Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham

What happens when the people responsible for carrying out your child's IEP were never trained, supported, or backed up to do it right? This week, Karen Mayer Cunningham sits down with Michelle Williams, a 26-year veteran classroom teacher who has taught elementary and mathematics in rural, urban, and suburban schools. Michelle has watched teacher support erode from the inside, and she is not...

Where Are All the Special Education Attorneys? The Truth About Reading, IEPs, and Enforcement — with Diane Dragan There are millions of children in this country with an IEP. And by attorney Diane Dragan's count, maybe a thousand lawyers nationwide are willing to take these cases to court. Sit with that. In this episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham sits down with Diane Dragan — special education at...

There's no shortage of information when you're raising a child with a disability. There's a shortage of trusted information you can actually use. In this episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham talks with Lauren Hasz and Brodie Simmons about Uniquely You, a free magazine launching in North Houston that celebrates the disability community and connects families to real, vetted resources. They...

No parent sits down at the IEP table hoping for a fight. And no family ever says, "I cannot wait to go to due process." But when advocacy alone is not getting your child what they need, you deserve to understand what comes next. In this episode of Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham, Karen sits down with special education attorney Maria McGinley for an honest, practical l...

You cannot punish a child into having a skill they do not have. In this episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham sits down with Doris and Rick Bowman to unpack one of the most misunderstood parts of special education: behavior. Most school plans are built to get compliance in the moment. They manage the behavior and miss what is actually driving it. And when the same kind of plan fails for the fifth or six...

Karen answers summer IEP questions live - ESY eligibility and transportation, early pickups as removals, IEE limits, and how to get your child's data. Full Description (plain text, copy-paste ready) Summer is when the numbers go down and the access goes up. In this live Q&A, Karen Mayer Cunningham takes questions from parents, advocates, paras, and educators - and does not hold back. If y...

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...

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...

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 f...

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,...

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 s...

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....

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...

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 sh...

Can a paraprofessional replace a special education teacher in the classroom? What tools actually help kids with dyslexia? And what is ESY — really? In this LIVE Q&A, Karen Mayer Cunningham answers real questions from parents, advocates, and educators about the issues showing up in IEP meetings right now, with 35 days left in the school year. Here's what Karen covers: → What paraprofession...

Can a paraprofessional deliver specially designed instruction? What are the paraprofessional laws in your state? And what happens when a school district admits — in writing — that no certified special educator has been in the classroom all year? In this episode of the Special Education Boss® podcast, Karen Mayer Cunningham breaks down a real IEP meeting in Texas where the district's own delib...

If someone at your school said it was fine without showing you the law - it probably was not fine. Karen Mayor Cunningham answers your live questions on this Ask the Advocate session of Special Education Boss. She brought the federal statutes, the DSM-5, and zero patience for made-up rules. In this episode: - The brand-new Epic IEP Para book: all 50 states, all federal laws from 1965 to 2015, ever...

What happens when a student with ADHD and dyslexia doesn’t get boxed in—but instead learns how to push forward anyway? In this powerful conversation, Karen Mayer Cunningham sits down with Sean Foley to talk about what it really looks like to grow up with learning differences—and why success isn’t about labels, it’s about strategy, support, and resilience. In This Episode: Sean shares his journey n...

Most people sitting at an IEP table understand autism, dyslexia, and speech services. But when a student with a visual impairment enters the conversation, many teams suddenly realize something important… They don’t actually know how vision services work. In this episode of Special Education Boss® , Karen Mayer Cunningham sits down with Abel Perez, CEO, from Ready Sight Go , a Certified Teacher of...

Ask the Advocate | Real IEP Questions from Parents and Educators Parents, teachers, and advocates ask hundreds of questions every week about special education. In this Ask the Advocate episode , Karen Mayer Cunningham answers real questions submitted during a live TikTok session about IEP meetings, services, evaluations, and advocacy. Topics include what to do when a student is not receiving servi...

What really happens when an advocate walks into an IEP meeting? In this powerful episode of Special Education Boss®, Karen Mayer Cunningham sits down with Paige Fitzgerald and Kate Magaldi, former special educators turned full-time advocates and founders of Inclusive Educational Practices. Together, they pull back the curtain on what happens behind the scenes when an advocate is present at the IEP...

Guess who’s back? In this Ask the Advocate live session, Karen Mayer Cunningham answers rapid-fire questions from families and educators about: IEP implementation failures Paraprofessional layoffs and 1:1 support Extended School Year (ESY) eligibility Compensatory services Due process documentation Placement vs. eligibility Resource classroom requirements Endrew F. and the FAPE standard Evaluation...

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...

“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 diff...

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 conti...