California OAH special education order · November 7, 2018
Order Denying Motion to Consolidate
OAH Case No. 2018110130 · ALJ Penelope S. Pahl
OAH denied Student's motion to consolidate with Sky Mountain's mediation-only request because a mediation-only filing raises no hearing issues to consolidate, and the request had been withdrawn anyway.
Summary
Student filed a due process complaint against Sky Mountain Charter School and Innovative Education Management, Inc. Student also moved to consolidate it with Sky Mountain's earlier mediation-only request. Sky Mountain dismissed its mediation request and argued the motion was moot. OAH denied consolidation, explaining that a mediation-only request presents no hearing issues that can be compared for common questions of law or fact, so it would not have been consolidated in any event, and the withdrawal made the motion moot.
Why it matters
Consolidation is only available between cases that will go to hearing. A district's mediation-only request cannot be joined with a parent's due process complaint, so parents should file their own complaint and follow its separate schedule.
Key authority cited
- Gov. Code, § 11507.3, subd. (a)
- Code Civ. Proc., § 1048, 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:
PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT, OAH Case No. 2018110130 v. ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
CONSOLIDATE
SKY MOUNTAIN CHARTER SCHOOL
AND INNOVATIVE EDUCATION
MANAGEMENT, INC.
On November 2, 2018, Parent on Behalf of Student (Student) filed a Request for Due Process Hearing naming Sky Mountain Charter School and Innovative Education Management, Inc. as respondents. This filing was accompanied by a motion to consolidate the case with Sky Mountain’s request for mediation only in case number 2018090747. On November 5, 2018, Sky Mountain dismissed its request for mediation. On November 6, 2018, Sky Mountain and Innovative Education responded to Student’s motion to consolidate by asserting the motion was moot due to the dismissal of the mediation.
Consolidation Although no statute or regulation specifically provides a standard to be applied in deciding a motion to consolidate special education cases, OAH will generally consolidate matters that involve: a common question of law and/or fact; the same parties; and when consolidation of the matters furthers the interests of judicial economy by saving time or preventing inconsistent rulings. (See Gov. Code, § 11507.3, subd. (a); Code of Civ. Proc., § 1048, subd. (a).)
A request for mediation only is not subject to consolidation as no issues are asserted for ultimate resolution in a hearing that can be evaluated for common questions or law or fact or resultant judicial economy. Thus, these filings would not have been consolidated even if the mediation request had not been withdrawn. Here, however, the mediation request has been withdrawn and the matter is moot.
ORDER
1. Student’s Motion to Consolidate is DENIED.
2. All dates shall proceed as stated in the scheduling order of November 5, 2018.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATE: November 7, 2018
PENELOPE S. PAHL
Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings