Order Following Prehearing Conference Denying Request for Continuance

BEFORE THE

OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE MATTER OF:

GREENFIELD UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT,

v.

PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT.

OAH CASE NUMBER 2019100729

ORDER FOLLOWING PREHEARING CONFERENCE

DENYING REQUEST FOR CONTINUANCE

On December 30, 2019, Administrative Law Judge Kara Hatfield, Office of Administrative Hearings held a telephonic prehearing conference. The Administrative Law Judge will be referred to as an ALJ. The prehearing conference will be referred to as a PHC. The Office of Administrative Hearings will be referred to as OAH.

Darren Bogié and James Simson, Attorneys at Law, appeared on behalf of Greenfield Union School District. Mother appeared on behalf of Student. The PHC was recorded. Based upon discussion with the parties, the ALJ issues the following order:

HEARING DATES, TIMES, AND LOCATION

On December 16, 2019, Student moved to continue the prehearing conference and due process hearing without stating a reason for a continuance. During the PHC, Parent stated the continuance request was based on the need for additional documents.

After discussing the issues remaining in the case and identifying the documents Parent claimed she needed more time to obtain, the ALJ determined Parent was already in possession of some of the documents she identified, others were not relevant to the remaining issues in the case, and she was not entitled to others.

The parties discussed the possibility of participating in a mediation before the due process hearing, and a continuance of the due process hearing to afford the parties an opportunity to mediate. Parent indicated she was not available to participate in a mediation in person, and Greenfield declined to participate in a mediation without Parent physically present.

A due process hearing must be conducted and a decision rendered within 45 days of receipt of the due process notice unless an extension is granted for good cause. (34 C.F.R. § 300.515(a) & (c) (2006); Ed. Code, §§ 56502, subd. (f), 56505, subd. (f)(3); Cal. Code Regs., tit. 1, § 1020.) As a result, continuances are disfavored.

Good cause may include the unavailability of a party, counsel, or an essential witness due to death, illness or other excusable circumstances; substitution of an attorney when the substitution is required in the interests of justice; a party’s excused inability to obtain essential testimony or other material evidence despite diligent efforts; or another significant, unanticipated change in the status of the case as a result of which the case is not ready for hearing. (Ed. Code, § 56505, subd. (f)(3); Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1332(c).)

OAH considers all relevant facts and circumstances, including the proximity of the hearing date; previous continuances or delays; the length of continuance requested; the availability of other means to address the problem giving rise to the request; prejudice to a party or witness as a result of a continuance; the impact of granting a continuance on other pending hearings; whether trial counsel is engaged in another trial; whether the parties have stipulated to a continuance; whether the interests of justice are served by the continuance or imposing conditions on the continuance; and any other relevant fact or circumstance. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1332(d).)

Student did not establish good cause for the continuance requested. The continuance is denied for the reasons stated on the record.

DUE PROCESS HEARING

The hearing will take place on January 7 and 8, 2020, and continue day to day at the discretion of the ALJ, but not January 9, 2020, due to Greenfield’s counsel’s unavailability. The hearing shall begin at 9:30 AM on the first day of the hearing and at 9:00 AM on all other days, unless otherwise ordered. The parties anticipate it will take four days to complete the hearing. Additional hearing dates will be discussed with the ALJ on the first day of hearing

HEARING LOCATION

The hearing will be held at 1624 Fairview Road, Bakersfield, California 93307.

The parties shall immediately notify all potential witnesses of the hearing dates, and shall subpoena witnesses if necessary, to ensure that the witnesses will be available to testify. A witness will not be regarded as unavailable for purposes of showing good cause to continue the hearing if the witness is not properly notified of the hearing date or properly subpoenaed, as applicable.

District facilities shall fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 794 et seq.), the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civ. Code, § 51 et seq.), and all laws governing accessibility of government facilities to persons with disabilities. OAH requires Districts to file written certification that the facilities provided comply with these laws.

Greenfield filed the required certification. Due to the upcoming New Year’s Day holiday, Greenfield shall notify OAH within two business days of the date of this Order if it is unable to provide facilities that comply with the laws governing accessibility of government facilities to persons with disabilities.

Before the beginning of the hearing, Greenfield shall ensure that the hearing room is configured into a courtroom setting and shall contain:

• a table for Student and his representative;

• a table for Greenfield’s legal representative and special education

representative;

• a table for the witness; and

• a table near an electrical outlet for the ALJ.

The same hearing room shall be used for each day of hearing and shall be available at least one hour before the beginning of the hearing each day. The hearing room shall be locked following the hearing each night. Greenfield shall ensure that the hearing room and access to it are in compliance with the all laws governing accessibility of government facilities to persons with disabilities.

ISSUES AND PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS

During the PHC, Greenfield withdrew Issues 2 and 3 stated in the October 18, 2019 complaint. The remaining issue at the due process hearing, and proposed resolution, as alleged in the complaint and clarified by the parties and the ALJ during the PHC is:

ISSUES

Did Greenfield offer Student a free appropriate public education in the August 30, 2019 individualized education program, such that Greenfield may implement it without Parent’s consent?

PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS

The resolution requested by Greenfield is a determination that Greenfield offered Student a free appropriate public education in the August 30, 2019 individualized education program, such that Greenfield may implement it without Parent’s consent.

EXHIBITS

BINDERS

Exhibits shall be pre-marked and placed in three-ring binders before the hearing.

Exhibit binders shall include a tab for each exhibit. Each binder shall contain a detailed table of contents which clearly identifies the tabs and documents. Binders should not be so full that the ALJ and witnesses cannot easily turn to the exhibit tabs and pages in the binders. Multiple binders may be submitted if necessary.

TAB AND PAGE NUMBERS

The parties must place a letter followed by a number on each tab to identify each exhibit. Student must use the letter S before the number to identify Student’s exhibits.

Greenfield must use the letter D before the number to identify Greenfield’s exhibits. For example, S-1 means Student’s exhibit tab 1 and D-1 means Greenfield’s exhibit tab 1.

Parties may either number each page within each tabbed exhibit or number each page in the binder consecutively beginning with the first page of the first exhibit through the last page of the last exhibit. For example, if there are 100 total pages in the binder the first page of the first exhibit is 1 and the last page of the last exhibit in the binder is 100.

CONTENT

Each exhibit must consist of one document. Separate documents may not be combined into one exhibit. Emails or letters may be consolidated into one exhibit if they are part of a single chain of messages. Exhibits in the binders should be in chronological order.

Parties should include resumes or curriculum vitae for each witness who is expected to testify as an expert. Parties must exchange resumes not later than 24 hours before the witness is scheduled to testify and provide a copy to the ALJ before the witness testifies.

Greenfield’s binder must include a color copy of the school calendar for each school year in question.

COPIES OF BINDERS

The parties must serve copies of their evidence binders on each other. This exchange is required by Education Code section 56505, subdivision (e)(7). Each party must bring two additional sets of their exhibit binders to the hearing. One set will be used by the ALJ, and the other set will be used by witnesses. The parties may not serve exhibits on OAH before the hearing.

Except for good cause shown, or unless used solely for rebuttal or impeachment, any exhibit not timely exchanged shall not be admitted into evidence at the hearing unless the ALJ rules that it is admissible.

WITNESSES

Parties are responsible for producing their own witnesses unless otherwise ordered by the ALJ.

Greenfield is ordered to provide Parent the last known address and phone number for Stacy Garrett, who Greenfield represented is no longer employed by Greenfield. This information must be provided to Parent by 3:00 PM on December 30, 2019, so Parent may request a subpoena from OAH.

Parties shall make witnesses under their control reasonably available. The parties must schedule their witnesses to avoid delays in the hearing and to minimize or eliminate the need for calling witnesses out of order. Neither party will be permitted to call any witnesses not timely disclosed except for good cause shown, and at the discretion of the ALJ.

The ALJ has discretion to limit the number of witnesses who testify and the time allowed for witnesses’ testimony. Education Code, section 56505.1, subd. (h), empowers the ALJ to set a reasonable limit on the length of the hearing after consideration of four factors. The first two factors are the issues to be heard and the complexity of facts to be proven. The second two factors are the ability of the parties or their representatives to present their respective cases and the parties’ estimates of the time needed to present their cases.

MEET AND CONFER

The parties are encouraged to review and shorten their witness and exhibit lists before the hearing. Evidence may be excluded if it is repetitive, cumulative, or insufficiently probative to justify the time it would take to hear. The parties are ordered to meet and confer no later than January 3, 2020, by 4:00 PM to discuss the availability of witnesses, the order of witnesses and the length of witness testimony. The parties should attempt to eliminate duplicate exhibits from their binders. The parties may discuss whether they can produce a written stipulation stating basic facts to shorten the length of time needed for the hearing.

EVIDENCE PRESENTATION

In an administrative proceeding, the burden of proof is ordinarily on the party requesting the hearing. (Schaffer v. Weast (2005) 546 U.S. 49, 62.) In this case Greenfield requested the hearing and bears the burden of proof. Greenfield’s case-in-chief shall be presented first, followed by Student.

WITNESS LISTS

The parties must provide a joint proposed witness list to the ALJ on the first day of hearing. The list should include dates and time estimates of expected testimony. In the event an agreement cannot be reached, each party shall prepare a separate written list. Greenfield must have witnesses available in case there is no agreement. At the beginning of the hearing, the ALJ and the parties will discuss the length of time anticipated for direct and cross-examination of each witness and scheduling issues for individual witnesses. The ALJ will finalize the witness schedule. Parties must be prepared at the end of each day to discuss the witnesses to be presented the next day and the estimated time for the testimony each witness.

SCOPE OF WITNESS EXAMINATION

Each witness will be called to testify only once, except for rebuttal purposes. All parties must examine witness on all issues when the witness is first called. Requiring a witness to appear only once takes priority over the order in which parties present their case in chief.

TELEPHONIC TESTIMONY

Whether a witness may appear by telephone is a matter within the discretion of the ALJ. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 5, § 3082, subd. (g).) Any party seeking to present a witness by telephone shall request permission to do so before the hearing. The party offering the witness must provide the witness with a complete set of exhibit binders from all parties before the witness testifies. The binders must be exact paper copies of all of each party’s exhibits. Electronic copies are not acceptable. The party presenting the witness shall ensure the witness testifies from a private location with no other persons present. The party offering telephonic testimony shall ensure that the witness has telephone equipment that allows testimony at a volume that allows clear transmission of what the witness is saying, allows the witness’ testimony to make a clear recording, and allows the witness to hear objections and rulings. Greenfield shall ensure that the hearing room has telephone speaker equipment that allows everyone in the room to hear the witness, and allows the witness to hear objections and rulings. No witness will be heard by telephone unless all of these requirements have been fulfilled.

Neither party requested telephonic testimony, with the exception of Parent’s participation via telephone, as addressed below.

ELECTRONIC RECORDINGS

AUDIO RECORDING

A party may request permission to make an audio recording of the hearing.

Permission to make an audio recording is subject to the ALJ’s discretion and based upon certain conditions. The conditions are:

• the OAH recording is the only official recording;

• the parties shall turn the recording device on and off at the same time that

the ALJ is on and off the record to avoid recording conversations while off the record;

• the recording device will be removed by the party recording during any

recess where the party leaves the room;

• operation of the party’s recording mechanism will not be allowed to delay

the hearing;

• a parties’ recording may not be given, provided or played to a witness, or

potential witness; and

• the recording is subject to the same confidentiality as the due process

hearing.

Neither party has made a request to audio record the hearing to date. If either party wants to record the hearing, the request must be made before the hearing.

VIDEO RECORDING

No party, witness or anyone else may make any video recording of any part of the proceedings.

RECORDINGS AS EXHIBITS

Neither party has proposed to introduce all or part of a recording of an individualized education program team meeting. The ALJ has discretion to admit or exclude evidence in the form of a recording. Any request to submit a recording shall be considered at the time of hearing. The ALJ may grant or deny the request, or grant the request subject to certain conditions. The party offering the recording must establish that all or a part of the recording is relevant. The ALJ may request a transcript of the portion of the recording requested or have the party offering the recording to provide an exact identifiable portion of the recording the party seeks to admit. The identities of any person speaking on the portion of the tape being introduced must be established.

An ALJ may allow the opposing party to offer additional portions of a recording to establish the context, or to rebut, the recording.

MOTIONS

Greenfield filed a request for judicial/official notice on October 28, 2019. The motion is granted by a separate order issued concurrently with this Order.

No other prehearing motions are pending or contemplated. Any motion that was not filed three business days before the PHC shall be supported by a declaration under penalty of perjury establishing good cause why the motion was not timely filed.

STIPULATIONS

Stipulations to pertinent facts, contentions or resolutions are encouraged. Any proposed stipulation shall be submitted to the assigned ALJ in writing.

CONDUCT OF COUNSEL AND HEARING ROOM DECORUM

Counsel, all parties, and all witnesses must conduct themselves in a professional and courteous manner at all times. Cellular phones must be shut off or set to vibrate during the hearing unless the ALJ grants permission otherwise.

LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS AND REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS

Parent requested to participate in the due process hearing via telephone and the request is granted.

A party or participant to this case, such as a witness, requiring reasonable accommodation to participate in a mediation or hearing may contact OAH at (916) 263-0880, or send an email to OAHADA@dgs.ca.gov as soon as the need is known. The e-mail should have “Request for Accommodation” in the Subject Line.

Additional information concerning requests for reasonable accommodation is available on OAH’s website at: https://www.dgs.ca.gov/OAH/Services/Page-Content/Office-of- Administrative-Hearings-Services-List-Folder/Accommodations-at-OAH.

HEARING OPEN OR CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC

At Student’s request, the hearing will be open to the public. The parties should inform the ALJ if Student expects any group or members of the press to be present during the hearing. No one may record any part of the hearing, and all electronic devices must be off or silent in the hearing room unless permitted by the ALJ.

Parent should be aware that by opening the hearing, District employees who are not witnesses, or other people that Parent might not know, may attend the hearing.

Persons disclosed on either party’s witness list, with the exception of District’s representative, will be excluded from the hearing until their testimony has been completed. The parties shall confer by January 3, 2020 by 4:00 PM, as to the seating requirements for members of the public. The parties shall immediately notify each other and OAH if they are aware that there will be media attending the hearing.

Government Code, section 11425.20 empowers the ALJ to order an open hearing to be closed or make other protective orders to the extent necessary or proper to ensure a fair hearing in the circumstances of the particular case. The ALJ may also exclude persons whose actions impede the orderly conduct of the hearing, restrict attendance because of the physical limitations of the hearing facility, or take other action to promote due process or the orderly conduct of the hearing. (Tit. 1, Cal. Code Regs., § 1030.)

SETTLEMENT

The parties are encouraged to continue working together to reach an agreement before the due process hearing. The parties shall inform OAH in writing immediately if they reach a settlement or otherwise resolve the dispute before the scheduled hearing.

In addition, if a settlement is reached within five days of the scheduled start of the due process hearing, the parties shall also inform OAH of the settlement by telephone at (916) 263-0880. At the same time, the parties should send the signature page of the signed agreement or a letter withdrawing the case to OAH at https://www.applications.dgs.ca.gov/oah/oahsftweb.

If a full and final written settlement agreement is reached after 4:00 p.m. the day prior to hearing, the parties shall leave a voicemail message regarding the settlement at (916) 274-6035. The parties should also leave contact information such as cellular phone numbers of each party or counsel for each party.

Dates for hearing will not be cancelled until the letter of withdrawal or signature page of the signed agreement has been received and processed by OAH. If an agreement in principle is reached, the parties should plan to attend the scheduled hearing unless different arrangements have been agreed upon by the assigned ALJ. The assigned ALJ will check for messages before the hearing.

If the matter settles subject to board approval, in addition to a signed copy of the signature page of the settlement agreement, the parties shall provide the date of the next board meeting. The hearing dates will not be cancelled without this information.

FAILURE TO COMPLY

The failure to comply with this Order may result in the exclusion of evidence or other sanctions.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: December 30, 2019 Kara Hatfield Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings