Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham

Guess who’s back?
Fresh off the inaugural Epic IEP™ World Book Tour — eight stops in five days, professional developments, book signings, and hundreds of powerful conversations — Karen is back answering your biggest special education questions in real time.
And this one is packed.
From RTI misuse and delayed evaluations…
To schools sending kids home for behavior…
To missing related service minutes…
To paraprofessionals not being allowed to see the IEP (yes, that happened)…
We are breaking it down.
✨ In This Episode, Karen Covers:
Why RTI, MTSS, and tier systems cannot delay a special education evaluation
The truth about 504 Plans vs IEPs (and yes… follow the money)
How to request data (and what federal law says about access)
Why paraprofessionals must have access to the IEP
How to respond when a district drags its feet
If you’re feeling defeated, overwhelmed, or talked down to at the table — this episode is your reset.
You don’t know what you don’t know — but you need to.
📚 Get The Epic IEP™ | Available wherever books are sold
If the book has helped you, please leave a review. It helps other families find it.
🎓 Join The Academy (First Month Free)
Over 400+ hours of archived trainings and weekly live coaching:
🎟️ Upcoming Trainings
2-Day LIVE Virtual Intensive: March 7–8
2-Day LIVE In-Person Intensive: May 30–31 | Lexington, Kentucky
Limited seating.
We train everyone at the IEP/504 table to navigate and negotiate successful student outcomes.
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 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.)
...

“Data doesn’t have feelings. It has evidence.”
In this high-energy TikTok Live replay, Karen Mayer Cunningham dives headfirst into real-time questions from parents, teachers, and advocates navigating the special education process.
Karen brings clarity, humor, and decades of experience to the conversation — reminding us that preparation beats panic every time.
✨ In This Episode, We Cover:
The difference between a 504 Plan and an IEP (and why it matters)
When a one-on-one paraprofessional is appropriate — and when it’s not
Can you record an IEP meeting? (Know your state rights.)
When suspension triggers an MDR
How to think through behavior plans (FBA vs. BIP)
Karen also shares exciting updates on:
📘 The Epic IEP™ (USA Today National Bestseller)
📕 The upcoming Epic IEP™ Federal & State Law Guide
📗 The soon-to-release Epic IEP™ Paraprofessional Handbook
🎓 The 2-Day Special Education Advocacy Intensive (Live + On-Demand)
👩‍🏫 The Mastermind for future advocates
🚀 Ready to Go Deeper?
Join The Academy (first month free):
You don’t know what you don’t know — but you need to.
📚 Grab Your Copy of The Epic IEP™
🎧 Listen. Subscribe. Share.
If this episode helped you, share it with a parent, educator, or advocate who needs to hear it.
Because when we sit at the table prepared, outcomes change.
“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.)
...

In this Ask the Advocate episode of Special Education Boss®, Karen Mayer Cunningham answers real questions from parents, educators, and advocates navigating complex IEP issues — from unfinished Monday meetings to missing data, procedural safeguards, graduation pathways, and transition services.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why IEP meetings so often stall — and what must happen before they continue
The difference between a diploma vs. certificate of attendance
How procedural safeguards actually work (and how to invoke them)
What to do when schools claim a child was “overserved” — without data
Why homework cannot count as special education services
What meaningful transition services should look like (and what doesn’t count)
Karen also shares updates on The Epic IEP™ book, upcoming trainings, the national book tour, and how educators can transition into advocacy work with the right training and support.
You don’t know what you don’t know — but you need to.
This episode helps you walk into IEP and 504 meetings informed, confident, and prepared.

🎓 Join The Academy
Get access to 250+ hours of training, weekly coaching, and step-by-step guidance: https://academy.specialeducationacademy.com/theepiciep-courses/the-academy/
📘 Get the #1 Bestseller 
The Epic IEP™: A Powerful Playbook for Parents, Educators, and Advocates
👉 https://amzn.to/3Ll0Dos
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.)
...

In this Ask the Advocate episode of Special Education Boss®, Karen Mayer Cunningham answers real-time questions from parents, educators, and advocates navigating complex IEP situations — from compensatory services and eligibility decisions to attendance struggles, team makeup, and school-based pushback.
This episode is a powerful reminder that IEPs are legal documents, teams are equal stakeholders, and schools do not get to reduce or redefine federal rights.
In this episode, Karen covers:
When compensatory services are appropriate, and why “closing gaps” is the wrong goal
Why eligibility decisions matter — and how mislabeling harms services
What to do when districts push students from an IEP to a 504
Required members of an IEP committee (and what happens if someone leaves early)
Attendance concerns, OCD, and capturing all student needs in the IEP
Why some placements, pull-outs, and group decisions may be segregation, not support
The difference between collaboration and schools acting as the “IEP referee.”
How to think long-term about post-secondary outcomes, independence, and adult life
Karen also shares updates on The Epic IEP book, upcoming book tour stops, professional development trainings, and what’s next inside The Academy.
👉 Join The Epic IEP™Academy:
[https://academy.specialeducationacademy.com/theepiciep-courses/the-academy/]

📘 Get The Epic IEP:
Available wherever books are sold.
🎧 Subscribe, follow, and share this episode with anyone who sits at an IEP or 504 table.
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.)
...

Today’s Ask the Advocate starts with a celebration—The Epic IEP is officially hitting hands soon—and then we go straight into a question that’s blowing up in schools everywhere:
Can paraprofessionals take data and deliver instruction when the teacher isn’t in the room?
Let’s finish the clip, finish the sentence, and finish the confusion.
Karen breaks down what “direct supervision” is actually tied to, why so many teams are unintentionally setting paras (and kids) up for failure, and what to do when the “this is how we’ve always done it” logic doesn’t match the written requirements.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why software-driven IEPs are not the same as student-driven IEPs
The 3-part “direct supervision” conversation Karen uses at the table
What to ask your admin (without lighting yourself on fire)
What to do when an IEP isn’t scheduled on time
Why you don’t remove services because an adult/student pairing isn’t working—you fix the delivery
How to think through program changes (including autism programs) based on educational need
Real talk on 504 meetings, “accommodations culture,” and why training matters
📘 Get The Epic IEP (Official Amazon link):
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscom

🎁 Pre-order bonuses + updates:
Head to TheEpicIEP.com (bonuses may include access to special virtual training events). 
📍Kentucky Book Tour (first stops):
Barnes & Noble Author Event — Thursday, Feb 12, 2026 (5:00 PM ET)
(Additional Louisville/Lexington dates are being coordinated—watch for the finalized store-by-store schedule.) 
✅ Join The Academy (community + training):
https://academy.specialeducationacademy.com/theepiciep-courses/the-academy/
“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.)
...