Were you ever actually trained on what you are expected to do at the IEP table?
In this live Ask the Advocate session, Karen Mayer Cunningham answers more than 50 real questions from parents, advocates, and educators — clear, practical, and grounded in how the special education process really works. This is the preparation most people never got.
In one hour we cover service minutes and who is qualified to deliver them, paraprofessional supports, accommodations built from a student's characteristics, compensatory services, Extended School Year, prior written notice, independent educational evaluations, transition planning, effective complaints, and the real difference between inclusion and proximity.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Welcome — we made it through the school year
01:30 Tonight we launch The Epic Educator Academy
02:30 Summer planning: what parents should be thinking about
04:00 The Zach Pack: prepping every educator for day one
06:00 One-on-one paras, communication partners, and SGDs
07:00 Stopping cookie-cutter accommodations
08:30 Calling the dean, field trips, and para coverage
11:00 Service minutes and who can deliver them
13:00 Manifestation determinations: the two questions
14:30 New special education director: where to start
16:00 Missed in-class support: calculate the minutes
17:30 Taking better data and present levels that do not match
19:00 IEP goal criteria and disagreements
22:00 Retention: should you hold your child back?
24:00 Compensatory services and missed minutes
26:00 ESY: the two prongs
27:00 Progress reports you never received
29:00 Prior written notice that will not get corrected
30:00 IEEs: data, summary, conclusion
34:00 Transition planning and postsecondary
36:00 Filing complaints that actually work
39:00 Monitoring accommodations and inclusion supports
44:00 How service frequencies are set
48:00 "Two years below grade level": who delivers SDI
52:00 Parent concerns and your right to be heard
53:00 Who belongs at the IEP table
55:00 Inclusion versus proximity
58:00 Continuum of placements: a senior moved to all gen ed
59:30 Closing
RESOURCES AND NEXT STEPS
Educators — The Epic Educator Academy, live every Monday at 7:00 PM Central, built for school-based staff. $27/month, cancel anytime: https://specialeducationacademy.com
Parents and advocates — Special Education Academy, 250+ hours of training updated weekly: https://specialeducationacademy.com
Books by Karen Mayer Cunningham: The Epic IEP, The Epic IEP: PARA, and The Epic IEP Guide to Federal and State Law for Special Education.
This channel is educational training, not legal advice. We educate everyone at the IEP and 504 table to navigate and negotiate successful student outcomes.
When we get it right for the child, we get it right for everyone. — Karen Mayer Cunningham
#SpecialEducationBoss #IEP #504Plan #SpecialEducation #IEPAdvocate #ParentAdvocate #KnowYourRights #AskTheAdvocate
In this live Ask the Advocate session, Karen Mayer Cunningham answers more than 50 real questions from parents, advocates, and educators — clear, practical, and grounded in how the special education process really works. This is the preparation most people never got.
In one hour we cover service minutes and who is qualified to deliver them, paraprofessional supports, accommodations built from a student's characteristics, compensatory services, Extended School Year, prior written notice, independent educational evaluations, transition planning, effective complaints, and the real difference between inclusion and proximity.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Welcome — we made it through the school year
01:30 Tonight we launch The Epic Educator Academy
02:30 Summer planning: what parents should be thinking about
04:00 The Zach Pack: prepping every educator for day one
06:00 One-on-one paras, communication partners, and SGDs
07:00 Stopping cookie-cutter accommodations
08:30 Calling the dean, field trips, and para coverage
11:00 Service minutes and who can deliver them
13:00 Manifestation determinations: the two questions
14:30 New special education director: where to start
16:00 Missed in-class support: calculate the minutes
17:30 Taking better data and present levels that do not match
19:00 IEP goal criteria and disagreements
22:00 Retention: should you hold your child back?
24:00 Compensatory services and missed minutes
26:00 ESY: the two prongs
27:00 Progress reports you never received
29:00 Prior written notice that will not get corrected
30:00 IEEs: data, summary, conclusion
34:00 Transition planning and postsecondary
36:00 Filing complaints that actually work
39:00 Monitoring accommodations and inclusion supports
44:00 How service frequencies are set
48:00 "Two years below grade level": who delivers SDI
52:00 Parent concerns and your right to be heard
53:00 Who belongs at the IEP table
55:00 Inclusion versus proximity
58:00 Continuum of placements: a senior moved to all gen ed
59:30 Closing
RESOURCES AND NEXT STEPS
Educators — The Epic Educator Academy, live every Monday at 7:00 PM Central, built for school-based staff. $27/month, cancel anytime: https://specialeducationacademy.com
Parents and advocates — Special Education Academy, 250+ hours of training updated weekly: https://specialeducationacademy.com
Books by Karen Mayer Cunningham: The Epic IEP, The Epic IEP: PARA, and The Epic IEP Guide to Federal and State Law for Special Education.
This channel is educational training, not legal advice. We educate everyone at the IEP and 504 table to navigate and negotiate successful student outcomes.
When we get it right for the child, we get it right for everyone. — Karen Mayer Cunningham
#SpecialEducationBoss #IEP #504Plan #SpecialEducation #IEPAdvocate #ParentAdvocate #KnowYourRights #AskTheAdvocate