California OAH special education order · August 11, 2019
Order Denying Request for Reconsideration
OAH Case No. 2019060930 · ALJ Marian H. Tully
OAH denied Cajon Valley's request to reconsider the denial of its request for an administrative law judge as mediator, finding no new facts or law and noting parties cannot choose their mediator.
Summary
After OAH granted the parties' request for mediation and assigned a mediator, Cajon Valley asked for an administrative law judge to serve as mediator, and the Presiding ALJ denied that request. Cajon Valley then sought reconsideration. OAH denied it because the District offered no new facts, circumstances, or law, and OAH has no process that lets parties choose their mediator or ask for a different one than the one assigned.
Why it matters
Parties in OAH mediation cannot pick or swap their assigned mediator, and reconsideration requires new facts, circumstances, or law, not just disagreement with a ruling.
Key authority cited
- Gov. Code, § 11521
- Code Civ. Proc., § 1008
- Baldwin v. Home Savings of America (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1192
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,
v.
CAJON VALLEY UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2019060930
ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION
On July 31, 2019, the Office of Administrative Hearings, referred to as OAH, issued an order granting the parties’ request for mediation and to continue the due process hearing. OAH assigned a mediator to the date requested. On August 1, 2019, Cajon Valley Union School District filed a Request for Administrative Law Judge for Mediation. The undersigned Presiding Administrative Law Judge denied the request.
On August 9, 2019, Cajon Valley Union School District filed a request for reconsideration.
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, generally within ten days. (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.)
Cajon Valley offers no new facts, circumstances or law to support reconsideration of the routine assignment of a qualified mediator. The IDEA encourages the parties to voluntarily participate in mediation. OAH provides mediators for this purpose. OAH does not have a process by which the parties may choose the mediator or request a different mediator than the assigned mediator. The request for reconsideration is denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: August 11, 2019 Marian H. Tully Presiding Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings