California OAH special education order · September 25, 2015
Order Denying Request for Reconsideration
OAH Case No. 2015080481 · ALJ Margaret Broussard
OAH denied Elk Grove's request to reconsider dismissal of its settlement-enforcement claim, because the settlement clause was already considered and parties cannot give OAH jurisdiction by agreement.
Summary
OAH had dismissed the matter because Elk Grove's only claim was a request to enforce a settlement agreement, which OAH has no power to hear. Elk Grove asked for reconsideration. It pointed to a settlement clause that reserved the District's right to file a new due process case if Parent did not make Student available for assessments. Student opposed, and OAH denied the request because Elk Grove offered no new facts, circumstances, or law: the clause had already been considered, and parties cannot give OAH jurisdiction contrary to Wyner v. Manhattan Beach Unified School District.
Why it matters
A settlement clause saying a party may return to due process does not let OAH enforce the settlement. Claims that the other side broke a settlement agreement generally belong in another forum, such as a California Department of Education compliance complaint or court. Reconsideration also requires truly new facts or law, not a rehash of evidence OAH already reviewed.
Key authority cited
- Gov. Code, § 11521
- Code Civ. Proc., § 1008
- Baldwin v. Home Savings of America (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1192
- Wyner v. Manhattan Beach Unified Sch. Dist. (9th Cir. 2000) 223 F.3d 1026
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. 2015080481 v. ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR
RECONSIDERATION
ELK GROVE UNIFIED SCHOOL
DISTRICT.
On September17, 2015, the undersigned Presiding Administrative Law Judge issued an order dismissing this matter finding that the only claim Elk Grove Unified School District made was a request to enforce a settlement agreement, a claim over which the Office of Administrative Hearings has no jurisdiction. On September 21, 2015, Elk Grove filed a motion for reconsideration based on a paragraph in the settlement agreement between the parties which states, in relevant part, “[i}n the event Parent does not make Student available for the assessments contemplated above, the District reserves the right to file a new due process filing relating to the assessment plan set forth herein.” On September 23, 2015, Student filed an opposition to the motion for reconsideration.
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
Elk Grove alleges no new facts, circumstances, or law in support of the request reconsideration. The clause in the settlement agreement which purports to allow Elk Grove to file a complaint with the Office of Administrative Hearings should Parent not make Student available was indeed part of the settlement agreement which was provided as part of the motion to dismiss and was considered in the initial ruling. In the motion for reconsideration, Elk Grove provided no law which allows the parties to confer jurisdiction upon OAH themselves and in contradiction to the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in Wyner v.
Manhattan Beach Unified Sch. Dist. ((9th Cir. 2000) 223 F.3d 1026, 1030.)
Accordingly, Elk Grove’s request for reconsideration is Denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATE: September 25, 2015
/ S/
MARGARET BROUSSARD
Presiding Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings