Sam Feeney on Closing the Compliance Gap

Quick take

The biggest legal risk most districts face isn't a headline-grabbing lawsuit — it's the hidden gap between the accommodations they promise and the ones students actually receive. Sam Feeney built a tool that collapses this compliance gap to 10 seconds and a single click.

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STEAM programs failing before they start?

Stop letting compliance paperwork kill innovation. Some leaders are transforming special education support with technology that turns accommodation promises into reality. 👇

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🏴‍☠️ BREAKING DOWN THE OLD RULES

In this episode, Sam Feeney challenges traditional education paradigms:

Key Insight #1: Need Equals Permission

• What's broken: Waiting for perfect credentials or expertise before tackling problems you see

• The shift: Recognition of a need is your permission to solve it — start with passion, build expertise along the way

• Impact: Innovation happens when educators stop waiting for someone else to fix what's broken

Key Insight #2: Hidden Non-Compliance Is Everywhere

• What's broken: Beautifully written IEPs, 504s, and ELL plans that vanish under the weight of crowded classrooms and overworked teachers

• The shift: Technology that transforms any lesson into student-specific accommodations at the push of a button

• Impact: Students get the support they're legally entitled to, teachers avoid guilt and burnout, districts avoid million-dollar settlements

Key Insight #3: Time Is the Ultimate Gift

• What's broken: Teachers spending hours trying to accommodate across three different areas of expertise (special ed, ELL, gifted)

• The shift: 10-second accommodations that give teachers back their most precious resource

• Impact: Instructional integrity becomes sustainable, not just aspirational

✌️ YOUR DO SCHOOL DIFFERENT CHALLENGE

Ready to implement these ideas? Start here:

1. Tomorrow: Audit one accommodation plan — is it actually happening in the classroom, or just living on paper?

2. This Month: Calculate the true cost of hidden non-compliance on your campus (teacher burnout, potential lawsuits, student outcomes)

3. This Semester: Invest in tools that give your teachers back time while ensuring every student gets what they're legally entitled to

✅ CONNECT AND CONTINUE

🎯 Get the full episode transcript
🔗 Follow Sam Feeney: LinkedIn 
🌐 Learn more about Accommodate: accommodate.live

🤝 TODAY’S RUCKUScast IN PARTNERSHIP WITH:

• IXL: Meet your students where they are and take them where they need to go. Join over 1 million teachers who trust IXL to drive data-informed excellence in their classrooms. 🔍 Learn more here

• Expressability K12: Your inbox isn't a task manager. Your mind isn't for storing mundane processes. It's time to break free. With Expressability, Ruckus Makers can prioritize student success by offloading time-sucking tasks. Visit Expressability K12 to learn how here

• ODP Business Solutions:  Stop letting compliance paperwork kill innovation. Some leaders are transforming special education support with technology that turns accommodation promises into reality. Learn more: here

Podcast created by Danny. Audio engineered by Dragan. Show notes written by Christina. Email sent by Soniya