California OAH special education order · June 21, 2021
Order Denying Request for Reconsideration
OAH Case No. 2021060260 · ALJ Tara Doss
OAH denied Santa Monica-Malibu's request to reconsider its denial of a statute-of-limitations motion to dismiss, because the District offered no new facts, circumstances, or law and prior OAH rulings are not binding precedent.
Summary
OAH had denied Santa Monica-Malibu's motion to dismiss Student's case on statute-of-limitations grounds, holding that it cannot grant such motions without a due process hearing. The District asked for reconsideration, arguing that OAH ignored its own past rulings and Congress's intent on the statute of limitations. Student did not respond. OAH denied the request because the District offered no new or different facts, circumstances, or law, and because earlier OAH rulings may be persuasive but do not bind later ones.
Why it matters
Districts generally cannot knock out a family's claims on statute-of-limitations grounds before a hearing, and simply rearguing an issue will not win reconsideration. Parents can expect timeline disputes to be decided at hearing on the evidence.
Key authority cited
- Gov. Code, § 11521
- Code Civ. Proc., § 1008
- Baldwin v. Home Savings of America (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1192
People named in the order
- Tara Doss, Administrative Law Judge
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.
SANTA MONICA-MALIBU UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2021060260
ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION
JUNE 21, 2021
On June 16, 2021, the undersigned Administrative Law Judge, called an ALJ, issued an order denying Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s Motion to Dismiss Student’s Request for Due Process Hearing based on statute of limitations. On June 18, 2021, Santa Monica-Malibu filed a Motion for Reconsideration. Student did not file a response to the Motion for Reconsideration.
The Office of Administrative Hearings, called OAH, will generally reconsider a ruling upon a showing of new or different facts, circumstances, or law justifying reconsideration, when the party seeks reconsideration within a reasonable period of time, generally within ten days. (See, e.g., Gov. Code, § 11521; Code Civ. Proc., § 1008.)
The party seeking reconsideration may also be required to provide an explanation for its failure to previously provide the different facts, circumstances, or law. (See Baldwin v.
Home Savings of America (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1192, 1199-1200.)
Santa Monica-Malibu’s motion argues that in denying its Motion to Dismiss, OAH failed to take into account OAH’s precedent of ruling on motions to dismiss regarding statute of limitations and Congress’ intent regarding statute of limitations in special education cases. Specifically, Santa Monica-Malibu disputes OAH’s position in the June 16, 2021 ruling, that it cannot grant motions to dismiss regarding statute of limitations without a due process hearing.
Santa Monica-Malibu offers no new facts, circumstances, or law that warrant reconsideration of the June 16, 2021 Order Denying Motion to Dismiss. While prior OAH rulings and decisions can be persuasive, they do not set a precedent for future rulings. In making the June 16, 2021 ruling, OAH considered Student’s Request for Due Process Hearing, Santa Monica-Malibu’s Motion to Dismiss, Student’s opposition to the Motion to Dismiss, relevant special education laws and procedure, and prior OAH rulings regarding statute of limitations. After doing so, OAH denied Santa Monica- Malibu’s Motion to Dismiss. Santa Monica-Malibu has not established that OAH’s June 16, 2021 Order should be reconsidered. Therefore, the Motion for Reconsideration is denied. The case will proceed as scheduled.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Tara Doss Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings