I'm Now Also a DC HO! & Disclaimer

I'm pleased to note that I am now accepting assignments as a due process hearing officer for Washington, DC. As most of you know, I have been a hearing officer and mediator for West Virginia since 1989. I also serve as a hearing officer for special education disputes in Utah, Pennsylvania (one district only - conflict); and as a backup for Alaska. In addition, I train hearing officers, mediators and other staff at national, regional and state level trainings.

As a result of my positions as an impartial (I have not yet ever represented parents or school districts in education disputes), I occasionally point out the disclaimer on the left-hand side of the blog. There are some things we cannot try to do with this blog. This seems like a good time to review it.

The Heading is IMPORTANT- Please Read. It is important. The purpose of this blog is educational only. We try t

Image via Wikipedia

o provide information on special education law for a variety of stakeholders including: parents, special ed teachers, general ed teachers, school district attorneys, school principals, special ed directors, parent attorneys, children with disabilities, service providers, law professors, advocates, education professors, paraprofessionals, special ed coordinators, school disciplinarians, board members, advocacy groups, state education staff, hearing officers, mediators and adults with disabilities. We also try to increase awareness of the resources available to people involved in special education, and the links, blog roll and news sources on the left-hand side of this blog are intended to do just that. Many readers take advantage of the free subscriptions also available on the left-hand side of the blog; this helps our credibility in the blogosphere. Thanks for subscribing.

But the key point of the disclaimer is that this blog does not provide legal advice. If you are having a dispute involving special education, please consult with an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction, preferably one experienced in special education law. Also because of FERPA, the IDEA privacy protections and related state privacy laws, we cannot discuss actual parties to cases not in the public record, and we cannot discuss any protected personally identifiable information or reference any particular parties. Nothing on this blog should be misconstrued to be advice or instruction concerning what to do in a particular situation. The disclaimer also prohibits abusive, profane, offensive or defamatory language of any kind. The last category has not been a problem, but we lawyers tend to be careful.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Follow up: Legal Issues and Social Media (othersidegroup.com)