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PODCAST

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham

Karen Mayer Cunningham, Special Education Boss®

The Special Education Boss® Podcast is where advocacy meets action. Join Karen Mayer Cunningham each week as she empowers parents and professionals to understand their rights, navigate the system, and show up strong at the IEP table.

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All Episodes

61:34

The Para Problem: What Every Parent and Advocate...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2026/04/02

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 deliberations confirmed that a general education teacher delivered the specially designed instruction and a...

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54:49

Paras, Pain Plans & the Truth Nobody Told You | Ask...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2026/03/26

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, everything you need to know about what paras can and cannot legally do. - AAC rights: what to do w...

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27:58

From Struggle to Strength: ADHD, Dyslexia &...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2026/03/19

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 navigating ADHD, dyslexia, and academic challenges—from early testing and accommodations to earnin...

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64:15

Vision Impairment in Special Education, What Parents...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2026/03/12

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 the Visually Impaired (CTVI) and Orientation & Mobility Specialist (O&M). Together, they un...

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60:25

Ask the Advocate: IEP Questions Parents Are Asking...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2026/03/05

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 services listed in the IEP, how Extended School Year (ESY)eligibility works, when compensatory services...

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54:10

From Classroom to Advocate: What Schools Do When You...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2026/03/03

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 McAl—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 table—and why outcomes shift when someone trained in special education advocacy enters the room. The...

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48:41

IEP Implementation, ESY & Compensatory Services | Ask...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2026/02/26

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 failuresParaprofessional layoffs and 1:1 supportExtended School Year (ESY) eligibilityCompensatory servicesDue process documentationPlacement vs. eligibilityResource classroom requirementsEndrew F. and the FAPE standardEvaluation delays and what to do nextThis episode is real talk from someone who has represented families all the wa...

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66:20

RTI Is NOT a Gatekeeper + Why Schools Can’t Delay...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2026/02/19

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 ...

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80:45

From 504s to One-on-Ones: Real Talk from the IEP...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2026/02/12

“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 app...

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41:06

IEP Meetings, Procedural Safeguards & What Schools...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2026/02/05

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 continueThe difference between a diploma vs. certificate of attendanceHow procedural safeguards actuall...

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25:15

Ask the Advocate: Compensatory Services, Eligibility...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2026/01/29

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: Whe...

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66:11

“Paras Can’t Take Data”? Let’s Finish the Sentence. |...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2026/01/22

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 d...

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56:39

When Schools Say “No”: AAC Updates, Triennials,...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2026/01/15

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 u...

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58:49

Stop Playing the “Draft IEP” Game + Why Paras Can’t...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2026/01/08

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 stude...

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44:53

Behavior Is Communication: Safety, Structure &...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2025/12/25

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 bec...

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62:37

Ask the Advocate: Recording IEP Meetings, Paras,...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2025/12/18

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 alertCan students be left alone with high school helpers?Can a

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53:36

Ask the Advocate: Truancy, One-to-One Aides, LRE, and...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2025/12/11

In this Ask the Advocate episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham, Special Education Boss®, answers rapid-fire questions from parents, teachers, and advocates—and shares how her new book, The Epic IEP, gives you a clear roadmap to write and understand an IEP that actually serves the child. Karen and Cindy dig into real situations from the IEP/504 table, including: The Epic IEP & Pre-Order Bonuses – How the 7-part framework walks you through an IEP step by step, plus how to pre-order the book and u...

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56:47

Ask the Advocate: IEP Data, 504 vs IEP, Behavior,...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2025/12/04

What do you do when the school’s “data” makes no sense, your child is stuck on a 504 instead of an IEP, or behavior is being blamed on your student instead of addressed in the plan? In this Ask the Advocate episode, Karen Mayer Cunningham, The Special Education Boss®, is answering rapid-fire questions from parents, teachers, and paras who are in the thick of it every day. All with humor, straight talk, and a whole lot of “you’re not crazy for asking.” 📚 The Epic IEP™ – Pre-Order + Bonuses

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6:19

Cold Reads Don’t Lie: An Epic IEP Story Every Parent...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2025/12/02

Today’s episode of The Epic IEP™ is a little bit longer — but you’re going to want to hear this. Karen Mayer Cunningham, The Special Education Boss®, shares a real IEP meeting where the school’s data didn’t match what the student could actually do at home. And the difference wasn’t small. Karen walks through why she always brings her own data to the table — three cold reads, two cold writes, and a clear picture of the child’s real baseline. When the school claimed the student was reading 80 w...

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6:36

When Vision Minutes Go Wrong: How to Use Data to Fix...

Special Education Boss® with Karen Mayer Cunningham ·

2025/11/28

Today’s episode of The Epic IEP™ is going to be a little bit longer — but you’re going to want to hear this. Karen Mayer Cunningham, The Special Education Boss®, shares a story that is funny, frustrating, fantastic, and absolutely essential for anyone sitting at an IEP table. Karen walks you through a real meeting where a student with a vision impairment was receiving 15 minutes a semesterof “consult.” The team insisted it was enough. The paperwork looked “fine.” The VISIT form was “calculate...

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136 results

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