California OAH special education order · January 28, 2015
Order Denying Request to Reopen Case
OAH Case No. 2015010140 · ALJ Richard T. Breen
OAH denied Parent's request to reopen a case withdrawn after a resolution-session settlement because the file was already closed, but said Parent may refile the same claims under a new case number.
Summary
Parent withdrew Student's due process complaint, saying the case had settled at the resolution session, and OAH vacated the hearing dates and closed the file that same day. Three days later, Parent asked OAH to reopen the case and reset the hearing dates because Parent had decided not to accept the resolution session terms. OAH denied the request because the matter was closed and the dates could not be reset. OAH noted that Parent may refile the due process request and get a new case number and scheduling order to pursue the same claims.
Why it matters
Once a withdrawal is filed and OAH closes the case, OAH will not reopen it even if the family changes its mind days later. The way to proceed is to file a new complaint, which restarts the timelines, so families should be sure about a settlement before withdrawing.
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. 2015010140
v. ORDER DENYING REQUEST TO
REOPEN CASE
TWIN RIVERS UNIFIED SCHOOL
DISTRICT.
On January 23, 2015, Student’s parent filed a notice of withdrawal of the due process hearing request that stated the matter had settled at the mandatory resolution session. That same day, OAH vacated all hearing dates and closed the file.
On January 26, 2015, Student’s parent filed a request to reopen this matter and reset the hearing dates on the ground that parent had subsequently decided not to accept the terms of the resolution session meeting.
Here, it is no longer possible to reset the dates, as the matter has been closed. Thus, the request to reopen the case is denied.
Student’s parent may re-file the due process hearing request and obtain a new case number and scheduling order if parent wishes to proceed on the same claims.
DATE: January 28, 2015
/ S/
RICHARD T. BREEN
Presiding Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings