California OAH special education order · May 4, 2018
Order Denying Student's Motion to Amend Complaint
OAH Case No. 2017061033 · ALJ Rita Defilippis
OAH denied Student's opposed second request to amend to add a Section 504 claim. The case had been delayed since June 2017, and Student may raise the new claim in a separate complaint.
This case went to decision
Student v. Antioch Unified School District: Antioch Unified wins child find case; pre-June 2015 claims time-barred and summer break delayed assessment deadline. (2018)
Summary
Student asked to amend the due process complaint a second time to add a Section 504 claim based on events that happened after the original June 2017 filing. No new IDEA claims were added, and Antioch opposed the request. OAH denied the amendment, noting the hearing had already been delayed by a failed settlement approval, a first amendment, and several continuances. OAH also pointed out that the IDEA allows a parent to file a separate due process complaint on a separate issue, and noted in a footnote that OAH lacks jurisdiction over Section 504 claims.
Why it matters
OAH may refuse a late amendment that would restart timelines in a long-delayed case, especially when the new claim arose later and can be filed separately. Parents should consider filing new issues as a separate complaint rather than amending an old case.
Key authority cited
- 20 U.S.C. § 1415(c)(2)(E)
- 20 U.S.C. § 1415(o)
- 34 C.F.R. § 300.513(c)
- Ed. Code § 56509
- 29 U.S.C. § 794
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. 2017061033 v. ORDER DENYING STUDENT’S
MOTION TO AMEND COMPLAINT
ANTIOCH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.
On June 22, 2017, Student filed a due process hearing request (complaint) with the Office of Administrative Hearings, naming Antioch Unified School District. On November 6, 2017, OAH granted Student’s first request to amend his due process complaint. On May 2, 2018, Student filed a second motion to amend the due process hearing request (second amended complaint). Antioch filed an opposition on May 3, 2018.
An amended complaint may be filed when either (a) the other party consents in writing and is given the opportunity to resolve the complaint through a resolution session, or (b) the hearing officer grants permission, provided the hearing officer may grant such permission at any time more than five (5) days prior to the due process hearing. (20 U.S.C.
§1415(c)(2)(E)(i).) The filing of an amended complaint restarts the applicable timelines for the due process hearing. (20 U.S.C. §1415(c)(2)(E)(ii).)
In Student’s second Request to Amend, Student seeks to add a Section 504 claim relating to circumstances that did not exist at the time of the original complaint.1 No new Individuals with Disabilities Education Act claims are made in the second amended complaint. Student’s case was originally filed in June 2017. The hearing in this case has been delayed for multiple reasons including Antioch’s failure to gain board approval for a settlement agreement previously negotiated by the parties, the filing of Student’s first amended complaint, and several continuances granted for other reasons.
The IDEA specifically states that nothing in the Act shall be construed to preclude a parent from filing a separate due process complaint on an issue separate from a due process complaint already filed. (20 U.S.C. § 1415(o); 34 C.F.R. § 300.513(c) (2006); Ed Code, § Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 794) requires a school district to provide program modifications and accommodations to children who have physical or mental impairments that substantially limit a major life activity such as learning.
OAH does not have jurisdiction over Section 504 claims.
56509.) Student’s second request to amend the due process complaint is DENIED. Nothing precludes Student from raising the 504 claim in a separate due process complaint.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATE: May 4, 2018
RITA DEFILIPPIS
Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings