California OAH special education order · May 18, 2021
Order Denying Motion to Consolidate
OAH Case No. 2021040831 · ALJ Linda Johnson
OAH denied Student's motion to consolidate Rialto's assessment-without-consent case with earlier cases because there was no common question of law or fact and the motion came on the first hearing day.
This case went to decision
Student v. Rialto Unified School District: Rialto Unified must provide 234 compensatory hours for distance-learning failures; claims that in-person services were required are denied. (2021)
Summary
Student moved, on the morning the hearing began, to consolidate Rialto's second case with Student's case and Rialto's first case, which had already been consolidated. Rialto's second case asked only whether it could assess Student without parental consent. Rialto opposed. OAH denied the motion because the cases shared no common question of law or fact, and a motion filed on the first day of hearing would not serve judicial economy and appeared intended to delay.
Why it matters
A consolidation motion needs to be filed early and has to show real overlap with the other cases. A last-minute motion filed on the hearing date may be seen as a delay tactic and denied, especially when the district's case is narrowly limited to assessing without consent.
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 MATTER OF:
RIALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT,
v.
PARENTS ON BEHALF OF STUDENT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2021040831
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO CONSOLIDATE
MAY 18, 2021
On February 24, 2021, Student filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings, called OAH, a Request for Due Process Hearing in OAH case number 2021020860, called Student’s Case, naming Rialto Unified School District. On March 2, 2021, Rialto Unified School District filed a Request for Due Process Hearing in OAH case number 2021030148, called Rialto’s First Case, naming Student. On March 12, 2021, OAH consolidated Student’s Case with Rialto’s First Case.
On April 26, 2021, Rialto filed a second due process hearing request in OAH case number 2021040831, called Rialto’s Second Case, naming Student. The due process hearing in Rialto’s Second Case commenced on May 18, 2021. On May 18, 2021, prior to the commencement of the due process hearing, Student filed a Motion to Consolidate Rialto’s Second Case with Student’s Case and Rialto’s First Case. Rialto opposed Student’s 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, Rialto’s First Case and Student’s Case do not involve a common question of law or fact with Rialto’s Second Case. Rialto’s Second Case is limited to whether or not it may assess Student absent parental consent. In addition, consolidation does not further the interests of judicial economy because Student filed the motion on the first day of hearing in Rialto’s Second Case. Student’s motion was not timely and appeared to be an attempt to delay the proceedings in Rialto’s Second Case.
ORDER
1. Student’s Motion to Consolidate is denied.
Linda Johnson Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings