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Facebook Goes Corporate on Our Special Education Law Group!

One of the great features of this blog has been the externality that because of the blog, I have been forced into the modern world of social networking. On the lefthand side of the blog are a number of ways that we try to share information and resources through the "new" technologies. Many people take advantage of the free subscriptions and get our posts by email or in a reader {or as a blidget (=blog + widget) in their own blog or website.}

You can also get a mobile phone-friendly version of the posts. You can read the headlines when there are new posts through Twitter. You can also join one of the spin-off special education law groups that we have created. The LinkedIn group now has 950 members. Many people read our posts via LinkedIn or Facebook.

Many interesting, and sometimes very vigorous, discussions took place on the wall of the Facebook special education law group.Unfortunately, Facebook in its extremely corporate wisdom has determined that even though our group has 900+ members, the group would be "archived" because we did not have constant discussions over trivial matters. It is difficult to believe that a group with over 900 members, a group that provides a forum for parents and school officials, and all other special education stakeholders, can share resources and debate information was not "active" enough for the Facebook overlords. I guess that sharing of information is not a moneymaker!

I thought that Facebook was a social network, a power to the people, grass roots, in your face, rock & roll, stick it to the man, underground, mellow kind of place. I guess I was wrong; it is all about money!

If you were one of the members of the special education law group, the "archiving" of the group means that you need to rejoin. Please do so. I'd hate to lose good members to Facebook's administrative efficiency campaign. If you were not a member, I understand that new members may still join the group. Please email me or make a comment on the blog if you have any difficulties. We will continue to share information about special education through the new technologies with, or without, the help of Facebook!

Update on Social Networks for Special Education Law

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The Facebook group is the most successful. At last count, we had some 830 members. The discussion boards sometimes reflect the emotion that comes with special education conflict, but the discussions are always interesting and generally very informative.

The LinkedIn group is also very active. A lot of special education types have connected through that group. Communication is a wonderful thing. The Plaxo group is still new, but we have great hopes for it.

The Ning group has meet its demise. Ning will no longer be free soon, and the internet really should be free. Chant in unison... Free Ning!

Don't forget that you can also sign up for our tweets on Twitter. Or you can use the mobile version of this blog to read the posts on your mobile phone.

Most important of all, if you haven't already signed up for a free subscription, please do so in order to avoid missing our posts. You can subscribe to receive our posts by email, or by RSS feed in a reader or aggregator, or if you have your own blog or website, you can get a blidget(=blog = widget) to insert directly into your website or blog.

Links for the free subscriptions, the social network groups, and the other services mentioned in this post are available on the lefthand side of the blog.

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Breaking News: Facebook Special Education Law Group Now Has Over 800 Members

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Just last week we mentioned the awesome Facebook special education law group. Well guess what? The group now has over 800 members.

Talk about street cred; we are becoming a force to be reckoned with! Combined with the large number of subscribers to this blog and the related groups, like Facebook and LinkedIn, plus those who follow our related tweets, our posse is pretty impressive indeed.

Seriously, this is why we are credible in the special education community. It also explains why we win awards and get exclusive interviews, like the Alexa Posny interview shortly after she was named Assistant Secretary of OSERS. So first of all - thank you. Your patronage is appreciated. It is good to know that you are listening.

If you haven't visited the Facebook group, please do so. The discussions are always interesting, and the membership mirrors the readers of this blog. It includes a wide variety of special education stakeholders, Here is a link, check it out!

Social Network Groups for Special Education Law - Update

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In addition to this incredible blog, we have also sponsored a number of special education law groups on various social networks. These groups, we hope, utilize some of the new technologies to encourage further discussion of topics that interest some or all special education stakeholders (as you may have noticed, I love that word; do stakeholders generally have stakes in their hands? The imagery is fantastic!)

The Facebook group is the most successful. At last count, we had some 783 members. The discussion boards sometimes reflect the emotion that comes with special education conflict, but the discussions are always interesting and generally very informative.

