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Social Network Groups for Special Education Law - Update

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

Image via Wikipedia

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

Image via Wikipedia

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?

Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr

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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Breaking News: Facebook Group Now has 700 Members!

Image via Wikipedia

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.

Last Day to Vote on Our Poll; Tech Update

This is the last day to vote on our poll. The current question is In this tough economy, should cost/expense be a defense in a special education case. No leads Yes 43 to 17 with 7 maybes and 2 too poor to vote. This is not a scientific poll. Nonetheless, be sure to make your voice heard. Vote today before the polls close.

The tech news is good. The most recent blog post was done by cellphone, and it was flawless. You can listen to my enunciation by clicking of the link to Jott. Unfortunately the corresponding Twitter mini-post got mangled. It was supposed to say "Musings of a special ed mediator. See Special Education Law Blog." Somehow musings became "uses" and law became "wall." But hey, as the public defender in My Cousin Vinny says, "I'm gettin' better!"

The post a few days back was done exclusively by email, and it was perfect. So both mobile options are working. This is great for me because I travel a lot.

Finally, the new mobile version of the blog is very successful. A number of readers have bookmarked the mobile website http://www.xfruits.com/jimgerl/?id=79913
on their web enabled mobile phones. They then can read the posts on their phones. They still need to subscribe, and that allows them to see the graphics and polls and links an

Image by prettydaisies via Flickr

d other resources that are not available on the scaled down version of the mobile website.

Our number of subscribers is at an all time high. Thank you and please keep spreading the word. The popularity of the blog helps our credibility in the blogosphere. Please keep reading.

The related special ed law groups on Facebook, Ning, LinkedIn and Plaxo continue to generate great discussions and interesting wall posts. The links to these groups are on the left hand side of the blog. Check them out when you get a chance.

Thanks again for reading this blog. I am very pleased that we can provide information, provoke thought, discuss policy choices and make resources available to all of the stakeholders who read the blog.

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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.

Expense as a Defense Poll Update; Tech News

Our current running poll concerns whether in these hard economic times, the expense of services should be considered a defense in an action alleging a violation of IDEA. We are starting to see some activity on the poll. So far those who have answered No cost is not a defense have a commanding lead with 14 votes. Yes has 5 votes and Maybe has 2. One respondent pleads that he or she is too poor to vote. Be sure to vote now; let you voice be heard. (We make no claims to any scientific value to our polls; they are for the fun of our readers only.)

We have also created some other venues to inform and stimulate discussion in the blogosphere. Fully embracing the spirit of the internetS, we have created a number of related special education law groups. Each of the following has a growing number of participants. On the following pages you will find interesting discussion boards; passionate arguments and comments that will make you think. Please take some time to explore them. Our first venture was the special education law group on the Facebook social networking site. We have since added groups on the Ning site; the Twitter site; the LinkedIn network; and on the Plaxo site. There are permanent links to each special education law group, as well as a number of other useful websites, on the lefthand side of this blog

Image via CrunchBase

. In addition we have fixed it so that you can follow our Twitter mini-posts on the lefthand side of the blog.

The number of subscribers to this blog continues to grow. This really helps our credibility; thanks. If you would like to have a free subscription, you have three options all high on the lefthand side of the blog. You can receive the posts by email by clicking on that link. If you have an RSS reader or feed aggregator, some smartphones are equipped for such readers, you can subscribe by clicking on the feed link. Finally if you have your own blog or website, you can obtain a blidget- or blog widget- for this blog and insert it right into your blog or website. Again, thank you for subscribing, numbers help.

The "new" technology is somewhat frightening to many people, but it really is amazing in terms of its capacity to make information available to people. How did folks find out about special education law before the internet? How did people post to their blogs from conferences before there were cellphones and voice recognition software?

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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.

Resource Update

Occasionally I run a post updating some of the resources that are available through this blog for people with special education issues. The resource items are found on the left-hand side of the blog. The most important thing is to subscribe to the blog. In the internet world, there is credibility in numbers, so please spread the word. We now have a large number of subscribers and that makes it easier to be taken seriously. Maybe if enough people subscribe, the next candidates for president will answer our inquires. There are three ways to subscribe and all are absolutely free. One is to receive our posts by email. The second way involves obtaining our posts through an RSS reader or aggregator. The third method only works if you have a blog or website. If so, you can embed a special ed law blog widget (or blidget= blog widget) directly in your own blog or website. A big thanks to all subscribers.

My Twitter mini-posts or "tweets" also appear on the left-hand side of the blog. A number of people also follow us on Twitter.

The section entitled Helpful Links includes direct links to several federal government sites, including IDEA.gov, that includes a searchable data base with the federal statute and regul as well as ationsOSEP guidance documents. Other links include the NICHCY information clearinghouse and the CADRE website for special ed dispute resolution. If you use Facebook, there is a link to the Facebook special education law group. Among the other social network special ed law groups linked there are the Ning group and the LinkedIn group. These groups offer additional resources and very active discussion groups.

Under the Heading Other Education Blogs are links to some really good education blogs that I read and enjoy. I am very selective in adding links to this blog. I believe that the ones listed are of very high quality and usefulness.

There are also registration links to conferences that I recommend. There follows a blidget carrying the headlines of the Daily Smart Brief by the Council for Exceptional Children. (This is an example of one type of blog widget.) A link to the daily education news and blogs carried in Blognetnews follows.

The Archive for this blog and the blog search tool are handy when you may be looking for information on special education law. Just type in a word or phrase and you will get results of posts that may have mentioned the key word or phrase. This is a nice research tool.

The "Important Please Read" disclaimer is very, very important. I am an impartial. I work as a hearing officer or mediator, and as a consultant for states and a conference speaker. I never represent parents/students or school districts. For the same reasons, I avoid cause invitations and social network groups that appear to advocate for one side or the other. I think that my impartiality adds credibility to this blog as well as to my work.

In addition to my impartiality, and for important legal reasons, I can never give legal advice or discuss actual situations or personally identifiable information. I often suggest that readers make a comment or join one of the group discussions. Although I cannot give advice, other readers or group members may well have suggestions. With the large number of diverse groups of stakeholders who subscribe to and read this blog, help may be a comment away. Almost all readers who have contacted me understand these reasons for my not giving advice, and I thank them for their understanding.

After some information about me and some photos of me being a hearing officer, are our periodic polls. These are fun exercises but they are not scientific polls or anything approaching that level of sophistication or measurement. But they do show intensity on some issues as well as the diversity of our readership. The current poll question is: Given the recession, should cost/money be a defense in special education cases. Please exercise your right to vote.

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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

Social Network Groups for Special Education Law - Update

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

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

The Perils of The Internets: Boycott Canadian Internet Pharmacy?

Breaking News: Facebook Group Now has 700 Members!

Last Day to Vote on Our Poll; Tech Update

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

Expense as a Defense Poll Update; Tech News

Facebook group now over 500

Resource Update

Breaking News: Facebook Group Now has Over 400 Members

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