PENNSYLVANIA
Special Education Hearing Officer
Child’s Name: D. B.
Date of Birth: xx/xx/xx
File Number: 6192/05-06 LS
Dates of Hearing: February 15, 2006, March 2, 2006, March 9, 2006, and March 28, 2006
OPEN HEARING
Parties to the Hearing:
Parent(s)
Annville-Cleona School District 520 South White Oak Street Annville, PA 17003-2200
Representative:
(parent pro se)
Mark Fitzgerald, Esq.
Sweet, Stevens, Tucker, Katz P.O. Box 5069
New Britain, PA 18901
Date Transcript Received: April 5, 2006
Date of Decision:1 April 12, 2006
Hearing Officer Name: Gregory J. Smith
Background
STUDENT is a xx-year-old child with a disability who resides with his parents in the area served by the Annville-Cleona School District (District). STUDENT is a student with a specific learning disability in basic reading and written expression. During September and October 2005 several incidents of mistreatment of STUDENT by other students and bullying of STUDENT by other students were reported to the District. On November 3, 2005 a program about bullying was presented to middle school students. Part of that program included a video on bullying which contained the depiction of a physically aggressive bullying situation. STUDENT experienced a great deal of anxiety as the result of watching the video on bullying and his own experiences with bullying. STUDENT stopped attending school on November 4, 2005, the day after the program and video on bullying.
Student’s parents requested the present hearing seeking a placement for STUDENT outside of the District. They also requested that a planned psychiatric evaluation be completed by a psychiatrist familiar with STUDENT, one-to-one instruction to address STUDENT’s dyslexia, and compensatory education.
Issues
Must the School District use a psychiatrist who has previously worked with STUDENT to complete the psychiatric evaluation component of a multidisciplinary evaluation?
Must the School District provide STUDENT with an educational placement outside of the District?
Must the School District provide one-to-one instruction to address Student’s dyslexia? Must the School District provide STUDENT with compensatory education?
D-B-Annville-Cleona-ODRNo-6192-05-06-LS