Order Following Prehearing Conference and Granting Request for Witness to Appear by Telephone

BEFORE THE

OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

In the Matter of:

PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT, OAH Case No. 2016110661 v. ORDER FOLLOWING PREHEARING

CONFERENCE AND GRANTING

SAN JUAN UNIFIED SCHOOL REQUEST FOR WITNESS TO APPEAR

DISTRICT. BY TELEPHONE

On March 3, 2017, a telephonic prehearing conference was held before Administrative Law Judge B. Andrea Miles, Office of Administrative Hearings. Martha Millar, Attorney at Law, appeared on behalf of Student. Anne Sherlock and Linda Simlick, Attorneys at Law, appeared on behalf of San Juan Unified School District. The PHC was recorded.

Based upon discussion with the parties, the ALJ issues the following order:

1. Hearing Dates, Times, and Location. The hearing shall take place March 14,

15, 16, and 20, 2017, and continuing day to day, Monday through Thursday, at the discretion of the ALJ. The hearing shall take place at San Juan’s offices located at 4825 Kenneth Avenue, Carmichael, California 95608. The hearing shall begin at 9:30 a.m. the first day of the hearing and at 9:00 a.m. all other days, unless otherwise ordered.

As ordered in the scheduling order, the named local educational agency was to provide a facility for the hearing that fully complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 794 et seq.), the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civ. Code, § 51 et seq.), and all laws governing accessibility of government facilities to persons with disabilities. The named local educational agency failed to certify that it would provide a facility for this case that complied with the law. The local educational agency shall inform OAH within two days of the date of this order it is able to certify that it will provide a facility that complies with the law.

Prior to the beginning of the hearing, San Juan shall assist the ALJ to ensure that the hearing room is configured into a courtroom setting, including (1) a table for Student and his representatives; (2) a table for San Juan’s legal representative and special education representative; (3) a table for the witness; and (4) a table for the ALJ, near an electrical outlet. San Juan shall also make reasonable effort to ensure that drinking water and tissue are available to all parties, witnesses and the ALJ.

The parties shall immediately notify all potential witnesses of the hearing dates, and shall subpoena witnesses if necessary, to ensure that the witnesses will be available to testify.

A witness will not be regarded as unavailable for purposes of showing “good cause” to continue the hearing if the witness is not properly notified of the hearing date or properly subpoenaed, as applicable.

2. Issues and Proposed Resolutions.1 The issues at the due process hearing, and

the proposed resolutions, are listed below.

Issue 1: Did San Juan deny Student a free appropriate public education during the 2015- 2016 school year, beginning March 16, 2016, and including the extended school year, because the May 16, 2016 individualized education program failed to:

a. Make a clear written offer;

b. Offer and provide Student Home-Hospital Instruction; and

c. Offer and provide Student goals in the areas of reading and writing?

Issue 2: Did San Juan deny Student a FAPE from the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year to the date of hearing because the May 16, 2016 IEP, as amended on September 14, 2016, failed to:

a. Make a clear written offer;

b. Offer and provide Student Home-Hospital Instruction; and

c. Offer and provide Student goals in the areas of reading and writing?

Proposed Resolution 1: Student seeks declaratory relief that San Juan denied Student a FAPE beginning March 16, 2016 through the date of hearing, including the 2016 extended school year.

Proposed Resolution 2: Student seeks to have San Juan place Student on home-hospital instruction.

Proposed Resolution 3: Student seeks reimbursement from San Juan of all relevant educational related expenses incurred by Parent.

Proposed Resolution 4: Student seeks to have San Juan fund compensatory education services in accordance with proof at hearing.

In the event that either of the parties disagrees with the issues as reframed in this Order, that party must file a motion for reconsideration prior to the start of the hearing.

Proposed Resolution 5: Student seeks that San Juan provide Student with any other relief deemed appropriate by the ALJ.

3. Exhibits. Exhibits shall be pre-marked and placed in three-ring exhibit

binders prior to the hearing. The parties shall use numbers to identify exhibits, but shall place the letter “S” or “D” in front of the exhibit to designate if it is a Student or District exhibit (for example, “S-5, S-6, or D-1, D-2”). Each exhibit shall be internally paginated by exhibit, or all of a party’s exhibits shall be Bates-stamped. Each exhibit binder shall contain a detailed table of contents. The parties shall serve their evidence binders on each other in compliance with Education Code section 56505, subdivision (e)(7). At the hearing, each party shall supply an exhibit binder containing its exhibits for use by the ALJ, and a second exhibit binder for use by witnesses. The parties may not serve exhibits on OAH prior to the hearing. In the event of duplicate exhibits, the most legible version will be used.

Except for good cause shown, or unless used solely for rebuttal or impeachment, any exhibit not included in the exhibit lists and not previously exchanged shall not be admitted into evidence at the hearing unless it is supported by written declaration under penalty of perjury, and the ALJ rules that it is admissible.

4. Witnesses. Each party is responsible for procuring the attendance at hearing

of its own witnesses. Each party shall make witnesses under its control reasonably available. The parties shall schedule their witnesses to avoid delays in the hearing and to minimize or eliminate the need for calling witnesses out of order.

The parties are encouraged to review and shorten their witness lists prior to the hearing, bearing in mind that evidence will be excluded if it is repetitive, cumulative, or insufficiently probative to justify the time it would take to hear.

The parties shall attempt to reach agreement on a witness list for the first day of hearing. The San Juan shall have witnesses available in case agreement on a witness list is not reached. Prior to the commencement of the due process hearing, the ALJ and the parties will discuss the length of time anticipated for direct and cross-examination of each witness and scheduling issues for individual witnesses, and the ALJ will finalize the witness schedule. Additionally, the parties shall be prepared at the end of each day of hearing to discuss the witnesses to be presented the next day and the time the testimony of each such witness is expected to take.

5. Scope of Witness Examination. Each witness shall be called to testify only

once, except for rebuttal purposes, and all parties shall examine the witness on all issues when the witness is first called. After the first direct and cross-examinations, each party shall be limited in examining the witness to only those matters raised in the immediately preceding examination. The order in which the parties present their cases in chief shall be subordinate to the need for each witness to appear only once.

6. Telephonic Testimony. Whether a witness may appear by telephone is a

matter within the discretion of the ALJ. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 5, § 3082, subd. (g).) Any party seeking to present a witness by telephone shall move in advance for leave to do so, unless the opposing party has stipulated that the witness may appear by telephone. The proponent of the witness shall provide the proposed witness with a complete set of exhibit binders from all parties, containing all of each party’s exhibits, prior to the hearing; and shall ensure that the hearing room has sound equipment that allows everyone in the room to hear the witness, and the witness to hear objections and rulings. No witness will be heard by telephone unless all these requirements have been fulfilled.

On February 8, 2017, Student filed a motion requesting that Dr. Wong, Student’s pediatrician be allowed to appear telephonically. On February 13, 2017, San Juan filed an opposition to Student’s motion. After reviewing all of the relevant facts, good cause is found to allow Dr. Lenbert Wong to testify telephonically. Student shall provide Dr. Wong with a complete exhibit binder from each party, containing all of each party’s exhibits, prior to the hearing, and shall ensure that the hearing room has sound equipment that allows everyone in the room to hear the witness.

7. Electronic Recording of Hearing.

a. Audio Recording. Both parties’ motions to make an audio recording of

the hearing is granted, subject to the following conditions: 1) that OAH’s recording is the only official recording; 2) that the recording will be turned on and off at the same time as the ALJ’s recording, in order to avoid recording conversations while off the record; and 3) that operation of the party’s recording mechanism will not be allowed to delay the hearing.

b. Video Recording. No party, witness or anyone else present may

make any video recording of any part of the proceedings. Any person doing so shall be subject to sanctions.

8. Order of Presentation of Evidence. In an administrative proceeding, the

burden of proof is ordinarily on the party requesting the hearing. (Schaffer v. Weast (2005)

546 U.S. 49, 56-62 [126 S.Ct. 528, 163 L.Ed.2d 387].) Here, Student is the petitioning party.

Accordingly, Student shall present its case-in-chief, followed by San Juan.

9. Motions. No pretrial motions are pending or contemplated. Any motion filed

after this date shall be supported by a declaration under penalty of perjury establishing good cause as to why the motion was not made prior to or during the prehearing conference of March 3, 2017.

10. Compensatory Education and Reimbursement. Any party seeking

reimbursement of expenditures shall present admissible evidence of these expenditures, or a stipulation to the amount of expenditures, as part of its case in chief. A party seeking compensatory education should provide evidence regarding the type, amount, duration, and need for any requested compensatory education.

11. Stipulations. Stipulations to pertinent facts, contentions or resolutions are

encouraged. Any proposed stipulation shall be submitted to the assigned ALJ in written form.

12. Conduct of Counsel and Hearing Room Decorum. Counsel, all parties, and all

witnesses shall conduct themselves in a professional and courteous manner at all times.

Cellular phones, pagers, recorders, and other noisemaking electronic devices shall be shut off or set to vibrate during the hearing unless permission to the contrary is obtained from the

ALJ.

13. Special Needs and Accommodations. Student’s counsel indicated that

Student’s father may require some level of accommodation for the hearing. Student’s counsel was directed to contact OAH and request to speak to the ADA coordinator regarding any request for accommodation.

Any party or participant to this case, such as a witness, requiring reasonable accommodation to participate in the mediation or hearing may contact the assigned calendar staff, identified in the scheduling order, at (916) 263-0880, as soon as the need is known.

Additional information concerning requests for reasonable accommodation is available on OAH’s website at: http://www.dgs.ca.gov/oah/Home/Accessibility.aspx.

14. Hearing Will Be Closed To the Public. The hearing will be closed to the

public unless Student requests it be open.

15. Settlement. The parties are encouraged to continue working together

to reach an agreement before the due process hearing. The parties shall inform OAH in writing immediately should they reach a settlement or otherwise resolve the dispute before the scheduled hearing. In addition, if a settlement is reached within five days of the scheduled start of the due process hearing, the parties shall also inform OAH of the settlement by telephone at (916) 263-0880.

IF A FULL AND FINAL WRITTEN SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT IS REACHED

AFTER 5:00 P.M. THE DAY PRIOR TO HEARING, THE PARTIES SHALL LEAVE A

VOICEMAIL MESSAGE REGARDING THE SETTLEMENT AT (916) 274-6035. THE

PARTIES SHOULD ALSO LEAVE CONTACT INFORMATION SUCH AS CELLULAR

PHONE NUMBERS OF EACH PARTY OR COUNSEL FOR EACH PARTY. THE

PARTIES SHOULD SIMULTANEOUSLY FAX THE SIGNATURE PAGE OF THE

SIGNED AGREEMENT OR A LETTER WITHDRAWING THE CASE TO THE OAH AT

THE FAXINATION LINE at 916-376-6319.

Dates for hearing will not be cancelled until the letter of withdrawal or signature page of the signed agreement has been received by OAH. If an agreement in principle is reached, the parties should plan to attend the scheduled hearing unless different arrangements have been agreed upon by the assigned ALJ. The assigned ALJ will check for messages the evening prior to the hearing or the morning of the hearing.

16. Failure to comply with this order may result in the exclusion of evidence or

other sanctions.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATE: March 8, 2017

B. ANDREA MILES

Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings