California OAH special education order · November 20, 2013
Order Denying District's Motion to Change Hearing Location
OAH Case No. 2013100168 · ALJ Richard T. Breen
OAH denied San Leandro's request to move the hearing to its offices. The IDEA does not require hearings to be set for a district's convenience, and Oakland is reasonably convenient for Student and parents.
This case went to decision
San Leandro Unified School District v. Student: San Leandro Unified may move a student to Roosevelt Elementary's counseling enriched program for up to 45 school days. (2013)
Summary
At the prehearing conference, District said its offices would be closed on November 25 and 26, 2013, so OAH set all hearing days at its Oakland office. On the day before hearing, District reversed course, said its offices were open those days, and asked to move the hearing there for its own convenience. OAH denied the motion. It had reasonably relied on District's earlier statements, and the IDEA requires a location reasonably convenient to Student and parents, not to the district. Oakland, next to San Leandro, meets that standard.
Why it matters
Hearing location under the IDEA turns on convenience to the student and parents, not the district. A party that makes statements at the prehearing conference may be held to them when it later tries to change course.
Key authority cited
- IDEA
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:
SAN LEANDRO UNIFIED SCHOOL OAH CASE NO. 2013100168
DISTRICT,
ORDER DENYING DISTRICT’S
v. MOTION TO CHANGE HEARING
LOCATION
PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT.
At the prehearing conference (PHC) for this matter, District unequivocally represented that its offices were closed on November 25 and 26, 2013, and sought to have the hearing dates changed. In reliance on District’s representations at the PHC regarding its offices, OAH set the hearing in this matter for all dates, including November 21, 2013, at the OAH office in Oakland, California, a place reasonably convenient to student and parents, within the meaning of IDEA. On November 20, 2013, District moved for a change of hearing location to its offices. District now asserts, contrary to its arguments at the PHC, that its administrative offices are in fact open and staffed on November 25 and 26, 2013, and that it would be more convenient for District to have the hearing at its offices.
District’s motion is denied. OAH reasonably relied on District’s representation at the PHC that its offices were not available for all of the scheduled hearing dates. More importantly, nothing in the IDEA requires the hearing location to be set for the convenience of the District. Here, San Leandro is adjacent to Oakland and meets the requirement of a place reasonably convenient to Student and parents under the IDEA. Accordingly, District’s motion is DENIED.
Dated: November 20, 2013 /s/
RICHARD T. BREEN
Presiding Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings