PENNSYLVANIA
SPECIAL EDUCATION HEARING OFFICER
DECISION
DUE PROCESS HEARING
Name of Child: M.M.
ODR #2490/11-12 AS
Date of Birth: [redacted]
Dates of Hearing: January 19, 2012 March 6, 2012
CLOSED HEARING
Parties to the Hearing: Parents
Penn Manor School District 2950 Charlestown Road Lancaster, PA 17603
Representative:
Dean Beer, Esquire McAndrews Law Offices 30 Cassatt Avenue Berwyn, PA 19312
Jeffrey Champagne, Esquire McNees, Wallace and Nurick 100 Pine Street P.O. Box 1166 Harrisburg, PA 17108
Date Record Closed: March 27, 2012
Date of Decision: March 31, 2012
Hearing Officer: Linda M. Valentini, Psy.D., CHO Certified Hearing Official
Background
Student1 is a grade-school aged eligible child classified as having Multiple Disabilities2 who is enrolled in the Penn Manor School District [“District”].
The Parents filed a request for a due process hearing alleging that the District has not provided Student with a free appropriate public education [FAPE] from November 2, 2009 to the present, and that as a consequence Student has not made meaningful educational progress. They are seeking compensatory education for the denial of FAPE.
The District’s position is that Student has at all times been afforded with FAPE and that therefore no compensatory education is due.
Issue
Has the District failed to provide Student with FAPE during all or part of the period from November 2, 2009 to the present, specifically in the areas of reading, math, speech/language therapy, occupational therapy, and/or physical therapy, and failed to consider Student’s medical needs?
If the District denied Student FAPE, is Student entitled to compensatory education, in what form and in what amount?
M-M-Penn-Manor-ODRNo-2490-11-12-AS