California OAH special education order · November 5, 2019
Order Granting Motion to Consolidate
OAH Case No. 2019101219, 2019090877 · ALJ Rita Defilippis
OAH consolidated Student's and Oakland's due process cases because both ask whether Oakland offered a FAPE from August 2018 on, sharing witnesses and evidence; Oakland's later-filed case became primary.
This case went to decision
Student v. Oakland Unified School District (consolidated): Oakland Unified may place student in a special day class but owes weekly tutoring for delaying its due process filing. (2020)
Summary
Student filed a due process complaint against Oakland in September 2019. Oakland filed its own complaint in October 2019 and asked OAH to consolidate the two cases, and Student did not respond. OAH granted the motion because both cases raise the same question: whether Oakland offered Student a free appropriate public education from August 2018 to the present. They also share witnesses and documents, and combining them avoids inconsistent rulings. Oakland's case was named the primary case, all dates in Student's case were vacated, and the 45-day decision timeline now runs from Oakland's filing date.
Why it matters
When a district files its own case and the cases are consolidated, the district's case can become primary, which resets hearing dates and the decision timeline. Parents who want to keep their original schedule should consider opposing the consolidation motion or arguing about which case should be primary.
Key authority cited
- Gov. Code, § 11507.3, subd. (a)
- Code Civ. Proc., § 1048, subd. (a)
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 CONSOLIDATED MATTERS OF:
OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT,
v.
PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT,
OAH CASE NUMBER 2019101219
and
PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT,
v.
OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT,
OAH CASE NUMBER 2019090877
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO CONSOLIDATE
On September 23, 2019, Student filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings a Request for Due Process Hearing in OAH case number 2019090877, Student’s Case, naming Oakland Unified School District.
On October 30, 2019, Oakland filed a Request for Due Process Hearing in OAH case number 2019101219, Oakland’s Case, naming Student.
On October 30, 2019, Oakland filed a Motion to Consolidate the cases. Student did not file a response to the motion.
CONSOLIDATION
No statute or regulation specifically provides a standard to be applied in deciding a motion to consolidate special education cases. However, OAH will generally consolidate matters that involve the same parties, a common question of law and/or fact, and when consolidation of the matters furthers the interests of judicial economy by saving time or preventing inconsistent rulings. (See Gov. Code, § 11507.3, subd. (a)
[administrative proceedings may be consolidated if they involve a common question of law or fact]; Code of Civ. Proc., § 1048, subd. (a) [same applies to civil cases].)
Here, both cases involve a common question of law or fact, specifically, whether Oakland offered Student a free appropriate public education from August 2018 to present. In addition, consolidation furthers the interests of judicial economy because both cases involve common witnesses and documentary evidence and avoids the risk of inconsistent rulings. Accordingly, consolidation is granted.
ORDER
1. Oakland’s Motion to Consolidate is granted.
2. Oakland’s case, OAH case number 2019101219, is designated as the
primary case. All dates previously set in Student’s case, OAH case number 2019090877, are vacated.
3. The 45-day timeline for issuance of the decision in the consolidated cases
shall be based on the date of the filing of the complaint in Oakland’s Case, OAH case number 2019101219.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: November 5, 2019 Rita Defilippis Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings