Pennsylvania
Special Education Hearing Officer
DECISION
Child’s Name: N.H.
Date of Birth: [redacted]
Dates of Hearing: 7/30/2015
CLOSED HEARING
ODR File No. 16008-14-15 KE
Parties to the Hearing:
Parents Parent[s]
Local Education Agency Mount Lebanon School District 7 Horseman Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15228-1107
Representative:
Parent Attorney None
LEA Attorney
Patricia Andrews, Esquire Andrews & Price
1500 Ardmore Boulevard Suite 506
Pittsburgh, PA 15221
Date Record Closed: August 4, 2015
Date of Decision: August 29, 2015
Hearing Officer: Cathy A. Skidmore, M.Ed., J.D.
INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
The student (hereafter Student)1 is a mid-teenaged student in the Mt. Lebanon School District (District) who is eligible for special education pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).2 Student’s Parents filed a due process complaint against the District under the IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,3 asserting that it denied Student necessary accommodations on standardized tests administered for students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and English Language Learners (ELL), resulting in the requirement that Student receive English as a Second Language (ESL) services.
Following denial of the District’s Motion to Dismiss, the case proceeded to a due process hearing which convened over a single session.4 The hearing addressed the sole issue presented that related to Student’s special education program; the scope of the hearing, on Motion of the District, was limited to the time period of March 2013 through the present. For the reasons that follow, I find in favor of the District.
ISSUE
Whether Student was provided with all necessary accommodations and/or modifications in the District’s assessment of Student’s need for ESL services during the relevant time period?
N-H-Mount-Lebanon-ODRNo-16008-14-15-KE