California OAH special education order · November 17, 2014

Order Granting Request for Reconsideration

OAH Case No. 2014050836 · ALJ Joy Redmon

OAH granted the parties' joint request to reconsider its denial of a continuance because new facts, the specific dates for the IEE and IEP meeting, showed exceptional good cause for a brief delay.

Granted Reconsideration

Summary

After OAH denied the parties' joint continuance request, Student and the District jointly asked for reconsideration. They filed a supplemental brief giving the specific completion date for the independent educational evaluation (IEE) and the date of the newly scheduled IEP team meeting. OAH found these new facts showed exceptional good cause for a brief continuance, since the parties had tried and failed to finish the IEE and IEP meeting by the original date. All dates were vacated and the hearing was reset to January 6, 2015, with a warning that no further continuances would be granted for these reasons.

Why it matters

A denied continuance can be revisited if the parties come back promptly with concrete new facts, such as firm dates for an IEE and IEP meeting. Vague requests are not enough, and OAH may warn that it will not grant further delays.

Key authority cited

Gov. Code, § 11521
Code Civ. Proc., § 1008
Baldwin v. Home Savings of America (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1192

Topics

reconsideration continuance independent educational evaluation iep meeting good cause

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. 2014050836 v. ORDER GRANTING REQUEST FOR

RECONSIDERATION

TWIN RIVERS UNIFIED SCHOOL

DISTRICT.

On November 10, 2014, the undersigned administrative law judge issued an order denying the parties’ joint request for a continuance. On November 13, 2014, the parties filed a joint request for reconsideration that included a supplemental brief with new facts.

APPLICABLE LAW

The Office of Administrative Hearings will generally reconsider a ruling upon a showing of new or different facts, circumstances, or law justifying reconsideration, when the party seeks reconsideration within a reasonable period of time. (See, e.g., Gov. Code, § 11521; Code Civ. Proc., § 1008.) The party seeking reconsideration may also be required to provide an explanation for its failure to previously provide the different facts, circumstances or law. (See Baldwin v. Home Savings of America (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1192, 1199-1200.)

DISCUSSION

The motion was accompanied by a supplemental brief signed by the attorneys representing each party. In the supplemental brief, the parties provided the specific date for when the anticipated independent educational evaluation would be completed and the date for the newly scheduled IEP team meeting.

On reconsideration, these new facts establish exceptional good cause in this case for a brief continuance. The parties indicated that they attempted to have the IEE and IEP team meeting conducted by the date originally provided to the Office of Administrative Hearings but were not successful. In this case, it is determined that the need to complete the IEE and hold the IEP team meeting prior to proceeding with the due process hearing slightly outweighs the need to proceed on the currently scheduled dates. This matter has been pending since May 2014. The parties are on notice that no further continuances will be granted to complete the IEE or conduct the IEP team meeting.

ORDER

1. The Motion for Reconsideration is Granted.

2. All dates currently on calendar are vacated.

3. This matter is set as follows:

Mediation on December 17, 2014, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM Prehearing Conference on December 29, 2014, at 1:00 PM Due Process Hearing on January 6, 2015, 9:30 AM-5:00 PM and January 7-8, 2015, at 9:00 AM- 5:00 PM and day-to-day thereafter Monday through Thursday at the discretion of the Administrative Law Judge