♿ Miami-Dade Disability & Autism Newsletter 🧩

Good morning, my fellow Miamians 🦩

September starts with 4 new Florida laws that change how schools serve our children, from seizure training to a 10-day notice when an IEP service goes missing, and most parents have never heard of any of them. Somebody has to read the laws, and it might as well be a dad who's already up at 5am anyway.

The rest of today is about the people around your family: the attorney I trust with special needs trusts, and a new podcast conversation about what parents miss when choosing a school. Line them up before you need them. That's the plan working.

Today's Edition Includes

1. 4 New Florida Laws for Families of Students with Disabilities
2. The Attorney I Send Families To For Special Needs Trusts: Carlos Aguila Of Aguila Law
3. Disability News Headlines
4. New Podcast Episode: What Autism Parents Miss When Choosing a School
   ​

🖇️ FREE BOOK DOWNLOADS​​

1. ​Future-Proofing Your Special Needs Child: Essential Legal, Financial, and Life Strategies for Florida Families​
2. ​Miami-Dade Special Needs Resource Directory​
3. ​The Ultimate Home Buying Guide: For Families with Special Needs​

4 New Florida Laws for Families of Students with Disabilities

All 4 took effect July 1, 2026.

1. ​HB 1279: An education law that, among many provisions, requires families of students with an individualized education plan to be notified within 10 days if the school does not provide a service the plan requires.
2. ​HB 1201: Strengthens Florida's seizure-safety law for schools, including charter schools. It revises the individualized seizure action plan, expands which employees, including those transporting students, must complete epilepsy and seizure-disorder training, and sets that training as valid for 5 years.
3. ​HB 851: Requires school districts' professional learning systems to provide at least one autism-specific training opportunity for instructional personnel and administrators. The training covers academic instruction, behavioral support, communication strategies, and inclusive practices for students with autism.
4. ​HB 453: Lets students with disabilities use Special Olympics participation to satisfy the physical education requirement for a standard high school diploma.

The Attorney I Send Families To For Special Needs Trusts: Carlos Aguila Of Aguila Law ⚖️

Most estate attorneys will draft you a special needs trust. Far fewer build their whole practice around the families who need one, and that's the difference that matters when your child's benefits are on the line.

Carlos Aguila runs Aguila Law in Miami, and his firm does the exact work these families depend on: special needs trusts, guardianship, probate, and estate planning, all under one roof. That combination is rarer than it sounds. When a parent is planning for a child who may never live independently, the trust, the guardianship decision at 18, and the long-term estate plan are one connected problem, and Carlos handles all of it in the same office instead of sending you to 3 different people who don't talk to each other.

What I want to point to is the trust work, because it's the piece that touches every home these families buy or sell. A special needs trust is what holds the home, or the proceeds from a sale, without costing a disabled child the SSI and Medicaid tied to a $2,000 asset limit. Set it up right and the home is protected, set it up wrong and the child loses benefits that take months to win back. Carlos structures these trusts so the real estate sits where it should from the start, which is exactly what I need lined up before a family buys a home their child will live in for 30 years, or sells one an heir depends on.

If your family needs a special needs trust, a guardianship plan, or an estate plan built around a child with a disability, Carlos Aguila is who I'd point you to. You can reach Aguila Law at (305) 967-8554. Tell them Victor sent you. And if you know a family who's been putting this off because they don't know where to start, forward them this issue, that introduction is worth more than any resource I could send.

Victor Antunez

Real Estate Professional 🔑 Autism Dadvocate

PS. If buying or selling a home is on your mind, and you want to talk it through, text or call me at (305) 401-6224

PSS. Nothing means more than a real estate referral. If someone comes to mind, please send them my way.

📝 Disability News Headlines

1. ​Cursive writing and autism-specific teacher training among new laws for the new school year
2. ​Florida lawmaker pushes Project Leo after 2 children with autism drown in August
3. ​Mother pleads for leniency for daughter with autism as criminal case moves forward
4. ​Planning for Your Autistic Child's Future When You're No Longer Here
5. ​Scientists Studied 18,000 Families. An Autism Risk Pattern Stood Out

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE 🎧

What Autism Parents Miss When Choosing a School

​

Share This Newsletter With A Friend Who Needs It 💙

👉 SUBSCRIBE HERE​