California OAH special education order · September 8, 2023

Order Denying Motion for Stay Put as Moot

OAH Case No. 2023080985 · ALJ Penelope S. Pahl

OAH denied Student's stay put motion as moot because Student withdrew it after the parties reached an interim settlement agreement.

Denied as moot Stay put

Summary

Student filed a due process complaint and a stay put motion against Grossmont on August 29, 2023, and Grossmont opposed the motion. Student later withdrew the stay put motion in the same filing that asked to dismiss the expedited issues, citing an interim settlement agreement between the parties. OAH denied the stay put motion as moot. It also cautioned Student that combining multiple motions in one document breaks OAH filing rules and could lead to a Notice of No Action in the future.

Key authority cited

  • 20 U.S.C. § 1415(j)
  • 34 C.F.R. § 300.518(a)
  • Ed. Code, § 56505, subd. (d)
  • Thomas v. Cincinnati Bd. of Educ. (6th Cir. 1990) 918 F.2d 618

Topics

stay put moot withdrawal interim settlement filing procedures

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.

GROSSMONT UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT.

OAH CASE NUMBER 2023080985

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR STAY PUT AS MOOT

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

On August 29, 2023, Student filed a request for due process hearing naming Grossmont Union High School District as respondent. That same day, Student filed a motion for stay put. The Stay Put motion was opposed by Grossmont on September 1, 2023. On September 7, 2023, Student filed a request to dismiss the expedited issues in the case. At the end of the request to dismiss the expedited issues, Student noted that the stay motion was withdrawn based on an interim settlement agreement reached between the parties.

STAY PUT

Until due process hearing procedures are complete, a special education student is entitled to remain in his or her current educational placement, unless the parties agree otherwise. (20 U.S.C. § 1415(j); 34 C.F.R. § 300.518(a) (2006); Ed. Code, § 56505 subd. (d).)

This is referred to as “stay put.” For purposes of stay put, the current educational placement is typically the last agreed upon and implemented individualized educational program, called IEP, placement prior to the dispute arising. (Thomas v. Cincinnati Bd. of Educ. (6th Cir. 1990) 918 F.2d 618, 625.)

Student has withdrawn the motion for stay put. Therefore, the motion is moot and is denied.

MOTIONS MUST BE FILED SEPARATELY

OAH does not allow multiple motions to be filed in a single document. In this instance, the fact that the request to withdraw the stay put motion was included with the request to dismiss the expedited issues in the case has been overlooked. Student is cautioned that, in the future, multiple motions filed as a single document may result in Notice of No Action for failure to follow filing procedures.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Penelope S. Pahl Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings