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 attorney, founder of Dragan Law Firm in St. Louis, and host of the Litigating Literacy podcast. Diane didn't set out to do this work. She was a federal public defender until her own three children were diagnosed with dyslexia and she ran into the same wall every parent hits: "Your diagnosis means nothing. He's doing good enough." So she became the attorney she couldn't find.
This is a straight-talk conversation about how special education actually works — and why so many families feel like the system is built to exhaust them before they can hold it accountable.
WHAT WE GET INTO
- Why there are almost no special education attorneys, and the financial reality that keeps it that way
- The reading crisis: why 40%+ of kids need explicit, systematic phonics — and why so many schools stopped teaching it
- Balanced literacy vs. structured literacy, and the "just right book" myth
- The teacher-training gap: how educators are sent in as generalists without the specialized instruction their students need
- Poorly written IEP goals — sight words before phonics, missing oral reading fluency norms, and goals that don't match need
- Enforcement: why schools only follow the law when it becomes more expensive not to — and who actually enforces a due process win (often, no one)
- Independent Educational Evaluations: your right to a free second opinion, and why current data changes everything
- How to build a "suspicion of disability" using your own state's learning standards
- The tutoring trap: how tutoring at home can skew the data and let the school take credit
- When a family needs an advocate vs. an attorney
- Why "fixing" a bad IEP can wreck a case before it starts
- The "good relationship" myth, and what the internal emails actually say
Whether you're a parent, an advocate, or an educator at the table, this one will change how you read every IEP that lands in front of you. You don't know what you don't know — but you need to.
This is why we sit at the table prepared.
A note: This conversation is educational. We're not giving legal advice — we're educating you. For advice about your specific situation, talk to a qualified attorney in your state.
More on Diane: Dragan Law Firm, LLC (St. Louis, MO) — https://www.draganlawfirm.com — or find her Litigating Literacy podcast.
LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE
Special Education Boss with Karen Mayer Cunningham — new episodes weekly.
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/special-education-boss-with-karen-mayer-cunningham/id1805933912
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/03I43tikXlYvR6xIe3F24w
Buzzsprout: https://specialeducationboss.buzzsprout.com
iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/271518986/
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d75378a3-0f8b-4fd1-989b-67a5723b5377
Learn with us at Special Education Academy: https://specialeducationacademy.com
Support the show (https://www.buzzsprout.com/2464872/support)
✨ 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 Epic IEP™ Academy (https://academy.specialeducationacademy.com/theepiciep-courses/the-academy/) First month free, after that, cancel anytime.
📱 Follow Karen on:
• TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@specialeducationboss) & Instagram: @specialeducationboss
• YouTube: Special Education Academy (https://www.youtube.com/c/SpecialEducationAcademy/videos)
🧠 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.)
Because when...
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 attorney, founder of Dragan Law Firm in St. Louis, and host of the Litigating Literacy podcast. Diane didn't set out to do this work. She was a federal public defender until her own three children were diagnosed with dyslexia and she ran into the same wall every parent hits: "Your diagnosis means nothing. He's doing good enough." So she became the attorney she couldn't find.
This is a straight-talk conversation about how special education actually works — and why so many families feel like the system is built to exhaust them before they can hold it accountable.
WHAT WE GET INTO
- Why there are almost no special education attorneys, and the financial reality that keeps it that way
- The reading crisis: why 40%+ of kids need explicit, systematic phonics — and why so many schools stopped teaching it
- Balanced literacy vs. structured literacy, and the "just right book" myth
- The teacher-training gap: how educators are sent in as generalists without the specialized instruction their students need
- Poorly written IEP goals — sight words before phonics, missing oral reading fluency norms, and goals that don't match need
- Enforcement: why schools only follow the law when it becomes more expensive not to — and who actually enforces a due process win (often, no one)
- Independent Educational Evaluations: your right to a free second opinion, and why current data changes everything
- How to build a "suspicion of disability" using your own state's learning standards
- The tutoring trap: how tutoring at home can skew the data and let the school take credit
- When a family needs an advocate vs. an attorney
- Why "fixing" a bad IEP can wreck a case before it starts
- The "good relationship" myth, and what the internal emails actually say
Whether you're a parent, an advocate, or an educator at the table, this one will change how you read every IEP that lands in front of you. You don't know what you don't know — but you need to.
This is why we sit at the table prepared.
A note: This conversation is educational. We're not giving legal advice — we're educating you. For advice about your specific situation, talk to a qualified attorney in your state.
More on Diane: Dragan Law Firm, LLC (St. Louis, MO) — https://www.draganlawfirm.com — or find her Litigating Literacy podcast.
LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE
Special Education Boss with Karen Mayer Cunningham — new episodes weekly.
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/special-education-boss-with-karen-mayer-cunningham/id1805933912
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/03I43tikXlYvR6xIe3F24w
Buzzsprout: https://specialeducationboss.buzzsprout.com
iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/271518986/
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d75378a3-0f8b-4fd1-989b-67a5723b5377
Learn with us at Special Education Academy: https://specialeducationacademy.com
Support the show (https://www.buzzsprout.com/2464872/support)
✨ 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 Epic IEP™ Academy (https://academy.specialeducationacademy.com/theepiciep-courses/the-academy/) First month free, after that, cancel anytime.
📱 Follow Karen on:
• TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@specialeducationboss) & Instagram: @specialeducationboss
• YouTube: Special Education Academy (https://www.youtube.com/c/SpecialEducationAcademy/videos)
🧠 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.)
Because when...