California OAH special education order · September 18, 2014
Order Denying Motion for Reconsideration
OAH Case No. 2014090016 · ALJ Adrienne L. Krikorian
OAH denied Student's request to reconsider a stay put order because Student offered no new facts, law, or changed circumstances. Arguments about Banneker and Avalon must wait for the due process hearing.
Summary
Student asked OAH to reconsider its September 4, 2014 order. That order denied stay put at Banneker Special Education Center and set stay put under Student's June 6, 2013 IEP. Student argued that District did not have to close Banneker, that Banneker still operates, and that conditions at Avalon Gardens are not appropriate. District opposed, and OAH denied the motion because Student showed no new facts, law, or change in circumstances since the earlier order, and the substantive disputes must be decided at the hearing.
Why it matters
Reconsideration is not a second chance to re-argue a stay put ruling. A party must show new facts, law, or changed circumstances. Disputes over whether the current placement is appropriate belong at the due process hearing, not in a stay put motion.
Key authority cited
- Gov. Code, § 11521
- Code Civ. Proc., § 1008
- Baldwin v. Home Savings of America (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1192
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. 2014090016
v. ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
RECONSIDERATION
LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL
DISTRICT.
On September 4, 2014, the undersigned administrative law judge issued an order denying Student’s request for stay put at Banneker Special Education Center, and defining the terms of Student’s stay put pursuant to her last agreed upon and implemented individualized education program. Student’s counsel, on Student’s behalf, filed a motion for reconsideration on September 16, 2014, accompanied by his declaration and authenticated evidence. Counsel for Los Angeles Unified School District filed an opposition on the same date. For the reasons discussed below, the motion for reconsideration is denied.
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 AND ORDER
Student’s motion for reconsideration consists of several pages of argument and evidence that address substantive issues in the complaint. Specifically, Student argues that:
District is not mandated to close Student’s previous placement, Banneker Special Education Center, which shared a campus with Avalon Gardens, Student’s current IEP placement;
Banneker is still functioning as a special education center; and current conditions at Avalon are not appropriate for Student. Student therefore argues that Banneker special education center should be Student’s stay put.
As discussed in the September 4, 2014 stay put order, stay put is defined by the terms of the last agreed upon and implemented IEP, which was Student’s June 6, 2013 IEP.
Student’s motion for reconsideration does not offer any new facts, new law or evidence of change of circumstances after the time the September 4, 2014 stay put order was issued that would justify reconsideration. The substantive issues raised in the complaint must be decided at the due process hearing by the hearing judge, after evidence is presented and findings of fact are made, and not in a stay put order.
Accordingly, Student’s motion for reconsideration is denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATE: September 18, 2014
/S/
ADRIENNE L. KRIKORIAN
Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings