PENNSYLVANIA
SPECIAL EDUCATION HEARING OFFICER
DECISION
DUE PROCESS HEARING
Name of Child: J.R.
ODR #2226/11-12-KE
Date of Birth: [redacted]
Dates of Hearing:
October 21, 2011 November 15 2011 January 17, 2012 January 31, 2012
CLOSED HEARING
Parties to the Hearing: Parents
School District of Philadelphia 440 N. Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19130
Representative:
Tanya Alvarado, Esquire McAndrews Law Offices 30 Cassatt Avenue Berwyn, PA 19312
Heather Matejik, Esquire
Levin Legal Group
1301 Masons Mill Business Park 1800 Byberry Road
Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006
Date Record Closed: February 27, 2012
Date of Decision: March 21, 2012
Hearing Officer: Linda M. Valentini, Psy.D., CHO Certified Hearing Official
Procedural History and Background
Student1 is an early teen aged eligible child classified as having a specific learning disability who resides in the School District of Philadelphia [“District”] and currently attends a private school [“private school”] for children with learning differences. Student has never attended public school, although Student’s father and mother [“Parents”] obtained an evaluation from the District in 2010.
The Parents believe that since the District’s evaluation completed in 2010 was based largely on an earlier 2010 private evaluation the Parents supplied, and/or that the District’s evaluation was not appropriate, the District should reimburse them for the private evaluation. The Parents also believe that they are entitled to tuition reimbursement for the private school for part of the 2010-2011 school year [January 2011 through June 2011] and the entire 2011-2012 school year given their opinion that the IEP prepared for Student in February 2011 was not an appropriate offer of a free appropriate public education [“FAPE”].
This hearing was conducted in conjunction with a hearing for Student’s sibling, such that each case had about half of each hearing day. Since there were two separate cases, the date for written closing arguments and the Decision Due Dates were scheduled accordingly.
Issues
- Should the District be required to reimburse the Parents for the independent educational evaluation they obtained for Student in February 2010?
- Should the District be required to reimburse the Parents for Student’s private school tuition from January 2011 through June 2011 and for the 2011-2012 school year?