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Subscriptions and Tech Update

SUN VALLEY, ID - JULY 06: Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, attends the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 6, 2011 in Sun Valley, Idaho. The conference has been hosted annually by the investment firm Allen & Company each July since 1983. The conference is typically attended by many of the world's most powerful media executives. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

I will be doing a training for hearing officers, mediators and state complaint investigators in a few weeks. In preparation for the training, I recently contacted the office of the state department of education, and I was delighted to learn that one of the first persons I was talking with on the telephone recognized my name because she is a subscriber to this blog. The best way to ensure that you receive all of our posts is to take advantage of the free subscription to this blog. They are available on the lefthand side of the blog and you can arrange your subscriptions so that you receive the posts by email directly to your inbox or so that they appear in an aggregator or reader, like netvibes or Google reader. Those with blogs or websites can also get a blidget (blog widget) to insert directly into their website. Please take a subscription because numbers matter in the blogosphere. We are doing great, but enhanced credibility is always good.

By the way, I always enjoy meeting and talking to our readers. I will be at public conferences in San Antonio and Omaha later this year, as well as other locations for trainings to which the public is not invited. The information is in the conference section on the lefthand side of the blog. Please stop me and say hello if you will be at these conferences.

One of the key functions of this blog is to share information with all types of special education stakeholders (Aside: in my mind these folks are not really carrying steaks!). In pursuit of that quest, we have created a number of spin off special education law groups. They are listed on the lefthand side of the blog under helpful links. The Plaxo group never got off the ground and the Ning group is now defunct. The Facebook group was very successful until Facebook went all corporate and decided that we were not sufficiently exchanging useless information and archived the group. It still exists and has som useful discussions, but to become a member, even if you were a member, you have to ask.

The most successful of these groups by far has been the LinkedIn Special Education Group. It now has over 4,300 members and has many lively discussions. We had a problem with spammers for a while, but I think that we have solved it. Check out this interesting group here

That is the tech update for now, please tell us if you are having any issues

Happy Birthday to Us; Tech Update

Today is the fifth anniversary of this blog. It is hard to believe that we have been around for that long. Thank you to all of our loyal and enthusiastic readers.

This blog is responsible for dragging me kicking and screaming into the world of modern technology. In the words of the troubled public defender in the classic movie "My Cousin Vinny," I'm getting better."

One of the ways that we have tried to share information about special education law is through the new social media avenues. Many people read our posts on Facebook. Others get our headline tweets on twitter. The best way to be sure you get our posts is still to take one of the free subscriptions on the lefthand side of the blog.

We have added a few new wrinkles. You can now get our post headlines on our Microblog on Tumblr here. If you are into Pinterest, we have added a button on the left hand side of the blog you can use to pin our site to a board. (I'm not quite sure how this works yet.) We also have added an Evernote site memory button if you use Evernote, that really cool site that remembers everything for you. And we have added a google plus button for google plus users.

The corporate overlords at Facebook have "archived" our special education law group. We had 900+ members, but now you have to join again to participate. Apparently we only exchanged information rather than obsessively chattering about inane matters. The good news is that the LinkedIn Special Education Law Group now has over 3000 members and the discussions there are very lively. You can check it out here.

As always, we are open to suggestions as to other "new" ways to provide information about special education law. As an impartial, either a mediator, hearing officer or consultant, I don't have an advocacy position. Our goal here is to ensure that all stakeholders have as much good information as possible and a forum to discuss issues in this rapidly growing body of law. Let us hear from you.

More Thoughts on Dispute Resolution; Tech Update

It is pretty rare that I make it all the way around all of those mountains to get to the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. It is a long ride. This year I have already been there twice. And yes this does mean that I passed by my favorite road name again. (See photo above.) I also drove very slowly through the speed trap formerly known as "McMechen."

More importantly, I again was able to contrast the value of mediation as a tool for dispute resolution in special education. I serve as both a hearing officer and as a mediator. I also train hos and mediators. I continue to believe strongly that mediation is the better way to go. Mediation is better suited to resolve those relationship issues which are so critical to the education of a child. This is one of the topics that I discuss on the CADRE interviews, which you can find here. By the way, there is a wealth of other useful information about special ed dispute resolution in these interviews.

Also a quick tech update. The LinkedIn special education law group continues to prosper with over 2650 members. Check it out. The Facebook Special Education Law Group was "archived" by the evil corporate masters of Facebook because members were not updating their status every five seconds. That still burns.

I do have a question for readers though. Before the new timeline, Facebook used to list my blog posts on my notes section automatically after I tinkered with the settings. This stopped and I wonder if there is a way to automatically have my blog posts appear on Facebook? Any ideas?

The best way to support the blog is to take one of the free subscriptions available on the left hand side of the blog. Numbers count in the blogosphere. You can get the posts delivered to your email inbox, or via RSS feed. You can even get a blidget (=blog + widget) to place inside your own website or blog. Thanks again to all our readers.

Facebook Goes Corporate on Our Special Education Law Group!

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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!

Facebook Special Ed Law Group on the Verge of 900 members

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One of our projects here at the Special Education Law Blog is the companion special education law group on Facebook. Check it out here.

The Facebook group is a fun place with plenty of robust debate. It is also another great place to find resources for special ed stakeholders. We have been pleasantly surprised how the group has grown. We are now just four members short of 900! We never thought that we would have that many members. 900 people are Jonseing for special ed law; that's incredible.

So thank you to the Facebook 900 and thank you to the readers of this blog. Please stay tuned for more special ed law and related resources. Thanks guys.

Tech Update: Facebook Special Education Law Group Now Has 885 Members

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One of the offspring of this blog is the Facebook special education law group. We created the group to provide an additional forum for open and robust discussion of special education law issues. The group certainly has some robust discussions. It is one of the ways that we try to get resources to all of the stakeholders in special education.

Many folks take advantage of the free subscriptions to this blog available on the lefthand side of the blog. You can subscribe by email, or to our RSS feed in an aggregator or feed reader, or if you have your own blog or website, you can get a blidget (or blog + widget) that contains our posts or headlines right there on your blog or website. Please take one of the free subscriptions. Numbers rule in the blogosphere, and our robust numbers help our credibility. Thanks and please keep reading.

You can also follow us and get the posts on Facebook. Many folks who do that have also joined the Facebook special education law group. Check it out. The group now has 885 members. I have extended an open invitation for friend status to all group members so that they can get our posts through Facebook.

Other folks follow the blog by signing up for our twitter feed. You can also get our "tweets" by following the link on the lefthand side of the blog.

Other readers have joined our LinkedIn special education law group. All of these options are available because our goal is to share this information with as many people as possible. Are we still having fun? Yes we are.

Tech Update; Buzz From New Series

Twitter HQ in San Francisco - Olaf Koens, http...

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As we progress with two new series, we are getting a lot of favorable reaction. The answers to the You Be The Judge series are very interesting and remarkably different. Once again the comparison between special education law and metaphysics raises its head. Be sure to provide your answer if you'd like to take a turn as the judge.

The Procedural Safeguards update is also exciting some readers. It is important to occasionally brush up on the law. This type of series reminds us of some key concepts.

Some of the You be the Judge buzz is on Facebook. As many readers know, we have created a Facebook Special Education Law Group which has over 860 members. The discussion boards are always interesting. In addition, some readers choose to receive these posts on Facebook by friending me. I have no idea who can read what given the undecipherable rules, but the group is very interesting. Please check it out.

Another few hundred people receive our tweets on Twitter to alert them that a post has been made. You can follow us on Twitter here.

There are also special education law groups that we have created on LinkedIn, with over 215 members, and Plaxo, which has not ever caught fire. A lot of people create discussions on those groups.

Most people ensure that they receive our posts by subscribing. I strongly encourage you to subscribe. Our big numbers help with our credibility. You can get three different types of subscriptions: the most common is to subscribe by email and receive our posts directly to your inbox. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed and receive our posts or headlines in a feed reader or aggregator. Finally you can get a blidget (blog + widget) which is a widget you can place inside your own blog or website. Which ever option you choose, please subscribe. And most importantly, thanks for reading this blog.

Finally don't forget to vote on our current poll concerning whether the changes to §504 will cause litigants to turn to §504 rather than IDEA. Make your voice heard.

The poll and permanent links to all of the groups and bells and whistles as well as the subscription links and mant other resources can be found on the lefthand side of the blog.

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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Three Years Old and Never Been Dissed! Special Education Law Blog Turns 3

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Well this is our third birthday!

Hard to believe, no? We have been talking about special education law for three years on these pages, yet we have barely scratched the surface. So buckle your seat belts and put your trays in their upright and locked position because we are now really going to take off!

First of all- thank you to our regular readers. You are why we do this. Thanks. If you have not yet taken a free subscription, please do so. On the left-hand side of the blog we will set you up. Yo can arrange to get the posts delivered to your inbox as emails. Or you can subscribe to an RSS feed in a reader or feed aggregator. Finally, if you have a blog or website of your own, you can get a widget (=blog=widget). Some folks take all three subscriptions. They are always free.

Added to our legions of subscribers are the members of the Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning, Plaxo and Twitter special education law groups. The wildest is the Facebook group which now has 775 members. The discussion boards are lively and the discussion is spirited. Those of us in special ed would have it no other way.

There are tons of other resources on the lefthand side of the blog. There are other education blogs, searchable statute and regs, an info clearinghouse, a link to CADRE- the cool people who know answers to questions about dispute resolution and other links. We even have two blidgets, one with the CEC'c daily headlines and one on education news. Given the diverse nature of the stakeholders who follow us, we try to provide a variety of resources. One rule, is that we like an unbiased perspective. We don't feature groups that lean to one side or the other. Such groups do exist, but in keeping with my impartiality as a hearing officer and mediator, and as a state consultant, we don't link to them here. For similar reasons, I don't join advocacy groups on Facebook, but I will friend any member of the special ed law group who mentions that fact. (I just flashed to the South Park episode on Facebook!)

So thanks to all of you and please keep on reading. For those who feel so inclined, the traditional third anniversary gift is leather! (Just make sure that you will never appear before me as a litigant or lawyer or advocate first!)

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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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Breaking News: Facebook Group Now has 700 Members!

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The Facebook Special Education Law group which we started in conjunction with this blog now has over 700 members. congratulations on passing another milestone group. It is a great resource and the home of many lively discussions about topics related to those we talk about here. If you haven't checked it out yet, try it here. New members are welcome.

You can find a permanent link to the group on the lefthand side of the blog. Also there are links to special ed law groups on Ning, LinkedIn, Plaxo and Twitter. The groups vary, but the level of knowledge and the passion for kids with disabilities among many diverse types of stakeholders remains constant.

Also on the lefthand side of the blog is a place where you can register for a free subscription to this blog. You have three options, you can receive the posts by email, or by RSS feed in an reader or aggregator, or if you have your own blog or website, you can get a blidget (or blog widget) to insert directly into your website. It helps us if you subscribe. In the blogosphere, there is credibility in numbers. Our number of subscribers plus the Facebook and other social media membership plus our Twitter followers and the other followers and readers that consist of our posse, gives us a ton of credibility. It explains why we got the first big exclusive interview with Dr. Alexa Posny, the new Assistant Secretary of Education for OSERS. Thanks for subscribing and reading!

While you are checking out the other resources on the lefthand side of the blog, like the links to IDEA and the federal regs or the links to other blogs or the CEC widget (it's a blidget), don't to forget in our ongoing poll. The polls are not meant to be "scientific" measurements, but they are fun. The current topic is what would you like to see when they amend the special ed law when IDEA is reauthorized? Currently further regulation of seclusion and restraints is leading with a razor thin margin. Be sure to vote.

How to Find "the Law"

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People often ask me how to find "the law." It can be tricky. If everybody could find it, they wouldn't be able to make people go to law school for three extra years. Maybe the difficulty is intentionally disguised as a full employment measure for lawyers? Seriously though those three years do impart certain basic concepts and foster a method of problem solving and I'm glad I did it! Long story short, sometimes you may not be able to find the law.

Special ed law is new law as we have said here before. For me, "new law" is roughly defined as whatever didn't come over on the boat from England. Because special ed law is of a mid-1970's vintage, it is very new law. Older lawyers don't like new law, especially law that combines social policy. They like property and contracts- areas of the law where you can look at a set of facts and provide reasonably reliable advice to a client. Special ed law is not like that.

Special ed law is also constantly changing. By the time we feel things are settled; the law gets reauthorized and it changes again. If ambiguity bothers you, special ed law may not be your thing. Many times multiple good lawyers can give different opinions on the same set of facts. the frustration is systemic.

Anyway, given all of the limitations above, you still can sometimes find the law. You can of course pay for the premium research services. I use these and they are good, but they cost. I try to provide citations in case a reader has access to the services.

But there are also free methods of finding the law. IDEA and the federal regulations are all available on the idea.ed.gov website. There is a link on the lefthand side of the blog. State special ed regulations are often available on the state department of education website- although many of them are hard to navigate.

Decisions by the U. S Supreme Court are available on its website. The United States Courts of Appeal decisions are available on their websites. Many if not all of the decisions of state high courts are available on their websites.

Trial court decisions are iffy. They are often hard to track down. There are sources. For example if you live near a good law library (law schools generally have a good one as do some large municipalities) (there used to be a great on on top of the Civic Center in Chicago. Is it still there?) The best place on earth to do research is the Library of Congress - although you must register first.

Another good way to find the law is to type the name of a case or a concept (be very specific) or a federal reg into a search engine. That's right fire up the google! You may not get an entire decision, but you will likely get a news article or some other useful information.

And don't forget the other resources on the lefthand side of the blog. In addition to the statute and regs there are links to other useful websites and to a number of other excellent blogs. There are also links to the special ed law groups for Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning, Twitter and Plaxo; these groups often have lively discussions and debates on their pages and they are another good place to find resources.

Of course, this blog is still the best place to stay current on special ed law. Also on the lefthand side of the blog are an archive of this blog and a search button specific to this blog. How cool is that? If you subscribe to the blog, you will be sure to receive every post. If there are other resources that are neutral, please suggest them. Because of my hearing officer, mediator and consultant status, I never link to or suggest sites that seem to favor one side or the other. For the same reason, I don't accept invitations to join other groups, etc. But if you know of additional neutral resources, please let me know.

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Tech Update:Facebook, Twitter, Mobile Website, and Street Cred

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In large part, this blog has dragged me (virtually kicking & screaming) into the 21st century. Before the blog, I was slightly technically challenged. I thought that Facebook was a chart with pasted on photographs used by angry professors to determine which student to call on in class. I was so out of it, that I use phrases like "high tech."

But the writing of this blog has opened technological doors. First I discovered the world of blogs. The availability of Blogger, the free Google blog platform, and its ease of use really helped. Then as I got used to posting on the blog, and as you started to react favorably, I got creative. Posting links to some other excellent websites was really appreciated by readers.

Then I discovered the social networking sites. The first and most successful of the special education law groups was the Facebook group, which now has grown to 667 members. Then I added the Ning, Twitter, Plaxo, and LinkedIn special education law groups which also became places to share information and resources regarding special education law. Than I started summarizing my posts with mini versions on Twitter where we now have a bunch of additional followers. When added to the followers and subscribers of the blog, we now have over 1800 regulars in the special education law posse. I know that there may be some duplication here, but that is still an impressive number. Especially when added to the 100 to 2500 other people who click on this blog every day, we have some serious street cred. This is the big reason that this blog was selected for the blockbuster exclusive interview with Alexa Posny, the new Assistant Secretary of Education for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS).

Our commitment to content has resulted in this blog receiving awards, such as First Place for Best Education Blog in the 2008 Blogger's Choice Awards and a Best Blog of the Day Award

Later we added news sources, like the CEC widget, and various other resources for special education stakeholders. We also feature our ongoing polls, which may not be scientific, but still are a lot of fun. The current poll seeks your input on IDEA reauthorization issues. (Regulation of seclusion and restraints now has a thin lead; make your voice heard - vote.)

We have developed three methods to subscribe to our posts, by email; through an RSS feed for feed readers or aggregator, and as a widget in the subscriber's own blog or website. Please keep subscribing and keep spreading the word.

Our newest gadget is our mobile website through which you can read the text of our posts of this blog on your Blackberry, I-Phone or other web enabled mobile phone. All of the links for the resources referred to in this post are on the lefthand side of the blog.

So thank you for reading, and by doing so, encouraging my techno-boldness! Rock on!

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Social Networks Gone Wrong: Bullying on Facebook

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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?

Breaking News: Facebook Special ed Law Group Now has 600 members

Welcome to the blogosphere. As regular readers know, I'm still getting used to it although the uses of the internet for information sharing are almost limitless. I appreciate the need to try to utilize the new developments in technology to help people. That was the goal of this blog from the beginning. We have spread mostly understandable information about special education law and made known resources that are available to stakeholders. Our growing and large number of subscribers (from all sectors of special education stakeholders) shows that the plan is working

The Special Education Law Blog also seeks to use social networking tools as additional resources. We have also had great success in this regard. The lefthand side of the blog lists our mini-posts, also called tweets. The lefthand side also lists links to the Ning, Plaxo, LinkedIn and Twitter groups. By far the most successful of the groups, however, is the Facebook Special Education Law Group. I'm pleased to announce that the Facebook group has just gone over the 600 member mark. That's a big group. The discussions are pretty lively, and the opinions are strong. There is also a wall and a place to list other non-commercial resources. If you are involved in special education, please join the group. We'd be happy to have you. And to the group members, congratulations on passing another milestone.

Image via Wikipedia

It all started right here of course, and I really appreciate our readers. Please take one of the free subscriptions (available as email, RSS feed or a widget for your own blog or website) , if you haven't done so. Numbers drive credibility in the blogosphere, and we are quickly becoming a big fish. (I'm not sure I've ever quite used those words before, but I like the sound of it!)

Thanks again everybody.

Tamimg Technology: Mobile Blogging & Tech Update

Jack Kerouac via last.fm

The voice recognition technology actually understood my words for the most recent post and it seems to have gotten it right. This is a huge victory for me. My Chicago + San Francisco + West Virginia accent sometimes overwhelms the software. By the way when I make these mobile posts, you can actually hear my voice (assuming that anybody wants to) by clicking on the "listen" link. If you do, you will see that I am trying to enunciate carefully.

I had just completed a mediation, so I thought that I would raise a question about mediation. Many people feel that it is the preferred method of resolving special ed disputes because it can work on repairing the relationships between parents and school personnel. In parts of the country where there are few attorneys who represent parents, I believe that mediation is more popular. Where there are lots of complaints (the now somewhat aged GAO study found that 80% of all due process complaints are filed in just six states), I believe that mediation is not in favor. what do you think?

Any way this mobile blogging really is pretty cool. Look for occasional small posts form the road. Maybe not Jack Kerouac or Willie Nelson, but hey I'm trying.

Our number of subscribers is really booming. Thank you! The numbers are really big in the blogosphere credibility realm. If you have not already done so, please consider taking a free subscription. On the upper lefthand side of the blog, you can click on one of three options: a free email subscription where you get the posts directly to your email inbox; a free RSS feed that will deliver the posts to an aggregator or feed reader; and a free blidget, or blog widget, that you can embed into your own blog or website. Thanks for subscribing!

Also related to technology are the resources that this blog makes available to you at the click of a mouse. On the lefthand side of the blog, there are links to a number of special education law groups in cyberspace. They include the Facebook, Ning, LinkedIn, Plaxo and Twitter groups. These groups have discussion boards and threads that can be quite passionate and often contain useful information. You can also click on the link to follow our mini-posts on Twitter. I'm still working on speaking in soundbites, not my strength!

Also under "Helpful Links" are the OSEP IDEA website, with searchable federal statute and regs- it is a pretty user-friendly website, the federal information clearing house and other very useful websites.

There is also a section with links to other education law blogs that I read regularly. Followed by the CEC daily briefing (this is an example of a blidget) and a link to blognet education news which quotes the key education blog posts of the day. I also post links to registration site for conferences that I will be speaking at in the near future.

Finally there is our ongoing poll. These are not "scientific," but we enjoy them anyway. The current question is given the recession should cost/expense be a defense in a special education dispute? So far No leads Yes by a wide 34 to 10 margin. There are also 5 maybes and 2 "too poor to vote." Be sure to vote; make your voice heard. Oh yeah, I approve this message.

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