Pennsylvania
Special Education Hearing Officer
DECISION
Child’s Name: K.B.
Date of Birth: [redacted]
Date of Hearing: 6/3/2015
CLOSED HEARING
ODR File No. 16286-14-15-AS
Parties to the Hearing: Parent
Parent[s]
Local Education Agency
School District of Philadelphia Office of General Counsel Philadelphia, PA 19130
Representatives: Parent Attorney
Benjamin Hinerfeld Esq. 2 Penn Center, Suite 1020 1500 JFK Blvd. Philadelphia, PA 19102 215-575-0495
LEA Attorney
Brian Subers Esq.
Fox Rothschild LLP, 10 Sentry Parkway
Suite 200, PO Box 3001
Blue Bell, PA 19422-3001 610-397-6516
Date Record Closed: June 3, 2015
Date of Decision: June 12, 2015
Hearing Officer: William Culleton Esq., CHO
INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
The Student1 is an eligible resident of the respondent District. (NT 9, 13-14.) The District has identified Student with Autism and Speech or Language Impairment. (NT 14; S-15.) Parent asserts procedural violations under Chapter 14 of the Pennsylvania Code, 22 Pa. Code §14.132, and that the District has failed to offer Student appropriate Extended School Year services (ESY) for the summer of 2015, and thus has failed to provide the Student with a free appropriate public education (FAPE), as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. §1401 et seq. (IDEA). Parent also contends that the District did not provide Parent with an appropriate opportunity to participate in the planning for Student’s ESY program for this summer. Parent seeks an order that the District provide an appropriate program2. The District asserts that its Individualized Education Program (IEP) offered appropriate ESY services.
The hearing was concluded in one session. The parties waived written summations, and the record closed on the day of the hearing. I conclude that the District committed procedural violations of Chapter 14, but did not deprive Student of a FAPE and did not significantly impair Parent’s ability to participate in the development of the offered ESY program for Student.
ISSUES
- Did the District fail to comply with the procedural requirements of the IDEA and chapter 14 of the Pennsylvania Code for ESY determinations?
- Did the District fail to provide Parent with an appropriate opportunity to participate in the planning for ESY services for the summer of 2015?
- Did any such failure to comply with the procedural requirements for planning ESY services, including the requirement for parental participation, cause a deprivation of appropriate services to Student or impede parental participation in the planning of ESY services for the summer of 2015?
- Did the District fail to offer appropriate ESY services to Student for the summer of 2015?
- Should the hearing officer order the District to provide appropriate ESY services for the summer of 2015, and if so, should the hearing officer order the District to enroll Student in a private ESY program or a program offering comparable services?