California OAH special education order · January 22, 2024
Order Denying Motion to Compel Resolution Session or, Alternatively, to Set the Hearing Date
OAH Case No. 2024010237 · ALJ Cole Dalton
OAH denied Student's motion to compel a resolution session or set the hearing date as premature, because Student filed it while the 15-day resolution session period was still running.
Summary
Student filed a motion asking OAH to compel New West Charter to hold the mandatory resolution session or, alternatively, to set the hearing date, claiming the charter had not timely held the session. New West Charter filed a response, and Student filed a supplement. OAH found that both parties had tried to schedule the session within the 15-day timeline, and that Student filed the motion during the resolution period, so it was not ready for ruling. The denial does not stop either party from filing a new motion if the session is not held by January 24, 2024.
Why it matters
A motion about a missed resolution session filed before the 15-day deadline passes will likely be denied as premature. Parents should wait until the deadline expires, and should keep records of their scheduling efforts, before asking OAH to step in.
Key authority cited
- 20 U.S.C. § 1415(f)(1)(B)(i)(I)
- 34 C.F.R. § 300.510(a)(1)
- 34 C.F.R. § 300.510(a)(3)
- 34 C.F.R. § 300.510(b)(3)
- 34 C.F.R. § 300.510(b)(4)
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.
NEW WEST CHARTER.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2024010237
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO COMPEL RESOLUTION
SESSION OR, ALTERNATIVELY, TO SET THE HEARING DATE
JANUARY 22, 2024
On January 9, 2024, Student filed a due process hearing request with the Office of Administrative Hearings, called OAH, naming New West Charter.
On January 16, 2024, Student filed a motion to compel or, in the alternative, set the hearing date, regarding New West Charter’s alleged failure to timely hold a mandatory resolution session.
On January 19, 2024, New West Charter filed a response to Student’s motion. On January 22, 2024, Student filed a supplement to the motion.
A local educational agency is required to meet with the parents and with student’s relevant individualized education program team members within 15 days of receiving Student’s complaint. (20 U.S.C. § 1415(f)(1)(B)(i)(I); 34 C.F.R. § 300.510(a)(1)
(2006). The meeting, called a resolution session, can be waived in writing by both parties if they agree to use mediation. (34 C.F.R. § 300.510(a)(3).) If the parents do not attend the resolution session, and it was not waived, there is no due process hearing until the resolution session is waived or held. (34 C.F.R. § 300.510(b)(3).) The respondent may request the case be dismissed after the 30-day period if it documented reasonable efforts to hold the resolution session and the parents did not attend. (34 C.F.R. §300.510(b)(4).)
Here, the parties have made mutual attempts to schedule the resolution session within the 15-day timeline. However, Student filed the motion to compel or, alternatively, to set the hearing date, on a date within the resolution period. The motion is, therefore, not ready for ruling.
For the foregoing reasons, OAH issues the following order:
1. Student’s motion to compel a resolution session, or alternatively, to set the
hearing, is denied.
2. Nothing in this order precludes either party from filing a motion regarding
the resolution session, should the parties be unwilling or unable to hold the session by or on January 24, 2024.
IT IS SO ORDERED
Cole Dalton Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings