California OAH special education order · January 28, 2026
Order Denying Motion to Issue Sanctions Against Cupertino Unified School District for Failing to Schedule a Resolution Session
OAH Case No. 2026010399 · ALJ Clifford H. Woosley
OAH denied Parent's request for sanctions against Cupertino for failing to hold a timely resolution session. Federal rules allow only one remedy: asking OAH to start the 45-day hearing timeline.
This case went to decision
Student v. Cupertino Union School District: Cupertino Union prevails in expedited discipline case; student's exclusion from after-school program was not a disciplinary removal. (2026)
Summary
Parent filed a motion asking OAH to sanction Cupertino for failing to convene a resolution session within 15 days of Student's due process complaint. Cupertino did not respond. OAH denied the motion. When a district fails to hold or take part in a resolution session, 34 C.F.R. § 300.510(b)(5) lets the parent ask the hearing officer to start the 45-day due process timeline, and the regulations provide no other relief.
Why it matters
If a district misses the 15-day resolution session deadline, parents should ask OAH to start the 45-day hearing timeline right away rather than seek sanctions, which OAH will not award on that basis alone.
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)
- 34 C.F.R. § 300.510(b)(5)
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.
CUPERTINO UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2026010399
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO ISSUE SANCTIONS
AGAINST CUPERTINO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR
FAILING TO SCHEDULE A RESOLUTION SESSION
JANUARY 28, 2026
On January 13, 2026, Parent on behalf of Student, filed a due process hearing request with the Office of Administrative Hearings, called OAH, naming Cupertino Unified School District as respondent.
On January 20, 2026, Parent filed Student’s Motion to Issue Sanction Against Respondent because Cupertino failed to timely convene a resolution session. Cupertino did not file a response.
APPLICABLE LAW
A local educational agency is required to meet with the parents and 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 or 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 waived or held. (34 C.F.R. § 300.510(b)(3).) The respondent can 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).)
If the respondent school district fails to hold the resolution session within 15 days of the complaint’s filing or fails to participate in the resolution meeting, the parent may seek the intervention of the hearing officer to begin the due process hearing timeline.
In other words, the Parent can ask that the 45-day timeline commence, without a resolution session. (34 C.F.R. §300.510(b)(5).)
DISCUSSION
Parent seeks sanctions, claiming Student has been denied due process, because Cupertino failed to convene a resolution session. However, the controlling federal regulation clearly delineates the relief which a parent may seek because a school district fails to hold the resolution meeting. Parent on behalf of the Student can request OAH to begin the due process timeline. (34 C.F.R. §300.510(b)(5).) The regulations do not provide for any other relief for failure to convene or participate in a resolution session.
Therefore, Parent’s request for sanctions is denied.
ORDER
Student’s motion to issue sanctions against Cupertino because it failed to convene a resolution session is denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED
Clifford H. Woosley Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings