California OAH special education order · September 8, 2022

Order Dismissing Complaint for Failure to File an Amended Complaint After Determination of Insufficiency

OAH Case No. 2022080531 · ALJ Penelope S. Pahl

OAH dismissed Student's due process complaint because Parent never filed an amended complaint after it was found insufficient; her later filings did not state issues and facts or fix the deficiencies.

Complaint dismissed Sufficiency of complaint

Summary

Greenfield and Kern County jointly challenged the sufficiency of the complaint filed by Parent, who represented herself, and OAH found it insufficient on August 23, 2022, giving Student 14 days to amend. Parent then mailed a document that partly read as an opposition to the Notice of Insufficiency, along with a Prehearing Conference Statement. OAH found that neither document was an amended complaint, because neither stated issues with supporting facts or addressed the deficiencies identified in the insufficiency order. OAH dismissed the complaint and stated that Student may file a new complaint that complies with the law.

Why it matters

Once a complaint is found insufficient, opposing the ruling or filing other documents does not count. Parents must file a true amended complaint with clear issues and facts before the deadline, and they can ask OAH for a mediator's free help to draft it.

Key authority cited

  • 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(7)(A)
  • 20 U.S.C. § 1415(c)(2)(D)
  • 34 C.F.R. § 300.508(d)(2)
  • Ed. Code § 56502(d)(1)
  • Ed. Code § 56505

Topics

insufficiency failure to amend self-represented parent dismissal without prejudice mediator assistance

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.

GREENFIELD UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT AND KERN COUNTY

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.

OAH CASE NUMBER 2022080531

ORDER DISMISSING COMPLAINT FOR FAILURE TO FILE AN

AMENDED COMPLAINT AFTER DETERMINATION OF

INSUFFICIENCY

SEPTEMBER 8, 2022

On August 15, 2022, Parent, on behalf of Student, filed a Due Process Hearing Request with the Office of Administrative Hearings, often called OAH, naming Greenfield Union School District and Kern County Superintendent of Schools as respondents. On August 22, 2022, Greenfield and Kern County filed a joint Notice of Insufficiency as to the complaint. On August 23, 2022, the complaint was determined insufficient. The order determining the complaint insufficient was served on Parent, who is self- represented, at the email address she provided in her complaint on August 24, 2022.

The Order gave Student 14 days to file an amended complaint and offered mediator assistance to draft an amended complaint. No amended complaint was received by close of business September 7, 2022.

APPLICABLE LAW

The named parties have the right to challenge the complaint’s sufficiency. (20 U.S.C. § 1415(b) & (c).) Within five days of receipt of a notification by a party that a due process hearing request is insufficient, the Administrative Law Judge must review the complaint and make a determination on the face of the complaint of whether the due process complaint meets the requirements of state and federal law. (20 U.S.C. § 1415(c)(2)(D); 34 C.R.F. 300.508(d)(2); Ed Code § 564502(d)(1).) A party may not have a due process hearing until the party files a request for due process hearing that meets the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (20 U.S.C. § 1415 (b)(7)(A)(IV).)

FAILURE TO FILE AMENDED COMPLAINT

On August 26, 2022, Student filed two documents and a proof of service. These documents were mailed to the OAH office in Sacramento. The filing included a document entitled “Continuous Motion Requests Deny (G.F.U.S.D.) and (K.C.O.E.) Notice Insufficiency With Dismissal Due Process Pages (3) of (3).” The second document was a Prehearing Conference Statement.

The document did not acknowledge receipt of the August 23, 2022 order determining Student’s complaint insufficient. The document was thoroughly reviewed.

It appears, in part, as an opposition to the NOI. Regardless of intent, it is not deemed an amended complaint. It did not include a statement of issues and facts supporting those issues. Further, it did not respond to or address the deficits raised in the NOI Order.

The Prehearing Conference Statement is also not an amended complaint.

Neither document filed after the issuance of the Order determining the complaint insufficient included the information necessary to be considered an attempt to amend the complaint.

No amended complaint was filed within the time required by the Order determining the complaint insufficient. Therefore, the complaint is dismissed. Nothing in this order prevents Student from filing a new complaint that complies with the requirements of state and federal law.

A parent without an attorney may request that OAH provide a mediator to assist the parent in identifying the issues and proposed resolutions that must be included in a complaint. (Ed. Code, § 56505.) Parents are encouraged to contact OAH for assistance if they intend to refile their due process hearing request. OAH also maintains a list on its website of free and low-cost attorneys who handle special education cases.

Additionally, any party may request that OAH mediate a special education dispute without filing a request for due process. A form to request “mediation only” is available on the OAH Special Education Division website.

ORDER

Student’s due process hearing request is dismissed for failure to file an amended complaint that complies with 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(7).

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Penelope S. Pahl Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings