PENNSYLVANIA
SPECIAL EDUCATION HEARING OFFICER
This is a redacted version of the original hearing officer decision. Select details may have
been removed from the decision to preserve anonymity of the student. The redactions do not
affect the substance of the document.
DECISION
DUE PROCESS HEARING
Name of Child: C.P.
ODR #5853/05-06 AS
Date of Birth: xx/xx/xx
Dates of Hearing:
November 1, 2005 (4:00 pm-8:00 pm)
November 2, 2005 (4:30 pm-8:30 pm)
December 5, 2005 (9:00 am-1:40 pm)
February 6, 2006 (9:00 am-3:15 pm)
February 7, 2006 (9:00 am-4:15 pm)
April 10, 2006 (9:00 am-5:00 pm)
April 11, 2006 (9:00 am-5:00 pm)
April 17, 2006 (8:15 am-12:10 pm)
CLOSED HEARING
Parties to the Hearing:
Parent(s)
Council Rock School District The Chancellor Center
30 North Chancellor Street Newtown, Pennsylvania 18940
Representative:
Ilene Young, Esquire
Law Office of Ilene Young, Esquire 50 East Court Street, Main Floor Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901
Grace Deon, Esquire
Eastburn and Gray
60 East Court Street Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901
Date Transcript Received: April 23, 2006
Date Record Closed May 2, 2006
Date of Decision: May 16, 2006
Hearing Officer: Linda M. Valentini, Psy.D.
Background
Student is a [teenaged] eligible student who was enrolled in the Council Rock School District (hereinafter District) from kindergarten through 7th grade. Following intervention through the Instructional Support Team (IST) in 1st to 3rd grades, and a private neuropsychological evaluation at the end of 4th grade, he was identified as requiring special education. He was classified as having an other health impairment (ADHD) and a specific learning disability in written expression.
Parents (hereinafter Parents) believe that the District failed to offer Student a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for several years prior to their decision to remove him from the District and unilaterally enroll him for the 2005-2006 school year in the [redacted] private school in [another state], which provides programming for students with learning disabilities. The Parents seek compensatory education and tuition reimbursement. The District maintains that it offered Student FAPE in the past and that the proposed IEP for the current school year represented an offer of FAPE.
On October 26, 2005 prior to convening the hearing, the hearing officer issued a ruling establishing that in considering any past denial of FAPE, the remedy for which would be compensatory education, recovery would be limited to the two years preceding the Parents’ request for due process, that is the 2003-2004 and the 2004-2005 school years in accord with IDEA 2004. 1 Documents pertaining thereto are included as Hearing Officer Exhibits 1 through 3. On December 3, 2005 the hearing officer issued a Ruling and Order for the Production of Documents in response to the Parents’ request for such an Order. Documents relative thereto are included as Hearing Officer Exhibits 4 and 5.
Issues
- Did the Council Rock School District offer Student a free appropriate public education for the 2003-2004 school year?
- Did the Council Rock School District offer Student a free appropriate public education for the 2004-2005 school year?
C-P-Council-Rock-ODRNo-5853-05-06-AS