Special education advocacy, with the price on the page.
Most advocates make you book a call before they'll tell you what it costs. We publish ours. Work directly with Dr. Mary Montgomery, Ed.D., who has spent over 40 years getting children the services they're owed — and if you buy hours in bulk, you pay less per hour, not more.
- 40+ years advocating
- Ed.D.
- All 50 states — virtually
- In person — South Florida based on availability
The RMR
Review · Meet · Report
Fixed fee
- Review — she reads your IEP or 504 plan properly, line by line
- Meet — she sits down with you and goes through what she found, by video anywhere in the 50 states or in person in South Florida based on availability
- Report — you get it in writing: what the plan says, what it leaves out, and what to ask for next
- Honest advice either way. If you do not need an advocate, she will tell you so — we guide, we do not talk anyone into hiring us
- The report is yours to keep and use, whether you work with us again or not
Advance Fee Deposit
Non-refundable · earned on receipt · 11 hours
11 hours
- Ten hours at $250 instead of $275 — then one bonus hour free, so 11 in total
- Used however your case needs — review, letters, calls, preparation
- Meeting attendance — by video in all 50 states, in person across South Florida based on availability
- Records requests and independent evaluation requests drafted for you
- Written follow-up to the district recording what was agreed
- Once all eleven are used, continue at $275 per hour — or reload another package and earn more bonus hours
- Your hours last 12 months from the date of purchase. A non-refundable advance fee, earned on receipt, which is what makes the lower rate possible
Monthly Advocacy
She stays on your team
Per month · six-month term
- Two hours of Dr. Montgomery’s time each month, paid in advance
- Additional hours billed at $250 instead of $275
- Six-month term — she plans her year around your child
- Hours do not roll over; each month starts fresh
- Meetings, letters, calls, records review — whatever that month needs
Please read. Educational advocacy is a non-legal service provided by Dr. Mary Montgomery, Ed.D., or another vetted educational advocate — not an attorney. Buying an advocacy package does not create an attorney-client relationship with Montgomery Law Group, PLLC, and advocacy is not legal advice or legal representation. If your situation needs legal advice, a due process filing or litigation, we will tell you — and you can book a Legal Information and Strategy Session with an attorney ($600) or discuss representation.
Do you need an advocate, or a lawyer?
Most families are told to pick one. The honest answer depends on what stage you are at — and unlike most advocates, we can do either, so we have no reason to push you toward the wrong one.
| Your situation | Dr. Montgomery · advocate | Our attorneys |
|---|---|---|
| The IEP looks thin and you are not sure what to ask for | Best fit | Not needed yet |
| You want someone with you at the IEP or 504 meeting | Best fit | Usually overkill |
| Services in the IEP are simply not being delivered | Start here | If it continues |
| You are considering mediation or a due process complaint | Can support alongside | Best fit |
| Discipline, expulsion, or a manifestation determination | Can support alongside | Best fit |
| Your child was hurt, assaulted, or abused at school | A better fit for one of our lawyers | Call us today |
| The district is threatening a more restrictive placement | Often enough | If it escalates |
Special education advocacy, explained
What is a special education advocate?
A special education advocate is someone who works alongside you to get your child the educational services they are entitled to. A good one has a strong grounding in the special education process, in special education law and procedure, in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and in the wider educational and civil rights rules that sit around it.
Advocates are usually non-lawyers — often former special education teachers or administrators. Some are lawyers who work with the district outside the formal litigation process. What matters is experience: a good advocate has seen the full range of educational disputes, not just the straightforward ones.
Why would a family need one?
Because getting appropriate services for a child with disabilities is rarely straightforward. Schools sometimes refuse to provide the supports a child already qualifies for. Sometimes they refuse to provide special education services at all.
When parents and a district disagree, an advocate is a practical way to close the gap — someone who knows what the district is required to give, what it is actually capable of providing, and how to ask for it in language the district has to respond to.
Three questions to ask any advocate before you hire them
- Have you worked inside schools? Knowing how a district actually operates is different from knowing the law.
- How many years have you spent advocating for children? Ask for a number, not an impression.
- What types of cases have you handled? Breadth matters — unusual cases are where inexperience shows.
For the record: Dr. Mary Montgomery has been doing this for over 40 years and holds a doctorate in education.
Do you actually need one? An honest test
If you have reached a crossroads with your district, probably yes. An advocate is useful for two reasons that pull in opposite directions — and both matter.
The first is pressure: they know what the district owes your child and how to hold it to that. The second is realism. Every parent wants the best for their child, but the law only requires schools to provide services that are appropriate — not the best available. A skilled advocate narrows the gap between what is best and what is appropriate, and tells you honestly where that line falls.
What does it cost?
Most advocates charge either a flat fee or an hourly rate, and most will not tell you which until you have booked a call. Ours is published: Dr. Montgomery bills at $275 per hour, and the $2,500 advance fee deposit covers eleven hours — one of them free — then $275 per hour after that.
Most families start with the $475 RMR — Review, Meet, Report — Dr. Montgomery reads the plan, goes through it with you, and tells you honestly whether you need an advocate at all. Beyond that we bill hourly on purpose. There is also Monthly Advocacy at $550 — two hours a month on a six-month term, with extra hours at $250. A proper IEP review means reading every evaluation, progress report and piece of correspondence — that is genuine work, and a flat fee either underpays it or overcharges the families whose cases are simple.
If your matter turns out to need a lawyer rather than an advocate, there is a separate route: a Legal Information and Strategy Session at $600 gets you an hour of record review, an hour with an attorney and a written memo, credited against your advance fee if you go on to retain the firm. In some cases a law firm can act on your child's behalf and seek the majority of its fees from the school district.
Guess the special ed acronym
Special education runs on initials, and districts use them fast. Ten questions, fifty acronyms in the deck. See how you do before your next meeting.
Acronym Challenge
No sign-up. Nothing saved. Just practice.