California OAH special education order · August 25, 2020
Order Denying Motion for Stay Put as Moot
OAH Case No. 2020080526 · ALJ Adrienne L. Krikorian
OAH denied Student's stay put request as moot because the due process complaint had just been found insufficient, leaving no action pending before OAH.
Summary
Student included a stay put request inside the due process complaint, and OAH treated it as a motion for stay put. Poway Unified opposed the request and also filed a Notice of Insufficiency, which OAH granted the same day, giving Student 14 days to amend. Because no action was pending, OAH denied the stay put request as moot. If Student files an amended complaint and still wants stay put, Student must file a separate motion supported by authenticated evidence, not a request built into the complaint.
Why it matters
A stay put request written into a due process complaint can fail if the complaint is found insufficient. Families should file stay put as a separate motion with authenticated evidence (such as the last agreed-upon IEP) and make sure the complaint itself is sufficient.
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.
POWAY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2020080526
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR STAY PUT AS MOOT
AUGUST 25, 2020
On August 19, 2020, Student filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings, referred to as OAH, a request for stay put as part of the allegations and requests contained within Student’s due process hearing request. The request is deemed a motion for stay put. On August 24, 2020, Poway Unified School District filed an opposition to Student’s motion for stay put, and concurrently filed a Notice of Insufficiency.
On August 25, 2020, OAH issued an order granting the Notice of Insufficiency and permitted Student to amend the complaint within fourteen days, and if Student did not do so, OAH would dismiss the complaint.
Therefore, Student’s request for stay put is moot because there is no action pending before OAH. If Student files an amended complaint in compliance with the Order granting the Notice of Sufficiency, and seeks an order granting stay put, Student must file a separate motion for stay put supported by authenticated evidence. A motion for stay put shall not be embedded within Student’s amended due process complaint.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Adrienne L. Krikorian Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings