Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham

Karen Mayer Cunningham, Special Education Boss®
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The Special Education Boss® Podcast is where advocacy meets action. Join Karen Mayer Cunningham each week as she empowers parents and professionals to understand their rights, navigate the system, and show up strong at the IEP table.

  1. 20h ago

    EP Minutes, Comp Services, ESY & Retention — Ask the Advocate LIVE

    Were you ever actually trained on what you are expected to do at the IEP table? Most parents, advocates, and educators were not — and that is exactly why we sit at the table prepared. In this live Ask the Advocate session, Karen Mayer Cunningham answers more than 50 real questions straight from the audience. No scripts, no fluff — just clear, practical answers on the things you are responsible for but were never taught. WHAT WE COVER → How to set up next school year before summer ends — including the "Zach Pack" every educator should get on day one → Who is actually allowed to deliver special education minutes, and why "two years below grade level" does not change that → Paraprofessionals, one-on-one supports, and communication partners for SGD users → Accommodations written from a student's characteristics — not their eligibility label → Compensatory services when minutes are missed, and how to calculate frequency, duration, and location → The two prongs of Extended School Year (ESY) → Prior written notice that will not get corrected, and the seven required components → Independent educational evaluations (IEEs): data, summary, and conclusion → Transition planning and postsecondary success → Filing complaints that are actually effective → Inclusion versus proximity — and why they are not the same thing CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome — we made it through the school year 01:30 Tonight we launch The Epic Educator Academy 02:30 Summer planning: what parents should be thinking about 04:00 The Zach Pack: prepping every educator for day one 06:00 One-on-one paras, communication partners, and SGDs 07:00 Stopping cookie-cutter accommodations 08:30 Calling the dean, field trips, and para coverage 11:00 Service minutes and who can deliver them 13:00 Manifestation determinations: the two questions 14:30 New special education director: where to start 16:00 Missed in-class support: calculate the minutes 17:30 Taking better data and present levels that do not match 19:00 IEP goal criteria and disagreements 22:00 Retention: should you hold your child back? 24:00 Compensatory services and missed minutes 26:00 ESY: the two prongs 27:00 Progress reports you never received 29:00 Prior written notice that will not get corrected 30:00 IEEs: data, summary, conclusion 34:00 Transition planning and postsecondary 36:00 Filing complaints that actually work 39:00 Monitoring accommodations and inclusion supports 44:00 How service frequencies are set 48:00 "Two years below grade level": who delivers SDI 52:00 Parent concerns and your right to be heard 53:00 Who belongs at the IEP table 55:00 Inclusion versus proximity 58:00 Continuum of placements: a senior moved to all gen ed 59:30 Closing This is educational training, not legal advice. We educate everyone at the IEP and 504 table to navigate and negotiate successful student outcomes. WANT MORE Educators — The Epic Educator Academy is live training every Monday at 7:00 PM Central, built for school-based staff. $27/month, cancel anytime: specialeducationacademy.com/educator Parents and advocates — join Special Education Academy for 250+ hours of training, updated weekly: specialeducationacademy.com/training Get the books: The Epic IEP, The Epic IEP: PARA, and The Epic IEP Guide to Federal and State Law for Special Education, wherever books are sold. When we get it right for the child, we get it right for everyone. — Karen Mayer Cunningham Support the show ✨ When we get it right for the child, we get it right for everybody. ✨ 👩‍⚖️ Hosted by Karen Mayer Cunningham, Advocate & Special Education Boss® Each week, Karen shares real stories, legal insights, and no-nonsense strategies to help you navigate special education with clarity and confidence. 👉 Subscribe & never miss an episode — new episodes drop every week! 🎓 Join The Academy: Weekly live trainings + 250+ hours of advocacy tools & expert resources 🔗 Learn more at The Epic IEP™ Academy  First month free, after that, cancel anytime.  📱 Follow Karen on: TikTok & Instagram: @specialeducationbossYouTube: Special Education Academy🧠 Want to level up your advocacy game? Check out the Advocate's Bookshelf — a curated collection of must-have tools, guides, and legal references every special education advocate should own. From federal code to diagnostic manuals, these are the essentials that help you advocate with clarity and confidence. 📚 Browse now: https://amzn.to/3RiQPLl (As an Amazon Associate, Karen may earn a small commission if you make a purchase — at no extra cost to you.) Because when...

    1h 1m

  2. 6d ago

    She Knew Something Was Wrong. She Was Right. | Mia's Story | Special Education Boss®

    Sarah Harter trusted her gut for two years before anyone believed her. Her daughter Mia survived brain surgery at age two and has been defying expectations ever since. This is their story — and the resources that helped them get here. Some episodes stay with you. This is one of them. Karen Mayer Cunningham sits down with Sarah Harter - mom, anesthetist, and one of the most determined advocates her daughter Mia has ever had - to share a story that is honest, hard, and ultimately full of hope. Mia was born five weeks early. For two years, Sarah brought her concerns to doctor after doctor. She was told she was being a worried first-time mom. She kept showing up anyway. She was right. At two years old, Mia was diagnosed with a brain tumor the size of a baseball. Five months after a 17-hour surgery, she started school. And the systems that were supposed to support her - medical and educational - both had to be pushed before they showed up the way she needed them to. But this is not a story about what went wrong. It is a story about a family that refused to stop fighting - and the extraordinary things that happen when you do. In this episode, Sarah and Karen talk honestly about: - What it is like to be dismissed for years and then told your instincts were right all along - How Mia went from not being able to walk after surgery to dancing on a team - The difference between maintenance therapy and intensive therapy - and why that difference changed Mia's life - What the school system got wrong about LRE and what the family did about it - MNRI, vision therapy, NUCCA, and approaches that helped when standard care reached its limit - What families of medically complex children are almost never told about related services - Lighthouse Family Retreat - and why Sarah's family keeps going back to volunteer - American Printing House for the Blind, free audiobooks for life, and resources too few families ever find You do not need to have a child with a brain tumor to hear yourself in this conversation. If you have ever known something was wrong, and been told you were imagining it - this one is for you. Resources: Lighthouse Family Retreat: lighthousefamilyretreat.org American Printing House for the Blind: aph.org American Federation for the Blind: afb.org Special Education Academy: specialeducationacademy.com Epic IEP Book Bundle: theepiciep.com Email Karen's team: advocate@specialeducationacademy.com Support the show ✨ When we get it right for the child, we get it right for everybody. ✨ 👩‍⚖️ Hosted by Karen Mayer Cunningham, Advocate & Special Education Boss® Each week, Karen shares real stories, legal insights, and no-nonsense strategies to help you navigate special education with clarity and confidence. 👉 Subscribe & never miss an episode — new episodes drop every week! 🎓 Join The Academy: Weekly live trainings + 250+ hours of advocacy tools & expert resources 🔗 Learn more at The Epic IEP™ Academy  First month free, after that, cancel anytime.  📱 Follow Karen on: TikTok & Instagram: @specialeducationbossYouTube: Special Education Academy🧠 Want to level up your advocacy game? Check out the Advocate's Bookshelf — a curated collection of must-have tools, guides, and legal references every special education advocate should own. From federal code to diagnostic manuals, these are the essentials that help you advocate with clarity and confidence. 📚 Browse now: https://amzn.to/3RiQPLl (As an Amazon Associate, Karen may earn a small commission if you make a purchase — at no extra cost to you.) Because when...

    48 min

  3. May 21

    IEP Questions Parents Are Asking Right Now: Paras, Placement, Progress & Support

    What happens when your child has an IEP but still isn’t getting the support they need? In this episode of Special Education Boss®, Karen Mayer Cunningham answers real-time questions from parents, educators, and advocates about the everyday issues showing up at IEP and 504 tables right now. This rapid-fire Q&A covers some of the most common — and most frustrating — special education concerns families are facing, including transportation, one-on-one paraprofessionals, behavior support, progress data, related services, accommodations, private school questions, eligibility, bullying, and what to do when the IEP does not match what was discussed in the meeting. Karen also shares an update about the launch of the Epic Educator Academy™, created specifically for school-based members who need support, resources, training, and practical tools to better serve students. In this episode, Karen discusses: • Whether IEPs and 504s apply to afterschool programs • Who decides if a student receives special education transportation • What to do when Prior Written Notice is missing important information • Whether private schools are required to follow IDEA • When a one-on-one paraprofessional may or may not be appropriate • How academic deficits differ from para support needs • What to ask when accommodations are not being followed • How healthcare plans connect to IEPs and 504s • Toileting, hygiene, and personal care goals • What to do when agreed-upon IEP items are missing from the final document • Behavior Intervention Plans, FBAs, elopement, and replacement behaviors • What to ask when related services have been missed • How to address bullying involving a student with autism • Why data should drive IEP decisions • The upcoming Epic Educator Academy for school-based staff This episode is a reminder that every IEP decision should come back to the student’s actual needs, the data, the implementation of services, and whether the plan is helping the child make meaningful progress. We’re not giving legal advice. We’re educating you. Join The Academy Inside The Academy, you’ll find 250+ hours of special education training, weekly support, and practical education for parents, advocates, and professionals who want to sit at the IEP and 504 table prepared. Get Karen’s book, The Epic IEP  If this episode helped you, please follow, like, share, and subscribe so more families, advocates, and educators can learn how to navigate the IEP and 504 process with clarity and confidence. “When we get it right for the child, we get it right for everybody.” — Karen Mayer Cunningham Support the show ✨ When we get it right for the child, we get it right for everybody. ✨ 👩‍⚖️ Hosted by Karen Mayer Cunningham, Advocate & Special Education Boss® Each week, Karen shares real stories, legal insights, and no-nonsense strategies to help you navigate special education with clarity and confidence. 👉 Subscribe & never miss an episode — new episodes drop every week! 🎓 Join The Academy: Weekly live trainings + 250+ hours of advocacy tools & expert resources 🔗 Learn more at The Epic IEP™ Academy  First month free, after that, cancel anytime.  📱 Follow Karen on: TikTok & Instagram: @specialeducationbossYouTube: Special Education Academy🧠 Want to level up your advocacy game? Check out the Advocate's Bookshelf — a curated collection of must-have tools, guides, and legal references every special education advocate should own. From federal code to diagnostic manuals, these are the essentials that help you advocate with clarity and confidence. 📚 Browse now: https://amzn.to/3RiQPLl (As an Amazon Associate, Karen may earn a small commission if you make a purchase — at no extra cost to you.) Because when...

    1 hr

  4. May 14

    Prior Written Notice, ESY, Dyslexia Evaluations & What to Do When Districts Break the Law | Ask the Advocate | Special Education Boss

    It is the last full week of IEP meetings and Karen Mayer Cunningham is answering your live questions - and none of the answers are soft. This is a fast-moving Ask the Advocate session covering some of the most important questions in special education right now. Plus - big announcements. The Epic Educator Academy launches June 1st at 7PM Central. The Two-Day Advocacy Intensive is live in Lexington, Kentucky on May 30th and 31st. And the Epic IEP workbook is almost done. Questions answered in this episode: - What happens after a school district violates a mediated agreement? (Hint: it involves going back to the state and possibly a press conference.) - What is a prior written notice and what are the seven legal components? (Also: N/A is never an acceptable answer on a federal document.) - What is the difference between dyslexia and an SLD evaluation? (Stop asking for a dyslexia evaluation. Here is what to ask for instead.) - What are the two criteria required for ESY? (You do not get ESY. You require it.) - My child's IEP was left vague on purpose. Is that legal? (No. It is a legal document. It must be specific. Full stop.) - What triggers out of district placement? What is therapeutic placement? - Can a school district delay an evaluation until next year? (No. 15 days to respond. Period.) - What is predetermination and how do you put it in the record? - Who is responsible for writing modifications - general ed or special ed? (Special ed. Always.) - What do you do when a district violates a compensatory services agreement? - Can a school legally skip implementing an IEP for virtual school students? Resources: Special Education Academy: specialeducationacademy.com Epic IEP Book Bundle: theepiciep.com Epic Educator Academy (June 1): specialeducationacademy.com/training Email: advocate@specialeducationacademy.com Karen Mayer Cunningham is the Special Education Boss - advocate, trainer, and bestselling author of the Epic IEP book series. When we get it right for the child, we get it right for everybody. Support the show ✨ When we get it right for the child, we get it right for everybody. ✨ 👩‍⚖️ Hosted by Karen Mayer Cunningham, Advocate & Special Education Boss® Each week, Karen shares real stories, legal insights, and no-nonsense strategies to help you navigate special education with clarity and confidence. 👉 Subscribe & never miss an episode — new episodes drop every week! 🎓 Join The Academy: Weekly live trainings + 250+ hours of advocacy tools & expert resources 🔗 Learn more at The Epic IEP™ Academy  First month free, after that, cancel anytime.  📱 Follow Karen on: TikTok & Instagram: @specialeducationbossYouTube: Special Education Academy🧠 Want to level up your advocacy game? Check out the Advocate's Bookshelf — a curated collection of must-have tools, guides, and legal references every special education advocate should own. From federal code to diagnostic manuals, these are the essentials that help you advocate with clarity and confidence. 📚 Browse now: https://amzn.to/3RiQPLl (As an Amazon Associate, Karen may earn a small commission if you make a purchase — at no extra cost to you.) Because when...

    1h 7m

  5. May 7

    Behavior Is Communication: Trauma-Informed Strategies for Special Education Teams

    Behavior is not just a choice. It is communication, capacity, nervous system response, and often a reflection of the support a child has — or has not — received. In this powerful episode of Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham, Karen sits down with Rick and Doris Bowman of Bowman Consulting Group for a deeply important conversation about behavior, trauma-informed support, nervous system regulation, and what schools must understand when working with students who have big behavioral needs. Rick and Doris bring decades of experience in education, mental health, behavior support, collaborative problem solving, trauma-informed practices, and neuroscience-aligned interventions. Together, they unpack why traditional behavior systems often fail, why consequences alone do not create durable change, and why adults must understand what is happening beneath the behavior. This conversation challenges the idea that children are simply “choosing” to misbehave. Instead, Karen, Rick, and Doris talk about regulation, skill-building, identity, shame, failure, teacher fear, and the critical role adults play in helping students access their thinking brain and build new pathways for success. Learn more about Rick and Doris Bowman: Bowman Consulting Group Want more training on IEPs, 504s, FBAs, behavior support, procedural safeguards, evaluations, eligibility, prior written notice, and special education advocacy?  Join The Epic IEP™ Academy.  Follow, like, share, and subscribe so more parents, educators, and advocates can learn how to sit at the table prepared. Support the show ✨ When we get it right for the child, we get it right for everybody. ✨ 👩‍⚖️ Hosted by Karen Mayer Cunningham, Advocate & Special Education Boss® Each week, Karen shares real stories, legal insights, and no-nonsense strategies to help you navigate special education with clarity and confidence. 👉 Subscribe & never miss an episode — new episodes drop every week! 🎓 Join The Academy: Weekly live trainings + 250+ hours of advocacy tools & expert resources 🔗 Learn more at The Epic IEP™ Academy  First month free, after that, cancel anytime.  📱 Follow Karen on: TikTok & Instagram: @specialeducationbossYouTube: Special Education Academy🧠 Want to level up your advocacy game? Check out the Advocate's Bookshelf — a curated collection of must-have tools, guides, and legal references every special education advocate should own. From federal code to diagnostic manuals, these are the essentials that help you advocate with clarity and confidence. 📚 Browse now: https://amzn.to/3RiQPLl (As an Amazon Associate, Karen may earn a small commission if you make a purchase — at no extra cost to you.) Because when...

    52 min

  6. Apr 30

    What Special Ed Teachers Need You to Know | Chana Dixon & Karen Mayer Cunningham | Special Education Boss

    Nobody prepared you for what it actually feels like to sit across from a teacher in an IEP meeting. And nobody prepared that teacher for what it feels like when you walk in. Karen Mayer Cunningham, Special Education Boss, sits down with Chana Dixon - special education supervisor with 23 years in the field - for one of the most honest conversations in special education. This is not about paperwork. This is about people. In this episode: - Why special educators are on an island. In most schools, special ed teachers are the minority. They have no peers to collaborate with, no one to bounce ideas off, and the only time they interact with the broader team is at IEP meetings - which are already stressful for everyone. - The IEP meeting is also an evaluation of the teacher. When you are reviewing a document of deficits, you are also evaluating the person who wrote it. Chana breaks down why teachers feel attacked even when no attack is intended. - How to communicate in an IEP meeting without making teachers feel blamed. Chana's reframe: instead of asking why a student is not learning a skill, ask the teacher to show you how that student needs to learn it. That one shift changes everything. - Why professional development for special educators is almost entirely compliance-based. It is not about filling teachers up. It is about making sure they did not miss a checkbox. - Why teachers stay. It is not the money. It is the kids. Period. - The Epic IEP Academy for Educators is coming in June. Karen and Chana are co-leading a space built specifically for special educators - a community, a training ground, and a place where educators are finally seen. Resources: Special Education Academy: specialeducationacademy.com Epic IEP Book Bundle: theepiciep.com Email: advocate@specialeducationacademy.com Karen Mayer Cunningham is the Special Education Boss - advocate, trainer, and bestselling author of the Epic IEP book series. Her mission: get it right for the child, get it right for everybody. Subscribe for live Ask the Advocate sessions every Monday at 8PM inside the Special Education Academy. Support the show ✨ When we get it right for the child, we get it right for everybody. ✨ 👩‍⚖️ Hosted by Karen Mayer Cunningham, Advocate & Special Education Boss® Each week, Karen shares real stories, legal insights, and no-nonsense strategies to help you navigate special education with clarity and confidence. 👉 Subscribe & never miss an episode — new episodes drop every week! 🎓 Join The Academy: Weekly live trainings + 250+ hours of advocacy tools & expert resources 🔗 Learn more at The Epic IEP™ Academy  First month free, after that, cancel anytime.  📱 Follow Karen on: TikTok & Instagram: @specialeducationbossYouTube: Special Education Academy🧠 Want to level up your advocacy game? Check out the Advocate's Bookshelf — a curated collection of must-have tools, guides, and legal references every special education advocate should own. From federal code to diagnostic manuals, these are the essentials that help you advocate with clarity and confidence. 📚 Browse now: https://amzn.to/3RiQPLl (As an Amazon Associate, Karen may earn a small commission if you make a purchase — at no extra cost to you.) Because when...

    1h 9m

  7. Apr 23

    Can They Drop the IEP by Phone? Remove Kids on Test Day? Skip Resource? No, No, and No.

    Can a teacher call you on the phone and ask if you want to drop your IEP and go to a 504? Can the school relocate self-contained students because they are too loud during state testing? Can your principal tell you the campus does not have resource? No. No. And absolutely not. HERE'S WHAT KAREN COVERS: → Why resource rooms are required under IDEA 300.115 and what to do if your school says they eliminated resource → The two MDR questions both must be answered — and what happens when the school tries to skip the second one → Compensatory services explained — who owes the time, who serves the time, and how to structure it → Relocating self-contained students on state testing days is illegal — that is an out-of-placement violation → Educational need vs. academic need — why a disability does not have to affect academics to qualify for services → Dysgraphia vs. written expression — why the eligibility matters more than the label → The Epic IEP Educator Academy launches June 1st — $27 per month, Monday nights at 7 PM Central, solely for school district employees → Can IEP students receive failing grades? Can kindergartners be placed in self-contained for behaviors? What is the difference between logs and data? You don't know what you don't know — but you need to. This is why we sit at the table prepared. GET THE EPIC IEP BOOK BUNDLE — including the Epic IEP, the Federal and State Laws Guide, and the Epic IEP Para. JOIN SPECIAL EDUCATION ACADEMY — first month free, 400+ hours of training, live every Monday at 8 PM Central. 2-DAY LIVE SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVOCACY INTENSIVE — May 23 and 24 Support the show ✨ When we get it right for the child, we get it right for everybody. ✨ 👩‍⚖️ Hosted by Karen Mayer Cunningham, Advocate & Special Education Boss® Each week, Karen shares real stories, legal insights, and no-nonsense strategies to help you navigate special education with clarity and confidence. 👉 Subscribe & never miss an episode — new episodes drop every week! 🎓 Join The Academy: Weekly live trainings + 250+ hours of advocacy tools & expert resources 🔗 Learn more at The Epic IEP™ Academy  First month free, after that, cancel anytime.  📱 Follow Karen on: TikTok & Instagram: @specialeducationbossYouTube: Special Education Academy🧠 Want to level up your advocacy game? Check out the Advocate's Bookshelf — a curated collection of must-have tools, guides, and legal references every special education advocate should own. From federal code to diagnostic manuals, these are the essentials that help you advocate with clarity and confidence. 📚 Browse now: https://amzn.to/3RiQPLl (As an Amazon Associate, Karen may earn a small commission if you make a purchase — at no extra cost to you.) Because when...

    1h 13m

  8. Apr 16

    Procedural Safeguards, Child Find, Prior Written Notice, and Parent Rights in Special Education

    In this live Q&A episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham answers real questions from parents, educators, and advocates about some of the biggest special education issues showing up right now. From dyslexia tools and ADHD support to paraprofessional roles, raw data, ESY, reading levels, 18–21 transition services, and IEP service minutes, this conversation is packed with practical insight to help you show up more prepared at the table. In this episode, Karen covers: ✨ Tools that may support students with dyslexia, including Learning Ally and Kurzweil ✨ Whether behavior services can be provided under SLD eligibility ✨ What paraprofessionals can and cannot do in special education settings ✨ What “raw data” means and why families ask for it ✨ How to think about reading levels, progress monitoring, and instructional need ✨ What ESY means and the two-part question teams should be asking ✨ Questions around transition services, 18–21 programming, and community readiness ✨ How educators can document concerns when students need more support than general education can provide Karen also shares updates on new resources, including The Epic IEP™ Para, The Epic IEP™ Guide to Federal and State Laws, and what’s coming next for educators inside the Special Education Academy community. Resources + Next Steps Join The Epic IEP™ Academy here. Explore Karen’s trainings, books, and resources, here.  Be sure to follow, like, share, and subscribe so you never miss an episode of Special Education Boss®. Important Reminder We’re not giving legal advice. We’re educating you. Support the show ✨ When we get it right for the child, we get it right for everybody. ✨ 👩‍⚖️ Hosted by Karen Mayer Cunningham, Advocate & Special Education Boss® Each week, Karen shares real stories, legal insights, and no-nonsense strategies to help you navigate special education with clarity and confidence. 👉 Subscribe & never miss an episode — new episodes drop every week! 🎓 Join The Academy: Weekly live trainings + 250+ hours of advocacy tools & expert resources 🔗 Learn more at The Epic IEP™ Academy  First month free, after that, cancel anytime.  📱 Follow Karen on: TikTok & Instagram: @specialeducationbossYouTube: Special Education Academy🧠 Want to level up your advocacy game? Check out the Advocate's Bookshelf — a curated collection of must-have tools, guides, and legal references every special education advocate should own. From federal code to diagnostic manuals, these are the essentials that help you advocate with clarity and confidence. 📚 Browse now: https://amzn.to/3RiQPLl (As an Amazon Associate, Karen may earn a small commission if you make a purchase — at no extra cost to you.) Because when...

    1h 22m
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Ratings & Reviews

4
out of 5
25 Ratings

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The Special Education Boss® Podcast is where advocacy meets action. Join Karen Mayer Cunningham each week as she empowers parents and professionals to understand their rights, navigate the system, and show up strong at the IEP table.

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