This is a redacted version of the original decision. Select details have been removed from the
decision to preserve anonymity of the student. The redactions do not affect the substance of
the document.
Pennsylvania
Special Education Hearing Officer
DECISION
Child’s Name: C. D.
Date of Birth: [redacted]
Date of Hearing: August 19, 2016
CLOSED HEARING
ODR Case # 17952-1516KE
Parties to the Hearing:
Parent[s]
Quakertown Community School District 100 Commerce Drive
Quakertown, PA 18951
Representative:
Frederick Stanczak, Esq. 59 Creek Drive Doylestown, PA 18901
Mark Walz, Esq.
331 East Butler Avenue New Britain, PA 18601
Date of Decision: August 25, 2016
Hearing Officer: Jake McElligott, Esquire
INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Student1 is a late teen-aged student who resides in the District. The student is eligible as a student with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act of 2004 (“IDEIA”)2, namely as a student with multiple health impairments and a speech/language impairment. The parties’ dispute in this matter centers on the appropriate program for the 2016-2017 school year. The parents maintain that the District’s proposed District-based program is inappropriate. The District maintains that the proposed program is appropriate and, as such, has complied with its duties under federal and Pennsylvania law to offer the student a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”).
For the reasons set forth below, I find in favor of the parents.
ISSUES
Is the District’s proposed program
for the 2016-2017 school year appropriate?
C-D-Quakertown-Community-ODRNo-17952-1516KE