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
ODR No. 01137-0910 KE
Child”s Name: C.M.
Date of Birth: [redacted]
Date of Hearing: 6/18/10
CLOSED HEARING
Parties to the Hearing:
Parents Parent[s]
School District Wyoming Valley West 450 N. Maple Ave. Kingston, PA 18704
Representative:
Parent Attorney
Bruce Phillips, Esq.
15 Public Square, Suite 210 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702
School District Attorney
Angela Januski Evans, Esquire Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams 2 South Main Street, Ste. 303 Pittston, PA 18640
Date Record Closed: June 22, 2010
Date of Decision: June 26, 2010
Hearing Officer: Anne L. Carroll, Esq.
INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Student is a [preteen-aged] resident of the Wyoming Valley West School District [District] who is eligible for IDEA special education services, including ESY, due to severe autism.
For several years, the District funded a YMCA summer camp, selected by Parents, as Student’s ESY program. This year, in response to Parents request that the District fund a similar program at a different camp, the District refused and offered a school-based ESY program. As a compromise, the District offered to pay for the educational component of the camp program, which is to be provided by the private agency that provides Student’s wrap around services.
Although Parents agree that the District is not required to fund a purely recreational summer program, they contend that the social aspects of the camp will meet Student’s significant needs for socializing with typical peers. Parents, therefore, rejected the District’s offer of reimbursement for academic services only.
Because Parents, who have the burden of proof in this matter, did not establish that the District failed to propose an appropriate ESY program for Student, and also did not establish that the summer camp program they are seeking is an appropriate ESY program, their request for an order compelling the District to pay for the camp program must be denied.
ISSUES
- Has the School District proposed an appropriate Extended School Year (ESY) program for [Student] for the summer of 2010?
- If not, should the School District be required to pay for the summer day camp program Parents selected for [Student] as [Student’s] 2010 ESY program?
C-M-Wyoming-Valley-West-ODRNo-01137-0910-KE