California OAH special education order · October 1, 2024

Order Clarifying Issues and Proposed Resolutions for Hearing

OAH Case No. 2024030862 · ALJ Ashok Pathi

OAH restated the hearing issues on Student's motion after Student argued the prehearing conference order did not fully reflect the amended complaint, and both parties agreed to the revised issues.

Issues clarified for hearing Prehearing conference orders

This case went to decision

Student v. Newport-Mesa Unified School District: Newport-Mesa Unified prevails on all claims over 2022–2024 IEPs; aide, therapy, and nonpublic school requests denied. (2024)

Summary

Student moved to correct the issues listed in the September 23, 2024, prehearing conference order, arguing they did not fully reflect the issues and proposed resolutions in Student's first amended complaint. Newport-Mesa did not file a response. On the first day of hearing, the ALJ heard argument, then set out four detailed FAPE issues covering 2021-2022 through August 16, 2024. The issues include IEP team attendance, goals, aide support, occupational therapy, speech and language services, specialized academic instruction, ESY services, and placement. Both parties agreed to the clarified issues, and the ALJ confirmed that Student's requested remedies included placement at a nonpublic school such as New Vista.

Why it matters

Parents should check the issues listed in a prehearing conference order against their complaint and promptly ask for corrections, because only the issues as stated will be heard and decided.

Topics

issue clarification prehearing conference fape iep team attendance nonpublic school placement proposed resolutions

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.

NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.

OAH CASE NUMBER 2024030862

ORDER CLARIFYING ISSUES AND PROPOSED

RESOLUTIONS FOR HEARING

OCTOBER 1, 2024

On March 22, 2024, Student filed a Due Process Hearing Request, referred to as a complaint, with the Office of Administrative Hearings, naming Newport-Mesa Unified School District, called Newport-Mesa. The Office of Administrative Hearings is referred to as OAH.

On September 23, 2024, OAH convened a prehearing conference, called a PHC.

During that PHC, the undersigned administrative law judge, called an ALJ, clarified the issues for hearing. The clarified issues were reflected in the September 23, 2024, Order Following Prehearing Conference for Hearing by Videoconference.

On September 30, 2024, Student filed a motion, asserting that the clarified issues in the September 23, 2024, Order did not fully reflect the issues and proposed resolutions in Student’s first amended complaint. OAH did not receive a response from Newport-Mesa.

At the beginning of the first day of hearing, the undersigned ALJ heard argument from the parties regarding Student’s motion. Following a discussion with the parties, the undersigned ALJ confirmed the following issues would be heard and decided in this matter:

1) Did Newport-Mesa Unified School District deny Student a FAPE from March 22, 2022, through the end of the 2021-2022 school year, including ESY, by:

a) failing to ensure that an administrator was present at the March 24, 2022, IEP team meeting;

b) failing to ensure that a school psychologist, occupational therapist, adapted physical education teacher, and administrator were present at the March 28, 2022, IEP team meeting;

c) failing to ensure that a school psychologist was present at the May 5, 2022, IEP team meeting;

d) failing to offer goals in the following areas of need:

i) executive functioning;

ii) sensory processing;

iii) fine motor skills; and iv) visual motor skills;

e) failing to offer appropriately ambitious goals that addressed all of Student’s needs in the following areas:

i) reading comprehension;

ii) mathematics;

iii) social skills;

iv) behavior;

v) self-regulation; and vi) communication;

f) failing to offer a one-to-one aide during the regular school year;

g) failing to offer occupational therapy services during the regular school year;

h) failing to offer sufficient speech and language services during the regular school year;

i) failing to offer sufficient individual specialized academic instruction during the regular school year;

j) failing to offer the following services during ESY:

i) specialized academic instruction;

ii) speech and language; and iii) occupational therapy; and k) failing to offer a sufficiently supportive placement? 2) Did Newport-Mesa Unified School District deny Student a FAPE during the 2022- 2023 school year, including ESY, by:

a) failing to ensure that a school psychologist, occupational therapist, and adapted physical education teacher, were present at the March 14, 2023, IEP team meeting;

b) failing to offer goals in the following areas of need:

i) communication.

ii) sensory processing;

iii) self-regulation;

iv) fine motor skills; and v) visual motor skills;

c) failing to offer appropriately ambitious goals that addressed all of Student’s needs in the following areas:

i) reading comprehension;

ii) mathematics;

iii) social skills;

iv) behavior; and v) executive functioning;

d) failing to offer a one-to-one aide during the regular school year;

e) failing to offer occupational therapy services during the regular school year;

f) failing to offer sufficient speech and language services during the regular school year;

g) failing to offer sufficient individual specialized academic instruction during the regular school year;

h) failing to offer the following services during ESY:

i) specialized academic instruction;

ii) speech and language; and iii) occupational therapy; and i) failing to offer a sufficiently supportive placement? 3) Did Newport-Mesa Unified School District deny Student a FAPE during the 2023- 2024 school year, including ESY, by:

a) failing to ensure that a school psychologist, occupational therapist, and administrator were present at the May 30, 2024, IEP team meeting;

b) failing to offer goals in the following areas of need:

i) reading comprehension;

ii) sensory processing;

iii) fine motor skills; and iv) visual motor skills;

c) failing to offer appropriately ambitious goals that addressed all of Student’s needs in the following areas:

i) mathematics;

ii) social skills;

iii) executive functioning;

iv) behavior;

v) communication; and vi) self-regulation;

d) failing to offer a one-to-one aide during the regular school year;

e) failing to offer sufficient occupational therapy services during the regular school year;

f) failing to offer sufficient speech and language services during the regular school year;

g) failing to offer sufficient individual specialized academic instruction during the regular school year;

h) failing to offer occupational therapy services during ESY; and i) failing to offer a sufficiently supportive placement? 4) Did Newport-Mesa Unified School District deny Student a FAPE from the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, through August 16, 2024, by:

a) failing to offer, in the May 30, 2024, IEP, goals in the following areas of need:

i) reading comprehension;

ii) sensory processing;

iii) fine motor skills; and iv) visual motor skills;

b) failing to offer, in the May 30, 2024, IEP, appropriately ambitious goals that addressed all of Student’s needs in the following areas:

i) mathematics;

ii) social skills;

iii) executive functioning;

iv) behavior;

v) communication; and vi) self-regulation;

c) failing to offer, in the May 30, 2024, IEP, a one-to-one aide during the regular school year;

d) failing to offer, in the May 30, 2024 IEP, sufficient occupational therapy services during the regular school year;

e) failing to offer, in the May 30, 2024, IEP, sufficient speech and language services during the regular school year;

f) failing to offer, in the May 30, 2024, IEP, sufficient individual specialized academic instruction during the regular school year;

g) failing to offer, in the May 30, 2024, IEP, occupational therapy services during ESY;

and h) failing to offer, in the May 30, 2024, IEP, a sufficiently supportive placement? The parties agreed with the undersigned’s clarification of the issues as described above.

The undersigned also confirmed that Student’s proposed resolutions included placement at a non-public school such as New Vista.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Ashok Pathi Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings