PENNSYLVANIA
SPECIAL EDUCATION HEARING OFFICER

DECISION

DUE PROCESS HEARING

Name of Child: SM

ODR #9708/08-09 LS #9468/08-09 LS

Date of Birth: XX/XX/XX

Dates of Hearing: March 27, 2009 April 8, 2009

CLOSED HEARING

Parties to the Hearing: Mr. and Mrs.

Manheim Township School District 2933 Lititz Pike
Lititz, PA 17606-5134

Representative:

Amy Slody, Esquire 41 E. Orange Street Lancaster, PA 17602

Jeffrey Champagne, Esquire McNees, Wallace & Nurick, LLC 100 Pine Street- P.O. Box 166 Harrisburg, PA 17108-1166

Date Transcripts Received: April 13, 2009; May 4, 2009; May 6, 2009

Date of Decision: May 29, 2009

Hearing Officer: Deborah G. DeLauro, Esquire

Procedural History

This is the second phase of a bifurcated hearing.1 The first phase of the hearing was expedited to determine whether Student’s misbehavior was a manifestation of Student’s disability. Student is a late teen-aged eligible student living in the Manheim Township School District (hereinafter “District”). Student qualifies for special education services and specially designed instruction under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (hereinafter “IDEIA”) as a student with an Other Health Impairment (hereinafter “OHI”) due to Student’s severe Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (hereinafter “ADHD”) and Specific Learning Disabilities (hereinafter “SLD”) in the areas of Written Expression and Math Calculation. Student was expelled from the District’s public school Student had been attending as a result of Student’s violation of the code of conduct. At the conclusion of the first phase of the hearing, this Hearing Officer concluded that Student’s behavior was not a manifestation of Student’s disability2, and Student was placed in an alternative educational placement in the [redacted] (hereinafter “AES”). The programs at AES are operated by [redacted] Intermediate Unit. The AES staff and teachers are Intermediate Unit (hereinafter “IU”) employees.

The question in this second phase of the hearing revolves around the appropriateness of the post-expulsion alternative educational placement.

Issues

Whether Student’s placement in the AES is appropriate?

And, if not, whether Student is entitled to compensatory education?

SM-Manheim-Township-ODRNo-9708-08-09-LS-9468-08-09-LS

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