California OAH special education order · October 4, 2018
Order Denying Mother's Request for Intervention in District's Case
OAH Case No. 2018081156 · ALJ Ted Mann
OAH denied Student's motion to intervene in Los Alamitos's due process case to raise stay put and FAPE issues, because OAH rules do not allow intervention and Student can file its own complaint.
This case went to decision
Los Alamitos Unified School District v. Student: Los Alamitos Unified may not implement a triennial IEP without consent after excluding parents and relying on flawed assessments. (2019)
Summary
Los Alamitos filed for due process to get approval of its August 2018 IEP offer and permission to implement it. Student moved to intervene in that case to raise new issues about stay put and FAPE, and later filed an addendum. Los Alamitos opposed. OAH denied the motion because its rules and procedures do not provide for intervention to raise new issues, and Student has the right to file a separate due process complaint.
Why it matters
A parent cannot add their own claims to a district-filed case by intervening. To raise stay put or FAPE issues, the parent must file a separate due process complaint, which may then be consolidated with the district's case.
Key authority cited
- 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(6)
- Ed. Code, § 56501, subd. (a)
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:
LOS ALAMITOS UNIFIED SCHOOL OAH Case No. 2018081156
DISTRICT,
v.
ORDER DENYING MOTHER’S
PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT. REQUEST FOR INTERVENTION IN
DISTRICT’S CASE
On August 29, 2018, Los Alamitos Unified School District file a request for a due process hearing seeking an order approving the free appropriate public education offer from a series of individualized educational program meetings that culminated on August 27, 2018, and an order permitting Los Alamitos to implement the IEP. On September 29, 2018, Student filed a motion to intervene in District’s case. On October 2, 2018, Student filed an addendum to the motion to intervene. On October 4, 2018, Los Alamitos filed an opposition to Student’s motion to intervene.
OAH rules and procedures make no provision for a party to seek to intervene in a case and raise new issues. Here, Student seeks to intervene in a District-filed case and raise new issues on behalf of the Student related to stay put and/or free appropriate public education issues, generally.
A party has 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) [party has a right to present a complaint regarding matters involving proposal or refusal to initiate or change the identification, assessment, or educational placement of a child; the provision of a FAPE to a child; the refusal of a parent or guardian to consent to an assessment of a child; or a disagreement between a parent or guardian and the public education agency as to the availability of a program appropriate for a child, including the question of financial responsibility].)
Student has the right to file for due process. Student’s attempt to intervene is denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATE: October 04, 2018
TED MANN
Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings