California OAH special education order · October 20, 2025
Order Denying Request for Reconsideration in Part; Resetting Prehearing Conference and Due Process Hearing
OAH Case No. 2025060348 · ALJ Paul H. Kamoroff
OAH denied Student's request to reconsider an order that continued the hearing and denied sanctions, because Student only restated earlier arguments. OAH then reset the hearing to fit Del Norte's attorney's availability.
Summary
Earlier the same day, OAH granted Del Norte's request to continue the hearing because its attorney was unavailable, and denied Student's request for sanctions. Student asked OAH to reconsider that order. OAH denied the request because Student offered no new facts, circumstances, or law and only repeated the arguments from Student's October 16, 2025 opposition. OAH found that the attorney's unavailability was good cause for a continuance and that her conduct did not warrant sanctions. Because Del Norte's attorney was also unavailable on the newly set dates, OAH moved the hearing to December 9 and 10, 2025, and the prehearing conference to November 21, 2025.
Why it matters
A reconsideration request must show new or different facts, circumstances, or law; repeating arguments OAH already rejected will fail. OAH also treats an opposing attorney's unavailability as good cause for a continuance, and does not see it as conduct that warrants sanctions.
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:
PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT,
and
DEL NORTE COUNTY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT,
OAH CASE NUMBER 2025060348
OAH CASE NUMBER 2025060348
ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION IN
PART; RESETTING PREHEARING CONFERENCE AND DUE
PROCESS HEARING
OCTOBER 20, 2025
On October 20, 2025, the undersigned Administrative Law Judge issued an order granting Del Norte Unified School District’s, called Del Norte, request for continuance and denying Student’s motion for sanctions. On October 20, 2025, Student filed a motion for reconsideration. Del Norte filed a reply and opposition by declaration on the same date.
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.)
Student offers no new facts, circumstances or law. to support reconsideration.
Student restated the same facts, circumstances, and law argued in Student’s October 16, 2025 Opposition to Motion to Continue and Request for Sanctions. Despite Student’s arguments, the unavailability of Del Norte’s attorney constitutes good cause for a continuance, and her conduct does not rise to the level of requiring sanctions. Student’s present motion failed to describe any new facts, circumstances, or law that did not exist at the time of Student’s initial opposition and request for sanctions that would support reconsideration of OAH’s Order. Consequently, Student’s request for reconsideration is denied.
Del Norte’s reply and declaration points out that Del Norte’s attorney is unavailable during the presently set hearing dates of December 2, and 3, 2025, but is available the following week. Given that OAH’s order granting continuance was based upon the unavailability of Del Norte’s attorney, OAH hereby vacates the hearing dates and resets the hearing dates as follows:
PREHEARING CONFERENCE will be held on November 21, 2025, at 10:00 AM.
The prehearing conference will be held by videoconference. Prehearing conference statements and motions are due to OAH no later than three business days before the prehearing conference. Late motions will only be considered if good cause is established for the late filing. Student’s October 15, 2025, objection to the statement of issues contained in OAH’s October 14, 2025, Prehearing Conference Order will be addressed at the November 21, 2025, prehearing conference.
DUE PROCESS HEARING will be held on December 9, and 10, 2025.
The due process hearing will be held by videoconference. The due process hearing will begin at 9:30 AM on all days, and generally end at 3:30 PM, unless otherwise ordered. The hearing will continue day to day, as needed, at the discretion of the Administrative Law Judge.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Paul H Kamoroff Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings