California OAH special education order · July 11, 2018
Order Denying Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement and Stay Put
OAH Case No. 2018031167 · ALJ Linda Johnson
OAH denied Student's motions to enforce a settlement agreement and for stay put, because OAH cannot enforce settlements and cannot order stay put once the due process case has been dismissed.
Summary
Student filed a due process complaint against Salinas, Millennium, and Monterey County Office of Education, and OAH dismissed it at Student's request. Months later, Student asked OAH to enforce a settlement agreement with Millennium and Monterey and to order stay put at Millennium. Millennium opposed both motions. OAH denied them because, under Wyner, it has no jurisdiction to enforce settlement agreements, and stay put requires a pending due process hearing, which no longer existed.
Why it matters
Families who believe a district or charter school is breaking a settlement agreement generally need to file a compliance complaint with the California Department of Education, not go back to OAH. Stay put protection ends once the due process case is dismissed, so parents should think carefully before withdrawing a complaint if placement is still in dispute.
Key authority cited
- Wyner v. Manhattan Beach Unified Sch. Dist. (9th Cir. 2000) 223 F.3d 1026
- 20 U.S.C. § 1415(j)
- Ed. Code, § 56505, subd. (d)
- Cal. Code Regs., tit. 5, § 4600 et seq.
- Casey K. v. St. Anne Community High School Dist. No. 302, 400 F.3d 508
- Thomas v. Cincinnati Board of Education (6th Cir. 1990) 918 F.2d 618
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. 2018031167 v. ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
ENFORCE SETTLEMENT
SALINAS UNION HIGH SCHOOL AGREEMENT AND STAY PUT
DISTRICT, MILLENNIUM CHARTER
HIGH SCHOOL, AND MONTEREY
COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION.
On March 23, 2018, Student filed a Request for Due Process Hearing (complaint)
with the Office of Administrative Hearings, naming Salinas Union High School District, Millennium Charter High School, and Monterey County Office of Education. On April 16, 2018, OAH dismissed the complaint based on Student’s request. On July 3, 2018, Student filed a motion to enforce the settlement agreement and a motion for stay put. Millennium opposed the motions. Neither Salinas nor Monterey responded.
APPLICABLE LAW
Parents have the right to present a complaint “with respect to any matter relating to the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child, or the provision of a free appropriate public education to such child.” (20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(6); Ed. Code, § 56501, subd. (a).) OAH has jurisdiction to hear due process claims arising under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (Wyner v. Manhattan Beach Unified Sch. Dist. (9th Cir.
2000) 223 F.3d 1026, 1028-1029 [hereafter Wyner].)
This limited jurisdiction does not include jurisdiction over claims alleging a school district’s failure to comply with a settlement agreement. (Id. at p. 1030.) In Wyner, during the course of a due process hearing the parties reached a settlement agreement in which the district agreed to provide certain services. The hearing officer ordered the parties to abide by the terms of the agreement. Two years later, the student initiated another due process hearing, and raised, inter alia, six issues as to the school district’s alleged failure to comply Student’s motion did not include the OAH case number and only referenced Millennium and Monterey. However, Student clarified with OAH that the motion was in reference to OAH Case No. 2018031167.
with the earlier settlement agreement. The California Special Education Hearing Office (SEHO), OAH’s predecessor in hearing IDEA due process cases, found that the issues pertaining to compliance with the earlier order were beyond its jurisdiction. This ruling was upheld on appeal. The Wyner court held that “the proper avenue to enforce SEHO orders”
was the California Department of Education’s compliance complaint procedure (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 5, § 4600, et. seq.), and that “a subsequent due process hearing was not available to address . . . alleged noncompliance with the settlement agreement and SEHO order in a prior due process hearing.” (Wyner, supra, 223 F.3d at p. 1030.)
A special education student is entitled to remain in his or her current educational placement pending the completion of due process hearing procedures unless the parties agree otherwise. (20 U.S.C. § 1415(j); Ed. Code, §§ 56505, subd. (d), 48915.5.) Stay put operates automatically upon due process filing. (See Casey K. v. St. Anne Community High School District No. 302 (7th Cir. 1998) 400 F.3d 508, 511.) For purposes of stay put, the current educational placement is typically the placement called for in the student's individualized education program (IEP) which has been implemented prior to the dispute arising. (Thomas v. Cincinnati Board of Education (6th Cir. 1990) 918 F.2d 618, 625.)
DISCUSSION
In the present matter, Student expressly asks that OAH inforce a settlement agreement between Student, Millennium, and Monterey. OAH does not have jurisdiction to enforce settlement agreements. Further, Student asks that OAH grant his motion for stay put at Millennium. Student does not provide any legal authority that OAH has jurisdiction to order stay put in a case that has been dismissed. Millennium persuasively argues in its opposition that for OAH to order stay put there must be a pending due process hearing. In this case the underlying due process hearing was dismissed therefore OAH cannot issue a stay put order.
ORDER
Student’s motion to enforce the settlement agreement and motion for stay put are denied.
DATE: July 11, 2018
LINDA JOHNSON
Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings