California OAH special education order · October 28, 2019
Order Granting Request for Reconsideration and Deeming First Amended Complaint Filed on October 22, 2019
OAH Case No. 2019091085 · ALJ Cynthia Fritz
OAH granted Western Placer's reconsideration motion and vacated its October 25 order allowing amendment, but deemed Student's amended complaint filed October 22, 2019, because amendments made under an insufficiency order are automatic.
Summary
Western Placer asked OAH to reconsider an October 25, 2019 order that granted Student's motion to amend. The district argued the order came only four days before the expedited hearing, while federal law bars granting leave to amend later than five days before hearing. OAH granted reconsideration and vacated the October 25 order. It then explained that an amended complaint filed in response to an insufficiency order is automatically accepted as of the day it is filed, so Student's first amended complaint was deemed filed October 22, 2019, and all timelines were reset from that date.
Why it matters
If OAH finds a complaint insufficient and the parent files an amended complaint within the deadline it sets, the amendment counts as filed that day without needing separate permission. The district cannot use the five-day limit on amendments before hearing to block it.
Key authority cited
- 20 U.S.C. § 1415(c)(2)(E)(i)(II)
- 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.
WESTERN PLACER UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2019091085
ORDER GRANTING REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION AND DEEMING
FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FILED ON OCTOBER 22, 2019
On September 26, 2019, Student filed a due process hearing request, called a complaint, with the Office of Administrative hearings, naming Western Placer Unified School District. The Office of Administrative hearings is called OAH. OAH scheduled the expedited prehearing conference for October 21, 2019, and the expedited due process hearing for October 29, 2019.
On October 3, 2019, Western Placer filed a notice of insufficiency as to Student’s complaint.
On October 8, 2019, OAH found Student’s complaint partially insufficient. It ordered a first amended complaint to be filed within 14 days of the date of the order. If Student failed to file a first amended complaint within the timeframe, the insufficient issues would be dismissed. According to the order, If Student filed a first amended complaint within the designated timeframe, a scheduling order would reset both the expedited and unexpedited portions of the complaint.
On October 22, 2019, Student filed a motion to amend the complaint, consistent with the October 8, 2019 insufficiency order.
On October 25, 2019, Western Placer filed an opposition to Student’s motion to amend the complaint. The same day, the undersigned Administrative Law Judge issued an order granting Student’s motion to amend the complaint and to reset the expedited and unexpedited portions of the complaint, as stated in the October 8, 2019 order.
On October 28, 2019, Western Placer file a Motion for Reconsideration stating that the Order granting Student’s motion to amend the complaint is untimely, as it was ordered four days before the due process hearing, not five, as contemplated under the Individuals with Disabilities Act.
APPLICABLE LAW
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.)
A hearing officer may grant permission to amend a due process hearing complaint, except that the hearing officer may only grant such permission at any time not later than five days before the due process hearing occurs. (20 U.S.C. § 1415 subd.
(c)(2)(E)(i)(II).)
DISCUSSION
Western Placer’s motion was filed within a reasonable time after the initial Order Granted Motion to Amend Complaint was issued. Additionally, Western Placer offers law in support of its motion. Thus, Western Placer’s Motion for Reconsideration is granted.
Upon reconsideration, the undersigned Administrative Law Judge vacates the October 25, 2019 Order Granting Motion to Amend Complaint.
Amended complaints filed pursuant to an insufficiency order, as is the case here, are automatically granted and filed on the date filed. Thus, Student’s request to amend Student’s complaint should have been deemed filed on October 22, 2019. Accordingly, Student’s request to file a first amended complaint is granted and deemed filed on October 22, 2019.
A new Scheduling Order will be issued consistent with the first amended complaint filing date, October 22, 2019.
ORDER
1. Western Placer’s Motion for Reconsideration is granted.
2. The October 25, 2019 Order Granted Motion to Amend Complaint is vacated.
3. Student’s First Amended Complaint is deemed filed on October 22, 2019.
4. All applicable timelines shall be reset as of October 22, 2019. OAH will issue a
new Scheduling Order with the new dates.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: October 28, 2019 Cynthia Fritz Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings