California OAH special education order · July 11, 2014
Order Following Prehearing Conference, Continuing the Prehearing Conference and Due Process Hearing and Ordering Production of Educational Records
OAH Case No. 2014051114 · ALJ Elsa H. Jones
OAH ordered District to produce by July 22, 2014 all educational records Student's counsel had requested under Education Code section 56504, and continued the hearing to September 15, 2014 on joint motion.
This case went to decision
Student v. Pasadena Unified School District: Pasadena Unified must add a one-to-one aide, social skills group and intensive counseling plus 81 compensatory hours; other claims denied. (2014)
Summary
After a telephonic prehearing conference, ALJ Elsa H. Jones granted the parties' joint request to continue the due process hearing. Good cause existed because there had been no earlier continuance and the parties had calendar conflicts. The hearing was reset to September 15 through 18, 2014, at District's offices, and the prehearing conference was continued to September 8, 2014. The ALJ also ordered District to produce, by close of business on July 22, 2014, all educational records Student's counsel had requested under Education Code section 56504 that District had not yet produced.
Why it matters
Parents have a right to their child's educational records under Education Code section 56504, and an ALJ can set a firm deadline at the prehearing conference for a district to hand over records it has not yet produced. Raising missing records at the PHC can get them produced well before hearing.
Key authority cited
- Ed. Code, § 56504
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. 2014051114
v. ORDER FOLLOWING PREHEARING
CONFERENCE, CONTINUING THE
PASADENA UNIFIED SCHOOL PREHEARING CONFERENCE AND
DISTRICT. DUE PROCESS HEARING AND
ORDERING PRODUCTION OF
EDUCATIONAL RECORDS
On July 7, 2014, a telephonic prehearing conference (PHC) was held before Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Elsa H. Jones, Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH).
Pamela K. Daves, Attorney at Law, appeared on behalf of Parent and Student (collectively, Student). Karen E. Gilyard, Attorney at Law, appeared on behalf of Pasadena Unified School District (District). The PHC was recorded.
Based on discussion with the parties, the ALJ issues the following Order:
1. Hearing Dates, Times, and Location. The hearing is continued on joint
motion of the parties, for good cause shown, as no previous continuance had been requested or granted, and as the parties had calendar commitments that conflicted with the initial hearing dates. The hearing shall take place from September 15 through September 18, 2014, and continuing day to day thereafter, Monday through Thursday as needed, at the discretion of the ALJ. Unless otherwise ordered, the first day of hearing shall begin at 1:30 p.m., and all subsequent hearing days shall begin at 9:00 a.m.
The hearing shall take place at the District’s offices located at 351 S. Hudson Avenue, Pasadena, California 91109.
The parties shall immediately notify all potential witnesses of the hearing dates, and shall subpoena witnesses if necessary, to ensure that the witnesses will be available to testify.
A witness will not be regarded as unavailable for purposes of showing “good cause” to continue the hearing if the witness was not properly notified of the hearing dates or properly subpoenaed, as applicable.
2. Continued PHC. The telephonic PHC is continued to September 8, 2014, at
1:00 p.m. OAH will initiate the conference call.
3. Production of Educational Records. All educational records previously
requested by counsel for Student in this matter pursuant to Education Code section 56504, and not previously produced by District, shall be produced by no later than close of business on July 22, 2014.
4. Settlement. The parties are encouraged to continue working together
to reach an agreement before the due process hearing. The parties shall inform OAH in writing immediately should they reach a settlement or otherwise resolve the dispute before the scheduled hearing. In addition, if a settlement is reached within five days of the scheduled start of the due process hearing, the parties shall inform OAH of the settlement by telephone at (916) 263-0880.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATE: July 11, 2014
/S/
ELSA H. JONES
Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings