California OAH special education order · January 24, 2013
Order Denying Joint Request for Change of Venue
OAH Case No. 2012110220 · ALJ Adrienne L. Krikorian
OAH denied a joint request to move the hearing from Van Nuys to Los Angeles because no good cause was shown and the District's witness convenience is not a basis for changing venue.
This case went to decision
Student v. Los Angeles Unified School District: Los Angeles Unified's offer to keep a blind student with multiple disabilities at Salvin Special Education Center upheld; no relief ordered. (2013)
Summary
Father and the District jointly asked OAH to move the due process hearing from the Van Nuys special education office to OAH's Los Angeles office. They said Student lives and attends school closer to Los Angeles and that Los Angeles is more convenient for District witnesses. OAH denied the request. Hearings must be held at a time and place reasonably convenient to the parents and child, and Father had told the ALJ at the prehearing conference that traveling to Van Nuys was not a hardship. The stipulation also included no declaration or evidence showing good cause.
Why it matters
Hearing location turns on convenience to the parent and child, not the district's witnesses. A stipulation alone will not move a hearing without facts showing good cause, especially if the parent has already said the current location works.
Key authority cited
- 34 C.F.R. § 300.515(d)
- Ed. Code § 56505(b)
Topics
Full text of the order
Published text of the OAH order. Page headers and numbers from the original PDF have been dropped.
BEFORE THE
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
In the Matter of:
PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT, OAH CASE NO. 2012110220
v. ORDER DENYING JOINT REQUEST
FOR CHANGE OF VENUE
LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL
DISTRICT.
On January 24, 2013, Student’s father (Father) and counsel for Los Angeles Unified School District (District) Donald Erwin (Mr. Erwin) filed a joint stipulation to change venue for the due process hearing scheduled to commence on February 5, 2013 at the special education office of the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) in Van Nuys, California.
They requested an order changing venue to the OAH general jurisdiction office located in Los Angeles, California on the basis that Student lives and attends school closer to the Los Angeles office, and the location is more convenient for District’s witnesses.
The parties’ stipulation followed the pre-hearing conference (PHC) on January 23, 2013, at which the issue of change of venue was discussed with the undersigned administrative law judge (ALJ). Mr. Erwin and Father attended the PHC. Father was assisted by a Spanish language translator and will represent Student at the hearing. During the PHC, Father expressly stated when questioned by the ALJ that traveling to the OAH office in Van Nuys would not be inconvenient or present a hardship for him. Father also did not identify Student as a possible witness; indicate that Student would be attending the hearing; or state that, if Student attended, appearing in Van Nuys would create a hardship for Student. Accordingly, the ALJ ordered that the hearing shall take place at the Van Nuys special education office in the absence of a showing of good cause for a change of location The IDEA and the Education Code require that due process hearings be conducted “at a time and place reasonably convenient to the parents and child involved.” (34 C.F.R. § 300.515, subd. (d); Ed. Code §56505, subd. (b).) The parties’ stipulation contains no declaration or other evidence setting forth any facts and circumstances demonstrating good cause for a change of venue, or why the Van Nuys special education office is not reasonably convenient for Father, particularly in light of his representation at the PHC to the contrary.
The convenience for District’s witnesses is not a basis for changing venue.
Accordingly, the parties’ request for change of venue is denied. The hearing shall take place as ordered in the January 23, 2013 PHC Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: January 24, 2013 /s/
ADRIENNE L. KRIKORIAN
Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings