California OAH special education order · August 16, 2021
Order Granting Motion to Amend Complaint
OAH Case No. 2021030090 · ALJ Sabrina Kong
OAH granted Student's opposed motion to amend because it was filed more than five days before hearing. Long Beach's res judicata and collateral estoppel arguments were irrelevant to whether amendment should be allowed.
This case went to decision
Student v. Long Beach Unified School District: Long Beach Unified must fund 39 compensatory hours for missed distance-learning aide support; six other claims denied. (2021)
This case went to decision
Student v. Long Beach Unified School District: Long Beach Unified must reimburse $14,937 for private reading instruction after failing to address autistic student's reading; five claims denied. (2021)
Summary
Student moved to amend the due process complaint about two weeks before the scheduled August 24, 2021 hearing. Long Beach opposed, arguing that most issues had already been litigated in a prior OAH case (No. 2020090441) and that Student should be barred from amending. The ALJ held that res judicata and collateral estoppel do not bear on whether an amendment may be filed, because Long Beach can still file a motion to dismiss those issues. Because the motion was filed more than five days before hearing, it was timely and granted. All timelines were reset, and OAH warned that no further continuances would be granted absent extraordinary circumstances.
Why it matters
A district cannot block an amended complaint by arguing that the issues were already decided in an earlier case. Those arguments belong in a separate motion to dismiss. Families should know that amending resets the hearing timelines, and that OAH may refuse later continuances in a case that has already been delayed.
Key authority cited
- 20 U.S.C. § 1415(c)(2)(E)(i)
- 20 U.S.C. § 1415(c)(2)(E)(ii)
People named in the order
- Linda Johnson, Administrative Law Judge in prior OAH case
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:
PARENTS ON BEHALF OF STUDENT,
V.
LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2021030090
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO AMEND COMPLAINT
AUGUST 16, 2021
On March 2, 2021, Student filed a due process hearing request, referred to as a complaint, with the Office of Administrative Hearings, naming Long Beach Unified School District. The Office of Administrative Hearings is called OAH. Long Beach Unified School District is called Long Beach. On August 10, 2021, Student filed a motion to amend the complaint, and an amended complaint. On August 13, 2021, Long Beach filed an opposition to the motion to amend. Long Beach argued that most of the issues in Student’s complaint and amended complaint were similar to issues already litigated in a prior hearing with ALJ Linda Johnson in OAH Case No. 2020090441. Therefore, Long Beach argued that Student and should be precluded from filing an amended complaint. The hearing is scheduled to start on August 24, 2021.
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).)
Long Beach’s arguments of res judicata and collateral estoppel are irrelevant to whether Student may file an amended complaint as nothing prevents Long Beach from filing a motion to dismiss issues. The motion to amend was filed more than five days prior to the due process hearing. Therefore, it is timely and is granted. The amended complaint shall be deemed filed on the date of this order. All applicable timelines shall be reset as of the date of this order. No further hearing continuances will be granted absent a showing of extraordinary circumstances, as OAH had granted multiple hearing continuances since the case was filed in March 2021, and this case takes precedent over later filed cases. OAH will issue a scheduling order with the new dates.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Sabrina Kong Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings