Pennsylvania
Special Education Hearing Officer
DECISION
Child’s Name: CS
Date of Birth: xx/xx/xx
Date of Hearing: June 23, 2009
CLOSED HEARING
ODR No. 9899/08-09 KE
Parties to the Hearing:
Parents :
School District:
Richard McDonald, Superintendent Dunmore School District
300 W. Warren Street
Dunmore, PA 18512
Representative:
Pro Se
School District Attorney: Harold McGrath, Esq. McGrath Law Office
321 Spruce Street, Suite 600 Scranton, PA 18503
Date Record Closed: July 1, 2009
Date of Decision: July 3, 2009
Hearing Officer: Daniel J. Myers
INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Student (Student)1 is an early teen aged student in the Dunmore School District’s (District) elementary center who was not identified as a child with a disability when last evaluated in January 2007. The dispute between the parties concerns who will perform an independent educational evaluation (IEE) at public expense. Student requests a particular evaluator from a different part of the state whose fees may be higher than evaluators typically used by the District. The District wants the Parent to choose from a District list of evaluators. I conclude that the District has failed to comply with regulations that otherwise permit school districts to restrict parental choice of a publicly funded IEE evaluator. Accordingly, in this case I find for Student’s parent.
ISSUE
Whether an IEE at public expense shall be conducted by one of the evaluators on a District list, or by Dr. R, an evaluator preferred by Student’s parent who is not on the District’s list?
CS-Dunmore-ODRNo-9899-08-09-KE-