California OAH special education order · October 23, 2019
Order Denying Request for Reconsideration
OAH Case No. 2019080892 · ALJ Adrienne L. Krikorian
OAH denied Santa Monica-Malibu's request to start mediation at 10:00 a.m. instead of 9:30 a.m., finding the district offered no new facts, circumstances, or law justifying reconsideration.
Summary
OAH set mediation for 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and denied the parties' request for a 10:00 a.m. start. Santa Monica-Malibu then asked again for a 10:00 a.m. start, saying its special education director had a training that morning and that Student's attorney did not oppose. OAH treated the request as a motion for reconsideration and denied it. The training was not mentioned in the original request, and nothing showed it was scheduled after the mediation date was set. OAH confirmed all dates and said the parties could instead ask for a different mediation day when everyone can start at 9:30 a.m.
Why it matters
OAH holds mediations to its standard 9:30 a.m. start even when the other side does not object, and reconsideration requires new facts that could not have been raised earlier. Parties with scheduling conflicts should raise them in the first request or ask for a different date.
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.
SANTA MONICA-MALIBU UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2019080892
ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION
On October 8, 2019, Administrative Law Judge Adrienne L. Krikorian issued an order granting the parties’ request for mediation and to continue the due process hearing in this matter. Mediation was set for 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on December 6, 2019, and the parties’ request for a start time of 10:00 a.m. was denied. On October 11, 2019, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District filed a Request to Start Mediation at 10:00 a.m., which in effect is a motion for reconsideration. The motion asserted that Student’s attorney did not oppose a change in the start time of mediation. The Office of Administrative Hearings did not receive a response from Student.
APPLICABLE LAW
The Office of Administrative Hearings, referred to as OAH, 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.)
DISCUSSION
The motion was filed within a reasonable time after the initial Order was issued.
However, the motion offers no new facts, circumstances or law to support reconsideration. OAH sets mediations from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., unless the mediation concludes earlier. Santa Monica-Malibu’s counsel asserts that Santa Monica Malibu’s special education director has a training to attend on the morning set for mediation.
This information was not included in the original request for mediation. No evidence was offered in the motion for reconsideration that the training in question was scheduled after the mediation date was set in this case. Santa Monica-Malibu has not established the October 8, 2019 Order should be reconsidered.
The motion for reconsideration is denied. All dates set in this matter are confirmed. The parties may submit a request to change the mediation date to a day when all parties are available to begin mediation at 9:30 a.m.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: October 23, 2019 Adrienne L. Krikorian Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings