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.H.
Date of Birth: [redacted]
Dates of Hearing: 5/23/11, 5/24/11, 5/25/11
CLOSED HEARING
ODR File No. 1639/1011KE
Parties to the Hearing:
Parent[s]
Schuylkill Valley School District 929 Lakeshore Drive
Leesport, PA 19533
Representative:
Jonathan S. Corchnoy, Esquire 1515 Market Street Suite 1510 Philadelphia, PA 19102
Karl A. Romberger, Jr., Esquire Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams 331 Butler Avenue, P.O. Box 5069 New Britain, PA 18901
Date Record Closed: June 15, 2011
Date of Decision: June 30, 2011
Hearing Officer: Cathy A. Skidmore, M.Ed., J.D.
INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Student1 is a middle-school-aged student in the Schuylkill Valley School District (hereafter District) who is eligible for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).2 Student’s Parents3 filed a due process complaint against the District asserting that it denied Student a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) under both the IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504)4 from the time period beginning with the start of the 2008-09 school year through the present and including the summer of 2011.5
The hearing convened over three sessions at which both parties presented evidence in support of their respective positions. Following review and consideration of the entire record, the Parents’ claims will be denied.
ISSUES
Whether the District offered and provided a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to Student from the beginning of the 2008-09 school year through the extended school year (ESY) program offered for the summer of 2011;
Whether any portion of the Parents’ claims are barred by the statute of limitations; and
If the District did deny Student FAPE, is Student entitled to compensatory education and, if so, in what nature and amount; and, is Student entitled to any other remedy for future programming?
C-H-Schuylkill-Valley-ODRNo-16391011KE