The LinkedIn group is also very active. A lot of special education types have connected through that group. Communication is a wonderful thing. The Plaxo group is still new, but we have great hopes for it.

The Ning group will likely soon meet its demise. Ning will no longer be free soon, and the internet really should be free. Free Ning!

Don't forget that you can also sign up for our tweets on Twitter. Or you can use the mobile version of this blog to read the posts on your mobile phone.

Most important of all, if you haven't already signed up for a free subscription, please do so in order to avoid missing our posts. You can subscribe to receive our posts by email, or by RSS feed in a reader or aggregator, or if you have your own blog or website, you can get a blidget(=blog = widget) to insert directly into your website or blog.

Links for the free subscriptions, the social network groups, and the other services mentioned in this post are available on the lefthand side of the blog.

Free Ning - the Demise of a Special Education Law Based Social Group

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Bad news: soon the Ning based Special Education Law Group shall perish from the face of the Earth. It seems that Ning has decided to become a pay only service. It will no longer be free. I set up these social network groups solely for the purpose of bringing special ed law junkies together. I refuse, however, to pay for space of the internets! Call me old fashioned! As you can tell by the elevated level of sarcasm, I resent this!

If any of the Ning group members want to finance the group, you have my blessing. If not, we should be fine with the Facebook, LinkedIn, and Plaxo special education law groups. If you have not checked them out, please take a look. Theses groups have some good discussions and networking opportunities. There are links to all of them on the infamous lefthand side of this blog.

A related point:
The subscriptions to this blog are free. There are three types of subscriptions: you can receive all the posts by email, or you can get an RSS feed for a reader or aggregator, like NetVibes or Google Reader, or you can get a widget for your own blog or website. All are free.

Free Ning!

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CADRE Report: Post Script No. 2 and Tech Update

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In one of the posts this blog recently ran on the CADRE report showing the numbers of special education law disputes (mediations, state complaints, resolution sessions, due process complaints) by state, I made a comment which I need to clarify.

I talked about scooping the mainstream education news outlets. I did not mean this comment to sound disrespectful of the reporters who work for those publications. Many of them read this blog, Most of them have cited this blog in their publications and have listed this blog as a resource for their readers. These folks work hard, are almost all underpaid and are my friends. More important, they do a great job. If my comments were offensive to them, I'm sorry.

The mission of this blog is to keep people informed. That may sometimes result in an exclusive interview or a "scoop," but that is not the goal. This blog is only one of the many excellent resources available to parents, special ed teachers, lawyers for both sides, related service providers, advocates, paraprofessionals, regular education teachers, principals, special ed directors, disciplinarians, members of advocacy groups, professors of both education and law, future teachers, law students, and other stakeholders or special education law junkies.

One of the ways we try to keep you informed involves helping you find many of the other available resources by linking to them on the left-hand side of the blog. One is the Facebook special education law group; please check it out. This group now has over 760 members. There are always interesting discussions going on the wall. One discussion now ongoing involves a question I have posed as a part of my research for a presentation this summer concerning the role of non-attorney advocates in IEP team meetings. What can they do and what can they not do? If you have any views on the issue, please lave a note there or comment here on this blog.

Other resources on the lefthand side of the blog include special education law groups in other social networks: Ning, LinkedIn, Plaxo, and Twitter. There are also links to the a searchable site with the statute and regs and other links that will lead you to everything you always wanted to know about special education law, but were afraid to ask. There are also links to other sources of education law and a search bar just for this blog. (The search bar is a good way to find previous posts on a topic you are interested in.)

Also while on the lefthand side of the blog, please take advantage of one of the free subscriptions to this blog. You can subscribe by email, and get an RSS feed for an aggregator or feed reader, and you can also get a blidget (or blog widget) so you can get our posts as a widget on your own blog or website. If you have not already taken a free subscription, please do so. The numbers help our growing credibility.

What Should be Changed in IDEA: Poll Still Too Close to Call

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What would you change about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act? Special education law is a lot like the weather in Chicago, it changes frequently. In fact I have frequently commented on these pages about the "cycle" of special ed law. The statute was enacted, followed by federal regulations, followed by state regs, followed by hearing officer decisions followed by court decisions, (both trial and appellate court opinions)(we even have ten by the Supremes). Then the statute, IDEA, is reauthorized and changed and the whole cycle repeats until we are pretty comfortable with the law, then the process repeats itself again. As I have said before, if certainty or red letter, hornbook law is your thing, you may not like special ed law. (There must be a Jeff Foxworthy joke in there somewhere, but I can't quite think of it!)

Reauthorization of IDEA is again overdue, but with Congress having other stuff on its plate, it may still take a while. But now is the time to start getting ready. Be prepared to let your senators and congressmen know how you feel about changes to this law when the issue becomes ripe. The organized interest groups are already making their positions known. I plan to share what you mention on this blog with the Congress, so please let me know what you think.

In addition, our ongoing poll reflects this question. I have identified ten of the issues frequently mentioned as areas of IDEA that should be changed. Interestingly only five vote separate the top five categories ( the range is 35 to 30 votes). The other five categories are lagging behind, but it is still anybody's game. Be sure to vote; register your opinion; exercise the franchise. Note these polls are not scientific or anything resembling science. They do sometimes reflect the strong feelings of readers but the samples are not random and the results don't necessarily show the support for these proposals in the country. That said, we have lots of subscribers and readers and, as our exclusive interview with Secretary Posny shows, we do have some street cred!

While voting on the poll on the lefthand side of the blog, be sure to check out the other permanent features there. Under Helpful Links, there are links to the popular special ed law groups on the various social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Ning, LinkedIn, and Plaxo. In the same section there are links to a searchable IDEA statute and federal regs; an info clearinghouse, the dispute resolution(CADRE) site, and the OSERS website. There is also a list of other blogs I read and sources for other news in the education realm. Most importantly, you can subscribe to the blog by any of three methods. You can receive the posts by email directly to your inbox. Or you can subscribe to our RSS feed and receive the posts in an aggregator or reader. Finally you can also get a widget (or blidget = blog widget) that you can place on your own blog or website. Whichever means you choose, please subscribe. Numbers are important in the blogosphere.

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The Perils of The Internets: Boycott Canadian Internet Pharmacy?

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OK here is the downside of the new technologies: the Ning special education law group, which I founded in conjunction with this blog, has been overtaken by some jerks who sell drugs. They have posted a gazillion ads on the social network's discussion boards promoting the Canadian Internet Pharmacy.

I don't know why they have targeted our little group. Really how many special education law junkies are jonseing for a fix? But this appears to be one of the dangers of allowing anyone to join these social groups. I'm not sure if it is possible to stop the abuse. I really want these groups to be open to all and to permit free expression and exchange of ideas. But I hate that the Ning group has become a billboard for unregulated pharmaceuticals.

I have suspended the nearly 1,000 new "members" for spamming up the website, but that hardly seems like enough. Would you be up for a boycott of the offending Canadian Internet Pharmacy? Is anybody with me?

Speaking of the perils of the internet, our subscribers recently received a rerun. For some reason, every subscriber received in the middle of March another copy of Part VIII of my interview with Alexa Posny that was posted in mid-January. I do not think that I sent it, but then I do sometimes push the wrong button. I am sorry about any inconvenience.

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Social Networks Gone Wrong: Bullying on Facebook

Image by Ivan Walsh via Flickr

In a terrifying development, some middle school children in California organized a series of attacks on redheaded students at their school. Their organizing tool was Facebook. This is an example of the dark side of the social networking networks. Here is a news story from the Ventura County Star.

Now I know that redheads are not children with disabilities, but this was an example of bullying against a group of students. And as we have discussed in previous posts, bullying against kids with disabilities has caused numerous legal problems for school districts. So I find this topic to be relevant to this blog.

Apparently, the students misunderstood some episode of the television show South Park as a call for violence against "gingers." This speaks to the lack of intelligence, as well as the cruelty, of the students involved. But this illustrates the potential problems involved with the otherwise valuable social networking sites. I am a big advocate of the powers of Facebook and these other sites to spread information. Indeed, I am the administrator of the Facebook special education law group, and many related groups with links on the lefthand side of the blog.

But when people have bad motivations, these sites can be dangerous. I am aware of the legal pitfalls and the strong policy against censorship, but I think that these sites may need to police themselves to prevent these incidents in the future. What are your thoughts?

Facebook group now over 500

The Facebook special education law group now has more than 500 members. It is amazing how fast it has grown. It is a fun place to share resources and to discuss current issues. One can even make friends there. Check it out here. Congratulations to the group members. It was only July 11th, when we crossed the 400 member milestone. Talk about a hot ticket.

There is also a new Plaxo special education law group. For those who use the Plaxo service, it may be found here.This complements the special ed law groups on Ning (here), LinkedIn (here) and Twitter (here.) These social networking sites provide nice mechanisms for spreading the word or for arguing the policy underlying the law. See if you like them. There are also permanent links to these sites on the left-hand side of the blog.

Image by cambodia4kidsorg via Flickr

The number of subscribers to the blog is also growing quickly. Remember that there are three ways to get a free subscription. Email right to your inbox; through a reader or aggregator by RSS feed; and as a widget, or blidget, appearing right on your blog or website. The big numbers really help the credibility of a blog. Thank you subscribers.

Don't forget to vote on our current poll. The Question is given the economy, should cost or expense be a defense in special ed cases? Right now No with seven votes is beating both yes and maybe with two votes each. One slacker claims to be too poor to answer. Exercise your right to be heard: vote in the poll.

Breaking News: Facebook Group Now has Over 400 Members

Breaking News: the Facebook Special Education Law Group now has over 400 members. Congratulations! The group is an excellent place for special education law people to meet and exchange discussions and suggest resources to each other. Check it out here. A lot of interesting and dedicated members make the group a fantastic resource. I encourage you to take a look and join us if you like it.

Those who use Twitter might be interested in the Twitter Special Education Law Group. You can find it here. You can also follow my "tweets" on the left-hand side of this blog.

Other special education law groups are available for those who use LinkedIn, and Ning. These social networking groups all have their own flavor and style, but they all include great people and very interesting discussions. There are also links to all of these groups on the left-hand side of the blog.

Many of you have noticed some of my technical innovations. I especially enjoy experimenting with blog posts through email and through my cellphone. The slightly garbled posts on July eighth illustrate my ongoing struggles with the voice recognition software. {Insert joke her regarding a mixed Chicago-West Virginia accent.} It is exciting though to be able to post from conferences and other restrictive locations.

Please also check out the free subscriptions on the left-hand side of the blog. There are three ways to subscribe. You can receive the posts by email. You can get the posts in an RSS reader. If you have a blog or website, you can also create a widget to insert the posts into your own site. Thanks to all who subscribe.

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Educational Law

Facebook Goes Corporate on Our Special Education Law Group!

Update on Social Networks for Special Education Law

Breaking News: Facebook Special Education Law Group Now Has Over 800 Members

Social Network Groups for Special Education Law - Update

Free Ning - the Demise of a Special Education Law Based Social Group

CADRE Report: Post Script No. 2 and Tech Update

What Should be Changed in IDEA: Poll Still Too Close to Call

The Perils of The Internets: Boycott Canadian Internet Pharmacy?

Social Networks Gone Wrong: Bullying on Facebook

Facebook group now over 500

Breaking News: Facebook Group Now has Over 400 Members

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