California OAH special education order · April 30, 2015
Order Requiring Parent to File With OAH a Full Copy of Conservatorship Paperwork Including Attachment 24 and Letters
OAH Case No. 2015020974 · ALJ Margaret Broussard
OAH ordered Parent to file the full conservatorship paperwork, including attachment 24 and the letters, because the partial copy showed only a financial conservatorship and no proof the conservatorship had taken effect.
Summary
Student turned 18 during the case. Under Education Code section 56041.5, educational rights pass to the student at 18 unless the student has been found incompetent. Parent said Student had been conserved but filed only a partial copy of the conservatorship order, so Eureka asked OAH twice to order a complete copy. OAH found the papers on file showed Parent only as financial conservator and gave no evidence that letters had been issued, which are needed for the conservatorship to take effect. OAH ordered Parent to file the missing attachment 24 and the letters, and serve them on Eureka, by 5:00 p.m. on May 1, 2015.
Why it matters
When a student turns 18, a parent who wants to keep making educational decisions must show court papers that clearly give them that authority. A financial-only conservatorship, or one for which letters have not been issued, may not be enough to keep educational rights.
Key authority cited
- Ed. Code § 56041.5
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:
OAH Case No. 2015020974
EUREKA CITY SCHOOLS,
ORDER REQUIRING PARENT TO
v. FILE WITH OAH A FULL COPY OF
CONSERVATORSHIP PAPERWORK
STUDENT. INCLUDING ATTACHMENT 24 AND
LETTERS
On March 30, 2015, a telephonic prehearing conference was held in this matter and an order following prehearing conference was issued on April 1, 2015. The order following prehearing conference contained the following:
On April 3, 2015, Student will attain the age of 18. Education Code section 56041.5 calls for a student’s educational rights to transfer from his parent to the student, unless the student has been found incompetent. Parent indicated that Student has been conserved.
Therefore she was advised to send a copy of that court order to both OAH and the attorney for Eureka in order to demonstrate that she will retain authority to make educational decisions for Student beyond his eighteenth birthday.
On April 3, 2015, Parent filed with OAH and sent to Eureka a partial copy of the conservatorship order. On April 3, 2015, and April 23, 2015, Eureka filed motions with the Office of Administrative Hearings noting that the copy of the conservatorship papers it received was missing the specific orders which are noted in attachment 24 and asking for OAH to order Parent to provide a complete copy.
Although Parent has filed other paperwork with OAH in the meantime, Parent has not filed any additional paperwork regarding the conservatorship. The conservatorship paperwork filed with OAH is also missing the specific orders noted in attachment 24. The papers, as filed, only indicate that Parent is a financial conservator for Student and not that Student has been fully conserved or that educational rights have passed from Student to Parent. Further, the paperwork also indicates that the conservatorship is not effective until letters have been issued and no evidence has been provided that letters have been issued.
Parent is ordered to file with OAH and serve Eureka with a copy of attachment 24 and the letters, no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 1, 2015.
DATE: April 30, 2015
/ S/
MARGARET BROUSSARD
Presiding Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings