California OAH special education order · April 12, 2021
Order Granting Motion to Dismiss Section 504 and ADA Claims for Lack of Jurisdiction
OAH Case No. 2021030708 · ALJ Alexa Hohensee
OAH dismissed Student's Section 504 and ADA discrimination claim over hybrid instruction and bus access tied to a rejected mask waiver, because OAH has no jurisdiction over those claims.
This case went to decision
Student v. Oroville City Elementary School District et al.: Oroville City Elementary must provide 94 compensatory hours for COVID-era failures; all claims against Thermalito Union Elementary denied. (2021)
Summary
Oroville filed an unopposed motion to dismiss the seventeenth issue in Student's complaint, labeled Issue 10. That issue claimed Oroville violated Section 504 and the ADA by denying Student the hybrid instruction and bus access given to nondisabled peers after refusing a doctor-signed mask waiver from November 6, 2020 through January 25, 2021. OAH granted the motion because its jurisdiction is limited to IDEA matters: identification, evaluation, placement, and the provision of a free appropriate public education. The case will go forward on the remaining issues.
Why it matters
Families cannot bring Section 504 or ADA discrimination claims at OAH, even when the facts overlap with special education issues. Those claims belong in another forum, so the facts should be framed as IDEA denial-of-FAPE claims if the family wants OAH to hear them.
Key authority cited
- 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(6)
- Ed. Code, § 56501, subd. (a)
- Wyner v. Manhattan Beach Unified School Dist. (9th Cir. 2000) 223 F.3d 1026
- 29 U.S.C. § 701 et seq.
- 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.
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.
OROVILLE CITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2021030708
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS SECTION 504
AND ADA CLAIMS FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION
APRIL 12, 2021
On March 19, 2021, Student filed a request for due process hearing, referred to as a complaint, with the Office of Administrative Hearings, naming Oroville City Elementary School District. The Office or Administrative Hearings is referred to as OAH.
On April 6, 2021, Oroville filed a motion to dismiss alleging OAH lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate certain issues alleged in the complaint. No opposition has been received.
APPLICABLE LAW
The purpose of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1400 et.
seq.) is to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education, and to protect the rights of those children and their parents. (20 U.S.C. § 1400(d)(1)(A), (B), and (C); see also Ed. Code, § 56000.) A party has the right to present a complaint with respect to any matter relating to the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child, or the provision of a free appropriate public education to such child. (20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(6); Ed. Code, § 56501, subd. (a).) The jurisdiction of OAH is limited to these matters. (Wyner v. Manhattan Beach Unified School. Dist. (9th Cir. 2000) 223 F.3d 1026, 1028-1029.)
OAH does not have jurisdiction to decide claims based on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 701 et seq.), also called Section 504, or the Americans with Disability Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 1201, et seq.), also called the ADA.
DISCUSSION
Student alleges seventeen issues, which are confusingly numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. The seventeenth issue, which is labeled Issue 10, alleges that Oroville discriminated against him and violated Section 504 and the ADA by failing to offer him the same hybrid instruction and bus access that was offered to nondisabled peers when it did not accept the mask waiver submitted by Student’s grandmother and signed by Student’s doctor from November 6, 2020 through January 25, 2021. Oroville asserts OAH lacks jurisdiction over these claims.
OAH does not have jurisdiction to resolve these claims. Accordingly, the seventeenth issue, labeled Issue 10 in the complaint, is dismissed.
ORDER
1. Oroville’s motion to dismiss Student’s Section 504 and ADA claims is
granted.
2. Student’s seventeenth issue, labeled Issue 10 in the complaint, is
dismissed. The matter will proceed as scheduled as to the remaining issues.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Alexa Hohensee Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings