California OAH special education order · May 29, 2015
Order Denying Motion to Dismiss
OAH Case No. 2015050766 · ALJ Robert Helfand
OAH denied Val Verde's motion to dismiss based on a prior settlement waiver because the motion sought a merits ruling, and special education law has no summary judgment procedure.
This case went to decision
Student v. Val Verde Unified School District: Val Verde Unified wrongly refused a reassessment, but no FAPE denial because student graduated before testing would finish. (2015)
Summary
Student's father, as education rights holder, filed a complaint alleging Val Verde denied Student a FAPE by refusing a parent-requested reassessment. Val Verde moved to dismiss, arguing Student had waived all education claims through June 30, 2015 in a November 2013 settlement agreement, and Student opposed. OAH denied the motion because it was not limited to claims facially outside OAH's jurisdiction and instead amounted to a summary judgment motion requiring testimony and evidence. All dates were confirmed, though the ALJ noted the parties could seek to bifurcate the waiver issue.
Why it matters
A district cannot use a motion to dismiss to win a fact-dependent defense, such as a settlement waiver, without a hearing. Families facing a waiver argument can expect the defense to be tested with evidence, possibly in a bifurcated proceeding.
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:
EDUCATION RIGHTS HOLDER ON OAH Case No. 2015050766
BEHALF OF STUDENT,
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
v. DISMISS
VAL VERDE UNIFIED SCHOOL
DISTRICT.
On May 14, 2015, Student’s father, education rights holder, on behalf of Student filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings a Request for Due Process Hearing naming the Val Verde Unified School District. The complaint contains a single issue: whether Val Verde deprived Student of a free appropriate public education when it refused to conduct a re-assessment of Student pursuant to parental request.
On May 19, 2015, Val Verde filed a motion to dismiss Student’s complaint on grounds that Student had waived any and all education related claims he may have until June 30, 2015, pursuant to a written settlement agreement dated November 26, 2013. 1 On May 22, 2015, Student filed an opposition.
1 The settlement was in settlement of OAH Case Number 2013110700.
Although OAH will grant motions to dismiss allegations that are facially outside of OAH jurisdiction (e.g., civil rights claims, section 504 claims, enforcement of settlement agreements, incorrect parties, etc…..), special education law does not provide for a summary judgment procedure. Here, the Motion is not limited to matters that are facially outside of OAH jurisdiction, but instead seeks a ruling on the merits and is an amount to being a motion for summary judgment. It is essential that testimony and evidence be presented in order to determine Val Verde’s defense. Accordingly, the motion is denied. All dates currently set in this matter are confirmed. 2
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATE: May 29, 2015
/ S/
ROBERT HELFAND
Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings 2 This ruling does not preclude the parties from seeking to bifurcate this issue.