California OAH special education order · December 6, 2019
Order Granting Motion to Amend Complaint and Denying Motion to Bifurcate Due Process Hearing
OAH Case No. 2019090001 · ALJ Cararea Lucier
OAH granted Student's second motion to amend, which again named Sunnyvale, because Santa Clara and Discovery consented in writing; claims against Sunnyvale are measured from the new filing date, and bifurcation was denied.
This case went to decision
Student v. Santa Clara County Office of Education et al.: Discovery Charter School II and Santa Clara County Office of Education were not the responsible LEA after the student's private placement and settlement. (2020)
Summary
Student filed a second motion to amend. The Second Amended Complaint named Sunnyvale School District again after OAH had earlier dismissed it as a party, and it repeated a request to bifurcate the hearing that OAH had already denied. Santa Clara and Discovery did not oppose the amendment but asked OAH to keep the current dates. OAH granted the amendment because it was filed more than five days before hearing and with written consent, reset all timelines as of the order date, and ruled that the statute of limitations for claims against Sunnyvale runs from the date the Second Amended Complaint was filed. The order's title states that the repeated bifurcation request was denied.
Why it matters
Adding a district back into a case through amendment means the statute of limitations for that district is counted from the new filing date, so families should name all responsible agencies correctly early on. Repeating a request OAH has already denied, without addressing the earlier ruling, will not succeed.
Key authority cited
- 20 U.S.C. § 1415(c)(2)(E)(i)
- 20 U.S.C. § 1415(c)(2)(E)(ii)
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 CLARA COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION, DISCOVERY
CHARTER SCHOOL 2, AND SUNNYVALE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2019090001
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO AMEND COMPLAINT AND DENYING
MOTION TO BIFURCATE DUE PROCESS HEARING
On August 30, 2019, Student filed a Due Process Hearing Request, referred to as a complaint, with the Office of Administrative Hearings, naming Santa Clara County Office of Education and Discovery Charter 2. The Office of Administrative Hearings is referred to as OAH. On October 8, 2019, Student filed a Motion to Amend the Due Process Hearing Request and an amended complaint, naming Sunnyvale School District as an additional respondent. In his Motion to Amend Student also requested to bifurcate the due process hearing. On October 11, 2019, OAH granted Student’s Motion to Amend and denied the Motion to Bifurcate.
On October 25, 2019, Sunnyvale filed a Notice of Insufficiency. On October 29, 2019, OAH issued an order determining Student’s Amended Complaint insufficient as to Sunnyvale. OAH dismissed Sunnyvale as a party on November 13, 2019.
On November 19, 2019, Student filed with OAH a second Motion to Amend Due Process Complaint. On November 20, 2019, Student filed with OAH a Second Amended Complaint, which included a request to bifurcate the due process hearing. Student’s second request to bifurcate is identical to his first and Student neglects to acknowledge OAH’s order denying bifurcation. Student’s Second Amended Complaint names Sunnyvale as a party once again, along with Santa Clara and Discovery.
Santa Clara and Discovery filed a non-opposition on November 26, 2019, but requested that OAH keep the current dates.
An amended complaint may be filed when the other party consents in writing and is given the opportunity to resolve the complaint through a resolution session, or when the hearing officer grants permission. The hearing officer may grant permission at any time more than five days before the due process hearing. (20 U.S.C.
§1415(c)(2)(E)(i).) The filing of an amended complaint restarts the applicable timelines for the due process hearing. (20 U.S.C. §1415(c)(2)(E)(ii).)
The motion to amend was filed more than five days prior to the due process hearing. OAH has received written consent to the amendment with respect to Santa Clara and Discovery. Therefore, it is timely and is granted. The amended complaint shall be deemed filed on the date of this order. With regard to any claims against Sunnyvale, the statute of limitations shall be calculated based upon the date Student filed the Second Amended Complaint. All applicable timelines shall be reset as of the date of this order. OAH will issue a scheduling order with the new dates.
IT IS SO ORDERED
DATED: December 06, 2019 Cararea Lucier Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings