Pennsylvania
Special Education Hearing Officer
FINAL DECISION AND ORDER
Student’s Name: J.W.
Date of Birth: [redacted]
ODR No. 17641-1516KE
CLOSED HEARING
Parties to the Hearing: Parent[s]
Waynesboro Area School District 210 Clayton Ave.
Waynesboro, PA 17268
Representative:
Phillip Drumheiser, Esq. 2202 Circle Road Carlisle, PA 17013
Tammy Flail Esq.
1301 Masons Mill Business Park 1800 Byberry Road, #1301 Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006
Dates of Hearing: 05/19/2016, 06/03/2016
Record Closed: 06/03/2016
Date of Decision: 06/20/2016
Hearing Officer: Brian Jason Ford, JD, CHO
Introduction and Procedural History
This special education due process hearing was requested by the District against the Parents, upon rejecting a parental request for an independent educational evaluation (IEE) at public expense.1 Special education laws required the District to request this hearing to defend its most recent educational reevaluation of the Student upon rejecting the Parents’ request. For reasons discussed below, I find that the District’s reevaluation complied with all legal requirements and, therefore, is appropriate. I will not order the District to fund an IEE for this reason.
The District requested this hearing on April 20, 2016. The hearing was initially scheduled for May 4, 2016. After various scheduling motions, the hearing convened over two, full day sessions on May 19 and June 3, 2016. The initial decision due date of June 4, 2016 was extended to June 20 upon the parties’ motion.
The parties submitted their exhibits using ODR’s pilot program for submitting evidence electronically. I thank both parties for their participation in the pilot program.
Issue
A single issue was presented in this due process hearing: Was the District’s reevaluation appropriate and, if not, are the Parents entitled to an IEE at public expense?
J-W-Waynesboro-Area-ODRNo-17641-1516KE