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
EXPEDITED DUE PROCESS HEARING
Name of Child: C.H.
ODR #15129/13-14 AS
Date of Birth:
[redacted]
Date of Hearing: July 1, 2014
CLOSED HEARING
Parties to the Hearing:
Parent[s]
Governor Mifflin School District 10 South Waverly Street Shillington, PA 19607
Representative:
Elizabeth Kapo, Esquire 2123 Pinehurst Road Bethlehem, PA 18018
Kathleen Metcalfe, Esquire
Sweet, Stevens, Katz and Williams 331 Butler Avenue
New Britain, PA 18901
Date Transcript Received: July 3, 2014
Date of Decision: July 4, 2014
Hearing Officer: Linda M. Valentini, Psy.D., CHO
Certified Hearing Official
Background
Student1 is an early-teen aged child who is eligible for special education pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA] and Pennsylvania Chapter 14 under the classification of Specific Learning Disability.
The current matter concerns an expedited due process request from the Parents who disagree with the District’s proposed summer program [hereinafter summer transition program] and instead request that the District reimburse them for the summer program offered by the private school in which they propose placing Student [hereinafter Proposed Private School] for the 2014-2015 school year.2
The District filed a Motion to Dismiss upon which a ruling was deferred pending receipt of the Parents’ Answer and fact-gathering at the hearing session. The Motion to Dismiss is discussed below.
The Parents objected to the admission of exhibit J-14 on the basis of relevance and I deferred making a ruling at the hearing. I now agree that J-14 is irrelevant to the discrete issue before me and hereby exclude that exhibit from the record.
Issue
Is the summer transition program the District offered to Student for summer 2014 appropriate?
Should the District be required to provide tuition and transportation for the program offered by the Proposed Private School for summer 2014.3
C-H-Governor-Mifflin-ODRNo-15129-13-14-AS