SPECIAL EDUCATION HEARING OFFICER
DECISION
DUE PROCESS HEARING
Name of Child: S.M.
ODR #15378/14-15 KE
Date of Birth: [redacted]
Dates of Hearing: October 17, 2014 December 12, 2014 December 15, 2014
CLOSED HEARING
Parties to the Hearing: Parent[s]
School District of Philadelphia Office of General Counsel
440 N. Broad Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19130
Representative:
Jennifer Sang, Esquire
Law Office of David J. Berney 8 Penn Center
1628 JFK Boulevard Suite 1000 Philadelphia, PA 19103
Michele Mintz, Esquire
Levin Legal Group
1301 Masons Mill Business Park 1800 Byberry Road, #1301 Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006
Date Record Closed: January 16, 2015
Date of Decision: January 31, 2015
Hearing Officer: Linda M. Valentini, Psy.D., CHO Certified Hearing Official
Background
Student1 is a pre-teen aged student in 6th grade who is eligible for special education pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA] and Pennsylvania Chapter 14 under the classification of autism [redacted]. Since the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year, Student has been attending a private school [Private School] in a neighboring state, a placement which the Parents unilaterally made but is now pendent and funded by the District pursuant to the order of a previous hearing officer. In summer 2014 the District proposed an IEP designed to be implemented in a District middle school. Believing the proposed IEP to be inappropriate the Parents filed this complaint and are requesting continued tuition reimbursement at Private School.
Issue[s]
Was the IEP the District offered to Student on September 2, 2014 appropriate, and can it be implemented in the proposed District middle school?
S-M-Philadelphia-ODRNo-15378-14-15-KE