California OAH special education order · February 14, 2014
Order Denying Request for Reconsideration or to Reopen Case
OAH Case No. 2013090535 · ALJ Charles Marson
OAH denied Student's oral request to reconsider or reopen a case dismissed with prejudice, because OAH loses jurisdiction once a matter is dismissed.
Summary
OAH dismissed this case with prejudice on February 4, 2014, and filed a dismissal order on February 6. The next day, Student's Father called OAH staff and said the February 4 order contained mistakes. It was unclear whether he wanted the case reopened or the order reconsidered, the request was made only by phone, and the district appeared to have no notice of it. OAH denied the request because it no longer had jurisdiction over a matter that had been dismissed.
Why it matters
After OAH dismisses a case with prejudice, it treats itself as having no power to revisit the dismissal, so families should raise any concerns before the dismissal is final. A phone call to OAH staff, without written notice to the district, is not an effective way to seek relief.
Key authority cited
- San Jose Unified School Dist. v. Student, OAH Case No. 20100120367 (Order, Mar. 1, 2012)
- Lucia Mar Unified School Dist. v. Student, OAH Case No. 2011070196 (Order, June 12, 2012)
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. 2013090535
v. ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR
RECONSIDERATION OR TO REOPEN
LINCOLN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT. CASE
On February 4, 2014, OAH entered an order dismissing this matter with prejudice.
An order of dismissal was filed on February 6, 2014.
On February 7, 2014, OAH staff received a telephone call from Student’s Father asserting that there were mistakes in the order of February 4, 2014. It was not clear whether sought reopening of the matter or reconsideration of the order. The application was oral and there appeared to be no notice to the school district.
Once a decision is issued, OAH loses jurisdiction over the matter. (See, e.g, San Jose Unified School Dist. v. Student, OAH Case No. 20100120367 (Order Denying Request for Reconsideration and/or Appeal, March 1, 2012 OAH also loses jurisdiction over a party when the party is dismissed from a case. (See, e.g., Lucia Mar Unified School District v. Student, OAH Case No. 2011070196 (Order Denying Student’s Second Stay Put Motion, June 12, 2012).)
Since OAH no longer has jurisdiction over this matter, Student’s request for reconsideration, or request to reopen the matter, is denied.
DATE: February 14, 2014
CHARLES MARSON
Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings