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]
Date of Hearing: September 21, 2010
CLOSED HEARING
ODR Case # 01346-0910JS
Parties to the Hearing:
[Parent[s]
Ms. Jean Purnell
Director of Special Education Waynesboro Area School District Waynesboro, PA 17268
Representative:
Philip Drumheiser, Esq. P.O. Box 890
Carlisle, PA 17013
Anne Hendricks, Esq.
Levin Legal Group
1800 Byberry Road/Suite 1301 Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006
Date Record Closed: September 21, 2010
Date of Decision: October 6, 2010
Hearing Officer: Jake McElligott, Esquire
INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Student is a [teen-aged] student who is thought by parents to be eligible for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act of 2004 (“IDEIA”)1. The student resides in the Waynesboro Area School District (“District”). The parents filed a complaint at a different file number (01131-0910JS) asserting that the District denied the student a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) under the IDEIA. One of the parents’ claims in their complaint is that the student is entitled to an independent educational evaluation (“IEE”) at public expense. The District did not agree to pay for an IEE and, as required under the IDEIA, filed the complaint in the instant case to defend the appropriateness of its evaluation.2 The District also asserts that, to better understand the student’s needs, a psychiatric evaluation of the student is necessary. The parents have refused to grant permission for a psychiatric evaluation, and so the District also seeks an order for such an evaluation.
For the reasons set forth below, I find in favor of the parents.
ISSUES
Is the District’s evaluation appropriate?
C-H-Waynesboro-Area-ODRNo-01346-0910JS