Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham

• When Vision Minutes Go Wrong: How to Use Data to Fix an Epic IEP

  Today’s episode of The Epic IEP™ is going to be a little bit longer — but you’re going to want to hear this. Karen Mayer Cunningham, The Special Education Boss®, shares a story that is funny, frustrating, fantastic, and absolutely essential for anyone sitting at an IEP table.Karen walks you through a real meeting where a student with a vision impairment was receiving 15 minutes a semesterof “consult.” The team insisted it was enough. The paperwork looked “fine.” The VISIT form was “calculated.” But the child still wasn’t receiving the direct services he needed.In this episode, you’ll learn how Karen broke it down:• Why zero minutes would force a DNQ• How to use functional tools (like the VISIT/VSST) in real-life conversations• How an advocate sees the paperwork from a different lensKaren also explains why parents and school-based staff are equal stakeholders, and why disagreement is not a problem — it’s part of the process. Parents rarely know their safeguards or how to interpret evaluations, and schools are often too close to the student to recognize when a need has grown or changed.The heart of this episode:Data tells the story. Data drives decisions. Data determines services.Your job is to listen to the data — not the feelings, not the assumptions, not the “we’ve already calculated it.”If you’ve ever been in a meeting where things drag on, stall out, or go in circles — this episode gives you the clarity and language to move forward with confidence.📘 Get your copy of The Epic IEPOfficial Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscom👉 Join The Academy (250+ hours of training):https://www.skool.com/special-education-academy/about 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 Academy 📬 Have a question? Email us at [email protected] 📱 Follow Karen on: TikTok & Instagram: @specialeducationboss YouTube: 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.) ...

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• Why Disagreement Isn’t Disrespect: A Real IEP Story

  Today’s episode of The Epic IEP™ is a little longer — but you’re going to want to hear this. Karen Mayer Cunningham, The Special Education Boss®, shares a real IEP meeting where everything was “fine”… until the parent disagreed. And that’s when things got interesting.Karen breaks down how a simple request — adding general education as an implementer on two IEP goals — turned into pushback, confusion, and the classic line: “I thought we were collaborating.” She explains why parents are equal stakeholders, why disagreement is normal, and why “collaboration” should never be used as pressure.In this episode, you’ll learn how to:• Understand implementers vs. services• Recognize when teams may be preparing to propose removal from gen ed• Respond when “collaboration” becomes manipulation• Keep the focus on data, not feelings or assumptions• Use IDEA’s framework to ground decisions• Hold firm when the team doesn’t want general ed listedKaren reminds us that the IEP is a document of obligation, not convenience — and that every stakeholder has the gift of persuasion. Use it ethically, use it clearly, and always keep the child’s unique circumstances at the center.📘 Get The Epic IEP on Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscom👉 Join The Academy (250+ hours of training):https://www.skool.com/special-education-academy/about“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 Academy 📬 Have a question? Email us at [email protected] 📱 Follow Karen on: TikTok & Instagram: @specialeducationboss YouTube: 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.) ...

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• Epic IEP Meetings Gone Wild: Services, LRE, Vision Minutes & Telling the Truth About Data

  Today’s episode of The Epic IEP™ is a little longer — but you’re going to want to hear this. Karen Mayer Cunningham, The Special Education Boss®, breaks down a real IEP story that starts with “she’s doing fantastic” and ends with a fourth grader reading 13 words correct per minute and a team refusing resource for five meetings straight.If you’ve ever sat at the table and wondered why services become the sticking point, this episode gives you clarity. Karen explains why the “why” doesn’t matter — power, control, personality, panic, excuses — none of it changes the team’s obligation to write an IEP that enables progress appropriate in light of the student’s unique circumstances.Inside this episode, you’ll learn how to:• Stick to the facts, not feelings or opinions• Respond when teams say “she’s doing great” while the data says otherwise• Quantify gaps (like 13 wcpm vs. the 120 wcpm average) so the need is undeniable• Handle the “we’re worried if she leaves gen ed…” argument• Challenge myths like “she has to hear state standards”• Understand why resource is often resisted — and why it’s necessary• Pivot conversations back to needs, minutes, and services• Keep the main thing the main thing: the student’s unique circumstancesKaren shares how a student who was overlooked for years finally received resource reading — and how she moved from 13 wcpm to 60 wcpm. Not because she was “sweet” or “quiet”… but because the team looked at the data and addressed the real need.You’ll also hear how to stay grounded when meetings get frustrating:• Don’t chase the why — focus on what’s next.• If you don’t know if something is true, ask for it in writing.• Use: “Can you send me that code or statute by email by close of business tomorrow?”• Remember: lovely, well-behaved, or quiet is not the standard. Progress is.This episode is all about clarity, courage, and keeping your eyes on the data.📘 Get your copy of The Epic IEPOfficial Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscom👉 Join The Academy (250+ hours of training):https://www.skool.com/special-education- 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 Academy 📬 Have a question? Email us at [email protected] 📱 Follow Karen on: TikTok & Instagram: @specialeducationboss YouTube: 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.) ...

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• When “She’s Doing Fantastic” Isn’t True: The Resource Room Fight Every Parent Faces

  Welcome back to The Epic IEP™, where we share stories that are funny, frustrating, and absolutely fantastic—because they really happen at the IEP table.In today’s episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham, Special Education Boss®, breaks down one of the most common battles in special education: getting a student the actual services they need.This fourth grader was reading 13 words correct per minute (average is 120), had failed district and state assessments, and still the team insisted she was “doing fantastic.” After four meetings, the district finally agreed she needed resource—and five years later, she now reads 60 WCPM and is on track for high school.In this episode:Why “she’s doing great” isn’t dataWhy quiet students often fly under the radarWhy resource is resisted—and why it mattersHow to keep meetings focused on facts, not feelingsThe power of asking: “Can you email me the code for that by close of business tomorrow?”Remember: don’t get stuck on why a team is resisting services. Focus on what’s next.📘 Get The Epic IEPAmazon: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscomUpload your receipt for bonuses: TheEpicIEP.com📚 Train with KarenThe Academy: https://www.skool.com/special-education-academy/about 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 Academy 📬 Have a question? Email us at [email protected] 📱 Follow Karen on: TikTok & Instagram: @specialeducationboss YouTube: 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.) ...

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• “He Has a Disability Every Day”: The Schedule-of-Services Fight You Won’t Believe

  Welcome back to The Epic IEP™, where we share stories that are funny, frustrating, and absolutely fantastic — because they really happen at the IEP table.In today’s episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham, Special Education Boss®, walks into what should have been a routine meeting… and instead ends up in a debate about whether a student needs support every day or only three days a week— even though his disability exists seven days a week.When the team insists the student “isn’t focused,” “isn’t motivated,” and “could do it if he wanted,” Karen breaks down exactly why misunderstanding neurological disabilities leads to poor IEPs — and poor outcomes.Karen explains why agreement based on limited knowledge is not informed consent and why the committee must adjust services when the student is not successful.In this episode:Why “lack of motivation” is NOT a disability categoryWhat the Schedule of Services page should actually reflectWhy a student needs support every day — not on mystery days of the weekConflicts you can expect when teams see disability as “choice”What it means to set a student up for destiny, not destructionWhen you stay grounded in the law, the data, and the student’s actual needs, clarity always wins.📘 Get Karen’s new book — The Epic IEPYour roadmap to writing, understanding, and implementing IEPs that actually work.Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscomUpload your receipt for bonuses, book club access, and chapter previews: TheEpicIEP.com📚 Train with KarenJoin The Academy — 250+ hours of training + weekly live sessions:https://www.skool.com/special-education-academy/about 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 Academy 📬 Have a question? Email us at [email protected] 📱 Follow Karen on: TikTok & Instagram: @specialeducationboss YouTube: 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.) ...

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