Pennsylvania
Special Education Hearing Officer
DECISION
Child’s Name: DC
Date of Birth: XX-XX-XXXX
Dates of Hearing:
December 7, December 8, December 9, 2009 February 5, February 9, February 18, 2010
CLOSED HEARING
ODR Case # 00211-09-10-KE
Parties to the Hearing: Mr. & Mrs.
Ms. Joanne Wells Montour School District 223 Clever Road
McKees Rocks, PA 15136
Representative:
Arthur Feldman, Esq. 1010 LaClair Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15218
Jocelyn Kramer, Esq. Law Offices of Ira Weiss 445 Fort Pitt Commons Suite 503
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Date Record Closed: March 8, 2010
Date of Decision: March 23, 2010
Hearing Officer: Jake McElligott, Esquire
INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
“Student” (“student”) is a 6-year old student residing in the Montour School District (“District”) who has been identified as a student with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act of 2004 (“IDEIA”)1, specifically as a child on the autism spectrum. Parents filed a complaint in August 2009, alleging that the individualized education plan (“IEP”) proposed for the student failed to offer a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) to the student for the 2009-2010 school year. Parents requested compensatory education for those school years in addition to an order for the IEP team to consider a private placement. For the reasons set forth below, the student will be awarded compensatory education, and the IEP team will be ordered to consider specific options in its deliberations.
ISSUES
Is the student’s IEP proposed for the 2009-2010 school year reasonably calculated to provide a FAPE to the student?
If not, is compensatory education owed to the parents?
Is the student entitled to an IEP design process that considers private placement?
DC-Montour-ODRNo-00211-09-10-KE