California OAH special education order · December 4, 2014
Order Denying Request for Reconsideration
OAH Case No. 2014110223 · ALJ Susan Ruff
OAH denied Student's request to reconsider the denial of stay put because changing the requested placement is not a new fact, and Student never explained the switch to home/hospital instruction.
Summary
OAH had denied Student's stay put motion, which asked that Student be placed at his home school. Student then moved for reconsideration to "clarify" that he actually wanted stay put at Aragon High School under the August 11, 2014 IEP. OAH denied the request. Changing the placement being requested is not a new fact, circumstance, or law that justifies reconsideration. Student also never fixed the gaps in the original motion: he was apparently on home/hospital instruction, not attending Aragon, when the complaint was filed, and he never documented who decided on home/hospital instruction, why, or for how long.
Why it matters
A stay put motion must name the correct placement and include documents about the student's actual placement when the complaint was filed, including any home/hospital instruction. Reconsideration will not fix a motion that asked for the wrong thing or left out key facts.
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:
PARENTS ON BEHALF OF STUDENT, OAH Case No. 2014110223 v. ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR
RECONSIDERATION
SAN MATEO UNION HIGH SCHOOL
DISTRICT.
On November 25, 2014, the undersigned administrative law judge issued an order denying Student’s motion for stay put. In the motion, Student had requested that he be placed at his home school while this case is pending.
On December 1, 2014, Student filed a motion for reconsideration. Student contends that Student filed the reconsideration motion to “clarify” that Student is seeking stay put at a different school, Aragon High School, based on the August 11, 2014 IEP signed by the parties.
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
The only new “fact” alleged by Student is a change in what Student contends should be Student’s stay put placement. That is not a basis to reconsider an order.
Further, even if that was a proper basis, Student’s motion for reconsideration fails to address any of the factual omissions in Student’s underlying motion for stay put. Based on the papers filed in the underlying motion, it appeared that Student was not, in fact, attending Aragon at the time of filing of Student’s due process hearing request. Instead he was receiving home/hospital instruction. Student has never filed any paperwork regarding that home/hospital instruction with either his stay put or reconsideration motion to show who made the decision for home/hospital instruction and how long it was to be in effect. Student has never fully explained why the change to home/hospital instruction was made.
Student’s request for reconsideration is denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATE: December 4, 2014
/ S/
SUSAN RUFF
Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings