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 category
• What the Schedule of Services page should actually reflect
• Why a student needs support every day — not on mystery days of the week
• Conflicts you can expect when teams see disability as “choice”
• What it means to set a student up for destiny, not destruction

When you stay grounded in the law, the data, and the student’s actual needs, clarity always wins.

📘 Get Karen’s new book — The Epic IEP
Your roadmap to writing, understanding, and implementing IEPs that actually work.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscom

Upload your receipt for bonuses, book club access, and chapter previews: TheEpicIEP.com

📚 Train with Karen
Join 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.)

...

Welcome back to The Epic IEP™, where we share stories that are funny, frustrating, and absolutely fantastic—because they really happened at the IEP table.

In today’s episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham, Special Education Boss®, walks into what should have been a simple progress-review meeting… and instead gets blamed for everything from eligibility to data collection.

When the teacher admits she didn’t take any data because she “didn’t want to stress the student out,” the meeting goes sideways fast.
Then comes the outburst:

“YOU wanted this! YOU got the IEE! YOU made her eligible!”

Karen breaks down exactly what to do when a team member flips out, refuses to follow IDEA requirements, or takes the process personally instead of professionally.

In this episode:

• What to say when a teacher refuses to take data
• How to respond when someone blames you for eligibility decisions
• The moment you know a teacher shouldn’t serve a student anymore
• The real obligation under IDEA for instruction, monitoring, and progress
• How to stay grounded when someone comes “off the rails” in an IEP meeting

It’s a reminder that paperwork isn’t the problem—people are.
And when emotions take over, someone has to stay steady at the table.

📘 Get the book — The Epic IEP
Your roadmap for understanding, writing, and implementing IEPs that actually work—complete with QR codes for ongoing resources, templates, and tools.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscom

Upload your receipt for bonuses, book club access, and chapter previews.

📚 Train with Karen
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.)

...

Welcome back to The Epic IEP™, where we share real stories from the IEP table — the fantastic, the frustrating, and the downright funny.

In today's episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham, Special Education Boss®, walks you through a 6:20 AM Zoom meeting that was supposed to be “quick and easy”… until it wasn’t.

A visually impaired and orthopedically impaired student needed ESY. The team said no. Why? Because they believed the #1 myth in special education — that ESY requires documented regression only.
But IDEA has two prongs, and only one of them deals with regression.

Karen breaks down what really happened in that meeting ...

In this episode:

• The two legal prongs of ESY — and why districts miss the second one
• Why ESY is for maintenance, not gains
• How to pause a meeting, regroup, and get accurate information
• What to say when they “can’t find your name” on the signature page (“try under swimwear model”)
• How clarity, humor, and the law keep teams anchored in what’s best for the child

It’s a reminder that even early-morning meetings can change a child’s access and opportunities — when decisions are made based on facts, not feelings.

📘 Get Karen's new book — The Epic IEP
Your roadmap for writing, understanding, and implementing IEPs that actually work — complete with QR codes for templates, tools, and real advocacy resources.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscom

Upload your receipt for book bonuses: TheEpicIEP.com

📚 Train with Karen
Join The Academy — 250+ hours of training + weekly Q&A 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.)

...

Welcome to Tales from The Epic IEP™ — real stories that are funny, frustrating, and fantastic from the IEP table.

In this debut episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham, Special Education Boss®, shares one of the most jaw-dropping meetings she’s ever attended — a story that reminds every parent, teacher, and advocate why facts, not feelings, win meetings.

When a three-year-old student with a physical disability was denied access to the playground and told to “prove he was stable,” Karen realized again how far we’ve drifted from the spirit of IDEA and ADA — and why critical thinking matters more than ever.

In this episode:

• When “access” becomes optional — and how ADA really applies
• How to handle district attorneys who act like the “sheriff of special education”
• Why believing misinformation doesn’t make it true (even if it’s told with authority)
• The difference between the spirit and letter of the law
• What happens when leadership passes down wrong information

Karen reminds us: If it’s true, it will be found in the law. And when we make decisions based on accurate information, kiddos win at the highest level.

📘 Get the Book — The Epic IEP
Your playbook for walking into the IEP/504 table prepared, confident, and clear—plus QR codes to living resources like templates, open records guidance, and training tools.
📦 Official Amazon link: The Epic IEP on Amazon [https://amzn.to/4i9guCH]

🎁 Upload your receipt for exclusive bonuses, book club access, and chapter previews: TheEpicIEP.com

Join The Academy —  300+ hours of advocacy training + weekly Q&A sessions: Special Education Academy on Skool

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.)

...

“I assumed everyone at the table understood the law… until I learned they didn’t.”

In this powerful conversation, Karen Mayer Cunningham (Special Education Boss®) and Cindy unpack what really happens between MTSS, eligibility, and the IEP—and why so many well-meaning educators and parents are working from bad training, not bad intent. You’ll hear Cindy’s journey from 27 years in the system to discovering Special Education Academy™, and Karen’s charge to bring clarity, rigor, and hope back to the table.

What we cover:

• MTSS → IEP: why good hearts + wrong info = poor outcomes
• Paperwork bloat vs. an epic IEP that’s actually usable
• Who’s responsible when a placement isn’t working (and why it’s leadership)
• Why every provider needs the full IEP/504 (not a “teacher bundle”)
• ESY done right: the two-prong standard (regression/recoupment and loss of critical skills)
• Practical meeting prep: get the draft, get the evals, write questions in advance

Get the book — The Epic IEP
Your playbook for walking into the IEP/504 table prepared, confident, and clear—plus QR codes to living resources (readers’ guide, templates, open records how-to, and more).
📘 Amazon (official): https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscom

🎁 Bonuses: upload your receipt at TheEpicIEP.com for the Book Club, summit ticket, and chapter previews.

Train with Karen
📚 Join The Academy — weekly live trainings + 250+ hours of replays:
https://www.skool.com/special-education-academy/about

We’re educating you so you can navigate the IEP/504 process with clarity and confidence.

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.)

...

You don’t know what you don’t know — but you need to. In this Clips from TikTok Live episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham (Special Education Boss®) answers real questions from parents, teachers, and advocates—linking every answer back to federal requirements, not opinions.

What we cover:

• When 1:1 paras help short-term—and why they don’t fix instruction
• Eligibility vs. services: needs drive goals, not labels
• How to follow up on an open OCR complaint
• Dyslexia/dysgraphia/dyscalculia: what to request instead of “the disses”
• 504 accommodations: students shouldn’t have to ask for civil rights
• Placement & behavior: FBA, counseling, and choosing the right setting
• Homebound misuse, foreign language requirements, schedule changes
• Para supervision under ESSA: “directly supervised, close proximity, frequent contact”
• Teacher role at ARD/IEP: show up as an information portal with data
• Practical prep for tomorrow’s meeting: write it down today

Get the book — The Epic IEP
Your playbook for walking into the IEP/504 table prepared, confident, and clear—plus QR codes to living resources (readers’ guide, templates, open records how-to, and more).
Amazon (official link): https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscom

Upload your receipt for bonuses: TheEpicIEP.com
Audiobook + workbook: arriving February.

Train with Karen
Join The Epic IEP™ Academy (weekly live trainings + 250+ hours of replays):
https://www.skool.com/special-education-academy/about

We’re educating you so you can navigate the IEP/504 process with clarity and confidence.

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.)

...

This episode dives deep into The Epic IEP—the practical, step-by-step playbook every parent, teacher, and advocate needs. Karen and Cindy unpack what’s inside (including built-in QR codes for templates, guides, and ongoing tools) and answer powerful questions from the community.

Inside This Episode:

• How The Epic IEP serves as your outline for meetings, evaluations, and progress tracking
• The real story behind 1:1 classroom models and why ratios matter
• What “evaluate suspected disabilities” actually means under Child Find
• Who’s responsible for what: gen ed vs. special ed vs. paras
• Writing behavior goals and when to request an FBA or psychological evaluation
• Why we don’t override doctor’s notes or “test for dysgraphia” in isolation
• What to do when meetings go sideways—how to pause and reconvene
• Why continuing education and proper training change everything

Tools + Takeaways:
✔ The Epic IEP — now available for pre-order on Amazon
✔ Claim your bonuses + join the Book Club at theepiciep.com

✔ District upgrades + bulk order training: theepiciep.com/upgrade

✔ Weekly training + federal law support inside The Academy: Special Education Academy

✔ Advocacy support: [email protected]

Core Message:
Clarity wins every time. Evaluate the need, match the setting, write goals that move data, and lead the table with confidence.

Order the book: Amazon – The Epic IEP

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.)

...

This Q&A gets practical fast—how to think about one-to-one aides, what to do when bullying pushes a student out of a class they love, how accommodations must be delivered (without kids “asking”), and why “emergency placements” and mass homebound aren’t a thing under IDEA. Direct, clear, actionable—just how we like it.

What we cover:

• One-to-one aides: When they help (short-term, targeted), when they don’t, and what to teach instead: skills and strategies.
• Placement clarity: Matching setting to student needs; using the continuum—not wishful thinking.
• Foreign language requirements: What’s actually required and why it’s often a poor fit for many students.
• Transportation & transitions: Related services, wheelchair loading timing, and capturing supports in supplements.
• Bullying & class changes: Why schools often move the reporting student and how to advocate smartly.
• “Emergency placement” myth & homebound: What IDEA allows (and doesn’t). Homebound is a medical decision—not a staffing workaround.
• Teacher role in ARDs/IEPs: Be the information portal—needs, strengths, and impact across settings.

Resources mentioned:

• Pre-Order the Book: The Epic IEP on Amazon (official link): https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1637635125?tag=simonsayscom
• Bonuses: After you order, submit your info at TheEpicIEP.com to unlock pre-order bonuses.
• The Academy (weekly trainings + library): https://www.skool.com/special-education-academy/about
• Need support? Email: [email protected]

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.)

...

Does a medical diagnosis guarantee an IEP? Not under IDEA. Today, Karen breaks down medical diagnosis vs. educational eligibility—and why the IEP team makes the call based on educational impact and specially designed instruction, not just a doctor’s note. Then we dive into your Q&A: ADHD suspensions in K, Tourette’s (OHI), MDRs & safety, private school obligations, 504 vs. IEP, re-evals, para shortages, and more.
We’re not giving legal advice. We’re educating you.

What You’ll Learn

• Dx ≠ Eligibility: How a medical diagnosis informs—but doesn’t decide—IDEA eligibility.
• IEP Team = Decision-makers: Who sits at the table and why your data matters.
• IEP vs. 504: Accommodations alone vs. specially designed instruction + related services.
• Capture both: Note medical conditions and write goals/services for all needs shown by evaluation data.
• Safety first: No learning without safety—document, convene, and decide LRE with data.
• Join The Academy (250+ hrs): https://www.skool.com/special-education-academy/about
• Pre-order The Epic IEP on Amazon (search “The Epic IEP”)
• Claim $500 in pre-order bonuses: TheEpicIEP.com
• Work with an Advocate: [email protected]
  
  

“Do you know your rights?”
“You don’t know what you don’t know—but you need to.”
“This is why we sit at the table prepared.”

When we get it right for the child, we get it right for everyone.

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.)

...

If you ever land in a due process hearing, your documents become your voice. In today’s SEB Live Q&A, Karen Mayer Cunningham breaks down how hearings actually work—resolution sessions, mediation, exhibits (joint, petitioner, and respondent), witnesses, timelines—and why clean, consistent documentation is the difference between overwhelm and outcomes.

What we cover

• Due Process ≠ TV drama: what really happens in an administrative hearing
• 15-day resolution session window and how timelines run outside the school calendar
• Joint vs. Petitioner vs. Respondent exhibits (what goes where and why it matters)
• How to “hearings-proof” your IEP paperwork (deliberations, emails, logs, attachments)
• When and how digital exhibits (audio/video) are authenticated
• Procedural vs. substantive violations (and why both can matter)
• Witness strategy: who actually testifies (hint: the service providers, not the “district yahoos”)
• 504 red flags that scream Child Find → Full IDEA evaluation
• Reality check: most cases settle—so build the record long before you ever file

Resources & CTAs

• Join The Academy (weekly series + 250+ hrs of training): https://www.skool.com/special-education-academy/about
• Pre-order The Epic IEP on Amazon (claim $500 in bonuses at TheEpicIEP.com after purchase)
• Contact: [email protected]

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.)

...