PENNSYLVANIA
SPECIAL EDUCATION HEARING OFFICER
DECISION
DUE PROCESS HEARING
Name of Child: MH
ODR #8117/07-08 KE
Date of Birth: Xx/xx/xx
Dates of Hearing: November 20, 2007 December 4, 2007 December 11, 2007 January 29, 2008
CLOSED HEARING
Parties to the Hearing: Mr. and Mrs.
Haverford Township School District 1801 Darby Road
Havertown, Pennsylvania 19083
Representative:
Liliana Yazno-Bartle, Esquire
Law Offices of Caryl Oberman Grove Summit Office Park
607 A North Easton Road
Willow Grove, Pennsylvania 19090
Natalie Habert, Esquire BeattyLinke
2 West Market Street, 6th Floor West Chester, Pennsylvania 19383
Date Final Transcript Received: February 3, 2008
Date Closing Arguments Received: February 19, 2008
Date of Decision: February 25, 2008
Hearing Officer: Linda M. Valentini, Psy.D.
Background
Student is a xx year old1 eligible student, resident of the Haverford Township School District (hereinafter District), who transitioned from preschool early intervention programming to school age programming in September 2007. Mr. and Mrs. (hereinafter Parents) believed that the kindergarten program and placement the District offered to Student were inappropriate, and enrolled him in Private School, a private school for children with learning differences. The Parents asked for this hearing, and are seeking reimbursement for Student’s tuition at the private school for the current school year, and reimbursement for the private evaluation they obtained independently.
Issues
1. Were the kindergarten program and placement offered to Student by the Haverford Township School District for academic year 2007-2008 appropriate? If not, is the program unilaterally selected by the Parents appropriate? If so, are there any factors mitigating the District’s responsibility for tuition reimbursement?
Are the Parents entitled to reimbursement for the evaluation they independently obtained from Dr. R?
MH-Haverford-Township-ODRNo-8117-07-08-KE