California OAH special education order · July 26, 2018
Order Granting Request for Reconsideration and Denying Motion to Amend Complaint Without Prejudice
OAH Case No. 2018050914 · ALJ Penelope S. Pahl
OAH granted reconsideration to fix an unfinished sentence but again denied Student's motion to amend, because an amended complaint must be one complete, self-contained document, not an attachment.
This case went to decision
Student v. Antioch Unified School District: Antioch Unified prevails on all issues: 2016 autism assessment upheld, no IEE, and manifestation review without parents allowed. (2019)
Summary
Student asked OAH to clarify an earlier order that denied her request to file an attachment to her original due process complaint instead of a full first amended complaint. OAH treated the request as a motion for reconsideration. Student offered no new facts or law, but she pointed out an unfinished sentence in the earlier order, so OAH granted reconsideration. On review, OAH again denied the amendment without prejudice. An amended complaint must meet the same requirements as an original complaint, and the attachment did not include all required elements.
Why it matters
Parents who want to amend a due process complaint should file a single, complete amended complaint that restates every required element, not an add-on to the original. Because the denial was without prejudice, a properly drafted complete amended complaint can still be filed.
Key authority cited
- Gov. Code, § 11521
- Code Civ. Proc., § 1008
- Baldwin v. Home Savings of America (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1192
- 20 U.S.C. § 1415(c)(2)(E)
- Ed. Code, § 56502, subd. (e)
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:
OAH Case No. 2018050914
PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT,
ORDER GRANTING REQUEST FOR
v. RECONSIDERATION AND DENYING
MOTION TO AMEND COMPLAINT
ANTIOCH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT. WITHOUT PREJUDICE
On July 20, 2018, the undersigned administrative law judge issued an order denying Student’s request to file an attachment to her original request for due process as opposed to a fully self-contained first amended complaint. On July 23, 2018, Student filed a request for clarification of the order. This is being treated as a motion for reconsideration on behalf of Student. No opposition was received.
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
Reconsideration In this case, Student has failed to supply new facts or law to support her motion.
However, student points out a typographical error which shall be treated as adequate “circumstances” to review the order. A sentence in the order was not completed. Thus, the motion for reconsideration is granted.
Motion to Amend the Complaint On reconsideration, while Student asserts a misunderstanding as to the requirements for an amended complaint, the requirements for an amended complaint are the same as for an original request for due process as stated in state and federal statutes. (20 U.S.C.
§1415(c)(2)(E); Ed. Code 56502(e).) In the original order denying the motion to amend, it was determined that all elements required in a due process complaint were not included in the attachment to the complaint sought to be filed by Student. Although there was a sentence fragment in the order denying Student’s motion to amend, it would have ended by saying that the amended complaint did not include all elements required in an original request for due process. A single, complete amended complaint is required. The purpose of this rule is to avoid the confusion that can result from the need to compare multiple documents to determine the claims being made.
ORDER
Based on reconsideration of the Student’s Motion to Amend complaint, Student’s motion is DENIED without prejudice.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATE: July 26, 2018
PENELOPE S. PAHL
Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings