California OAH special education order · March 26, 2018

Order Requiring Additional Evidence for Stay Put Motion

OAH Case No. 2018030580 · ALJ Penelope S. Pahl

OAH held off ruling on Student's stay put motion and ordered Student to file a complete copy of the last consented-to IEP, because the partial, unsigned, unauthenticated Heartspring IEP pages were insufficient.

Ruling Stay put

Summary

Student moved for stay put to keep his out-of-state nonpublic school placement at Heartspring. District opposed, arguing the school could not be required to keep serving Student after giving notice that it was ending services. OAH did not rule on the merits. It found Student's evidence insufficient because the attached IEP pages were unnumbered, had no signature page, and had no declaration authenticating them, so OAH ordered Student to file the complete last consented-to IEP by March 27, 2018, with any response due March 28, 2018.

Why it matters

A stay put motion should include the complete, signed, last agreed-upon and implemented IEP, with a declaration authenticating it. Without that, OAH cannot tell what placement and services Student is entitled to keep.

Key authority cited

  • 20 U.S.C. § 1415(j)
  • 34 C.F.R. § 300.518(a)
  • Ed. Code, § 56505, subd. (d)
  • Cal. Code Regs., tit. 5, § 3042, subd. (a)
  • Johnson v. Special Education Hearing Office (2002) 287 F.3d 1176
  • Ms. S. ex rel. G. v. Vashon Island School Dist. (9th Cir. 2003) 337 F.3d 1115

Topics

stay put nonpublic school out-of-state placement evidence iep documentation

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. 2018030580 v. ORDER REQUIRING ADDITIONAL

EVIDENCE FOR STAY PUT MOTION

GROSSMONT UNION HIGH SCHOOL

DISTRICT.

On March 15, 2018, Student filed a motion for stay put. The motion filed did not include a complete copy of Student’s last consented to Individual Education Plan (IEP). On March 20, 2018, District filed an opposition on the ground that Student’s out of state, certified non-public, non-sectarian school placement cannot be required to continue to provide services after giving notice of termination of those services as provided pursuant to California law.

APPLICABLE LAW

Until due process hearing procedures are complete, a special education student is entitled to remain in his or her “then-current educational placement”, unless the parties agree otherwise. (20 U.S.C. § 1415(j); 34 C.F.R. § 300.518(a) (2006)1; Ed. Code, § 56505 subd. (d).) This is referred to as “stay put.” In California, “specific educational placement”

is defined as “that unique combination of facilities, personnel, location or equipment necessary to provide instructional services to an individual with exceptional needs,” as specified in the IEP. (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 5, § 3042, subd. (a).)

For purposes of stay put, the current educational placement is typically the placement called for in the student’s most recently implemented individualized education program.

(Johnson v. Special Education Hearing Office (2002) 287 F. 3d 1176, 1180.) However, some exceptions apply to that rule. (Johnson, supra, 287 F. 3d at p. 1181; Ms. S. ex rel. G. v.

Vashon Island School Dist. (9th Cir. 2003) 337 F.3d 1115, 1133 [rev’d on other grounds].)

DISCUSSION

Student submitted insufficient evidence of his last agreed upon and implemented IEP.

While Student attached a some pages from the Heartspring IEP, those pages are not All references to the Code of Federal Regulations are to the 2006 edition, unless otherwise indicated.

numbered and did not include a signature page. Furthermore, there was no declaration authenticating the document.

Here, Student has not provided adequate evidence of his last agreed upon and implemented placement. Insufficient evidence has been provided regarding the exact services Student was receiving at Heartspring pursuant to his IEP.

ORDER

Student is ordered to provide a complete copy of the last IEP to which Parents consented. This evidence must be filed and served no later than noon Tuesday, March 27,

2018. Any response to the evidence provided shall be filed no later than noon on

Wednesday, March 28, 2018.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATE: March 26, 2018

PENELOPE S. PAHL

Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings