Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham

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.)
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Did your IEP team say “we don’t have staff,” “we’ll just do a records review,” or “they don’t qualify because grades are fine”?
In this rapid-fire Q&A episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham (THE SPECIAL EDUCATION BOSS®) goes rogue and answers real questions from parents, educators, and advocates about what’s happening in schools right now—from missing AAC subscriptions to paras being left to “teach” SPED classes.
In this episode, we cover:
AAC devices + access: what to do when the school won’t update subscriptions
Paraprofessionals: what they can do—and what they legally cannot do
Triennials + “records review”: what’s required and when to push for testing
Toileting support: functional needs during the instructional day are not optional
Behavior + safety: when out-of-district placement becomes a real consideration
Want your questions answered live? Join The Academy (your first month is FREE).
We train every Monday night on federal requirements, then we open up for Q&A—because you have questions every week, and this is why we sit at the table prepared.
✅ Join The Academy: https://academy.specialeducationacademy.com/theepiciep-courses/the-academy/

🎧 Listen to more episodes on Buzzsprout + YouTube
📘 Get The Epic IEP (official link): https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscom

Book Tour / Host a Training Location
Interested in hosting Karen for a district, school, nonprofit, university, or community training?
Email: [email protected]
Text: 606-776-3175
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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We’re back to school, and I’m not easing into anything. If your district is only giving parents “part of the draft,” if services are being missed because of staffing, or if someone is trying to use paraprofessionals to “cover” certified special education minutes—this episode is for you.
Tonight we cover what teams are required to do, what’s simply “district preference,” and the fastest way to bring meetings back to what they’re supposed to be: an efficient business meeting that protects student outcomes.
In this episode, we talk about:
Why giving parents only “part of the draft” is a red flag (and a bad long game)
The truth about accountability: we’re not battling teachers—we’re holding districts responsible
What the federal rules actually say about paraprofessionals (direct supervision, close proximity, frequent contact)
What to do when your district “doesn’t have” a provider (and why compensatory services matter)
When behavior rises above what general ed can support (hello, BIP)
Tools I love for struggling readers: Learning Ally and Kurzweil
Want weekly training with us? Join the EPIC IEP Academy (Mondays) — your first month is FREE.
Go to: Special Education Academy → Training → EPIC IEP Academy
Use coupon code: NewYear2026 (New + Year capitalized)
Get the book (The EPIC IEP) on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscom
Interested in hosting a stop on the EPIC IEP Book Tour (2026)?
Email: [email protected]
 
We’re educating you so you can show up prepared at the IEP/504 table.
“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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What if we stopped calling kids “difficult”… and started getting honest about what difficult behavior is really communicating?
In today’s episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham sits down with John Vergara (aka The Difficult Student) — an assistant principal over special education and one of the most impactful voices online when it comes to behavior, leadership, and building classroom culture that actually works.
John shares his personal story — from being the student with challenging behavior to becoming a leader supporting teachers, paraprofessionals, and IEP teams across two schools. This conversation is real, practical, and grounded in what helps kids and protects learning for everyone in the room.
✨ What You’ll Learn
Why John says “the student is good — it’s the behavior we work on”
The 3-part foundation: safety → love → self-esteem
Why structure and procedures are not “strict”… they’re support
A simple mindset shift that changes everything for teachers in hard environments
Resources + Links
✅ Join The Academy (Skool Community): https://www.skool.com/special-education-academy/about

✅ Get Karen’s book The Epic IEP (official link): https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscom

Find John Vergara (The Difficult Student)
Instagram / TikTok: @thedifficultstudent
Podcast: The Difficult Student Podcast (Spotify / Apple / YouTube)
If this episode helped you, follow the podcast, leave a review, and share it with a teacher, parent, or advocate who needs it.
“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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This week’s Ask the Advocate is a fast-paced Q&A covering what parents and educators are dealing with right now: staffing shortages, messy “tier” conversations, behavior needs being dismissed, and districts trying to move too fast (or stall completely) when the child needs support.
🧑‍🏫 Staffing, Paras, and “Who’s Allowed to Do What”
Sub paras placed in self-contained/tier settings with no training—what to say and who to alert
Can students be left alone with high school helpers?
Can a short-term/long-term sub run a self-contained classroom for consecutive years?
📚 IEP Process, Documentation, and Data
PWN: getting the denial in writing and why it matters
Why Karen doesn’t want “service logs”—she wants raw data collection sheets tied to IEP goals
🚨 Behavior, Safety, and FAPE
“IEPs are only for academics” — absolutely not
Elopement: when the BIP isn’t working, you need a new FBA/BIP and stronger supports
🏫 Inclusion and Continuum of Placement
“Inclusion only” with no pull-out/self-contained options = denial of the continuum
Out-of-district placement: what documentation and patterns matter, and when it becomes urgent
Links & Resources
📘 Pre-order The Epic IEP + claim bonuses:
Order on Amazon (or anywhere you buy books), then submit your receipt at theepiciep.com
Book link: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscom

Bonuses: https://www.theepiciep.com
🌐 Special Education Academy: https://www.specialeducationacademy.com

📩 Want to host a book tour training stop? Use the intake form on the website to get connected.
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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