California OAH special education order · March 8, 2023
Order Granting in Part and Denying Without Prejudice in Part Newark's Request for Clarification
OAH Case No. 2022120182 · ALJ Kara Hatfield
OAH corrected a typo in its earlier sufficiency order but declined to clarify the time periods in Student's Issue 3, leaving the scope of issues for the prehearing conference.
Summary
Newark Unified asked OAH to clarify its February 21, 2023 order, which had found Student's second amended complaint partly sufficient. Student did not respond. OAH granted the request as to a typographical error in Order number 2 and issued a corrected order at the same time. OAH denied without prejudice Newark Unified's request to clarify the time periods at issue in Issue 3, explaining that the scope of hearing issues will be addressed at the prehearing conference if the parties do not resolve the claims first.
Why it matters
A sufficiency ruling does not fix the exact scope or time periods of a claim. Parties should expect to settle those details at the prehearing conference, not through clarification requests.
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.
NEWARK UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2022120182
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND
DENYING WITHOUT PREJUDICE IN PART
NEWARK’S REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION
MARCH 8, 2023
On February 3, 2023, Parent on behalf of Student timely filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings, called OAH, a second amended complaint naming Newark Unified School District. On February 16, 2023, Newark Unified timely filed a Notice of Insufficiency as to the second amended complaint. On February 21, 2023, OAH issued an Order Determining Due Process Complaint Partially Sufficient and Denying Student's Motion to Dismiss Notice of Insufficiency.
On February 28, 2023, Newark Unified filed a Request for Clarification of the February 21, 2023 Order Determining Due Process Complaint Partially Insufficient.
Student did not file a response.
Newark Unified noted a typographical error in Order number 2 of OAH’s February 21, 2023 Order. Newark Unified’s request for clarification regarding Order number 2 is granted and a Corrected Order Determining Due Process Complaint Partially Sufficient and Denying Student's Motion to Dismiss Notice of Insufficiency is issued concurrently with this Order to reflect the correction.
Newark Unified also requested clarification about the time periods at issue in Issue 3 of Student’s second amended complaint, as determined to be sufficient in the February 21, 2023 Order. Newark Unified’s request for clarification is denied without prejudice. The scope of issues for the due process hearing shall be addressed at the prehearing conference, if the parties do not resolve the claims Student’s sufficiently pleaded through a resolution session, mediation, or other negotiation.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Kara Hatfield Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings