PENNSYLVANIA
SPECIAL EDUCATION HEARING OFFICER
DECISION
DUE PROCESS HEARING
Name of Child: K.B.
ODR #00675/09-10 AS
Date of Birth: [redacted]
Dates of Hearing: May 10, 2010 July 2, 2010 August 17, 2010 August 30, 2010 August 31, 2010 October 11, 2010
CLOSED HEARING
Parties to the Hearing: Parent[s]
Downingtown Area School District 122 Wallace Avenue Downingtown, Pennsylvania 19335
Representative:
Michael Connolly, Esquire
188 North Main Street Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901
Anne Hendricks, Esquire
1402 Masons Mill Business Park
1800 Byberry Road
Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania 19006
Date Record Closed: November 6, 2010
Date of Decision: November 19, 2010
Hearing Officer: Linda M. Valentini, Psy.D., CHO Certified Hearing Official
Background1
Student2 resides in the Downingtown Area School District (District). The Parents requested this hearing seeking compensatory education as they believe the District failed to offer a free appropriate public education (FAPE) through a failure to timely evaluate and identify Student and a failure to provide appropriate programming subsequent to a finding of eligibility. The District maintains that Student’s evaluation was timely, that there was no denial of FAPE at any time, and that no compensatory education is due.
For the reasons presented below I find for the District in part and for the Parents in part.
Issues
- Did the District deny Student a free appropriate public education by virtue of failing to conduct an evaluation in a timely manner and thus delaying identification of Student as eligible for special education?
- Once Student was identified as eligible for special education, did the District fail to provide an appropriate special education program including ESY services?
- If the District denied Student a free appropriate public education through lack of timely evaluation and identification, and/or by subsequently failing to provide an appropriate special education program, is the District required to provide compensatory education to Student and if so in what kind and what amount and is the District required to reimburse the Parents for tutoring services they obtained for Student?