California OAH special education order · March 14, 2025
Order Denying Request for Reconsideration
OAH Case No. 2024120715, 2025020977 · ALJ Thanayi Lindsey
OAH denied Student's motion to reconsider the consolidation order as moot, because the parties had since waived the resolution session to mediate, removing Student's reason for keeping separate hearing dates.
Summary
After OAH consolidated the two cases, made the charter school's case the primary case, and vacated Student's hearing dates, Student asked for reconsideration. Student argued the dates should not have been vacated because the parties still had to hold a mandatory resolution session within 30 days of Student's February 27, 2025 filing. Excel Academy Charter did not respond. OAH denied the motion as moot because the parties had since jointly agreed to waive the resolution session, requested mediation, and obtained a continuance, so there were no new facts or law justifying reconsideration.
Why it matters
Reconsideration requires new or different facts, circumstances, or law. A party's own later agreement, such as waiving the resolution session to mediate, can undercut or moot its pending reconsideration request.
Key authority cited
- Gov. Code, § 11521
- Code Civ. Proc., § 1008
- Baldwin v. Home Savings of America (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1192
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 CONSOLIDATED MATTERS INVOLVING:
EXCEL ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL,
and
PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT,
OAH CASE NUMBER 2024120715
OAH CASE NUMBER 2025020977
ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION
MARCH 14, 2025
On March 5, 2025, the undersigned Administrative Law Judge issued an order granting the motion to consolidate Students’ and Excel Academy Charter’s Cases. The order designated District’s case as the primary case and vacated the dates in Student’s case.
On March 13, 2025, Student filed a motion for reconsideration. Student contended the ALJ erroneously vacated the hearing dates in Student’s case because the parties must engage in a mandatory resolution session during the first 30 days after the February 27, 2025, filing date. The Office of Administrative Hearings did not receive a response from Excel Academy Charter for Student’s motion for reconsideration.
The Office of Administrative Hearings will generally reconsider a ruling upon a showing of new or different facts, circumstances, or law justifying reconsideration, when the party seeks reconsideration within a reasonable period of time, generally within ten days. (See, e.g., Gov. Code, § 11521; Code Civ. Proc., § 1008.) The party seeking reconsideration may also be required to provide an explanation for its failure to previously provide the different facts, circumstances or law. (See Baldwin v. Home Savings of America (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1192, 1199-1200.)
On March 13, 2025, the parties also filed a joint request for mediation and continuance of the due process hearing, which was granted. The parties agreed to waive the resolution session in order to mediate. Since the parties waived resolution session, there are no new or different facts, circumstances, or law justifying reconsideration. Reconsideration is moot.
The motion for reconsideration is denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Thanayi Lindsey Thanayi Lindsey (Mar 14, 2025 10:17 PDT)
Thanayi Lindsey Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings