. They run $500-1000 per hour and usually have a 3-5k retainer. I’d avoid telling the school you’re hiring anyone for now, sometimes advocate/lawyers prefer to present themselves as advocates. Some don’t. So best to talk to them first and plan your strategy.

Anonymous wrote:Do you want a lawyer or an advocate or an advocate that’s also a lawyer?

Probably need someone who is both

Do you want a lawyer or an advocate or an advocate that’s also a lawyer?

DCs 504 isn't being followed. The school has told me to stop intervening (and has denied IEP despite clear connection between disability and inability to complete curriculum)

I'm ready to call a lawyer but would like to be prepared for the cost range though I realize this will vary greatly.

Thank you for your time