Are your IEP meeting notes inaccurate? Has your child been placed on a 504 when you know an IEP is needed? Are you being told your student can’t get transportation or that grades prevent eligibility? You don’t know what you don’t know—but you need to.

In this Ask the Advocate episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham, The Special Education Boss®, answers real parent and teacher questions about IDEA, IEPs, 504s, and procedural safeguards. She brings clarity, humor, and step-by-step advocacy strategies you can use immediately at the table.

✨ In this episode, Karen covers:

• Transportation in the IEP – what districts must provide and how to respond if they refuse.
• Why “inaccurate” IEP meeting notes can and should be challenged.
• Dyslexia: why a 504 isn’t enough if a student needs specially designed instruction.
• Can schools excuse “late arrivals” as part of the IEP? Karen explains.
• MDRs: when they apply for IEPs and 504s.
• What to do when the district refuses accurate placement or predetermined services.
• Parent rights at age 18 – what changes, and what doesn’t.
• Why House Bill 4545 hours are optional (and how to decline them).
• Daily data collection sheets: how to request them and why they matter.
• Can services be delivered in homeschool/online settings? The truth about FAPE outside the school building.
• Testing, RTI/MTSS, and why delays violate civil rights.
• When and how to file state complaints or OCR complaints.

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✨ 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.

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