Pennsylvania
Special Education Hearing Officer
DECISION
Child’s Name: S.M.
Date of Birth: [redacted]
Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014
CLOSED HEARING
ODR Case # 14661-1314AS
Parties to the Hearing: Parent[s]
Wissahickon School District 601 Knight Road
Ambler, PA 19002
Representative: Pro Se
Scott Wolpert, Esq. Timoney Knox
400 Maryland Drive P.O. Box 7544
Fort Washington, PA 19034
Date Record Closed: April 30, 2014
Date of Decision: May 14, 2014
Hearing Officer: Jake McElligott, Esquire
INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Student is an early teen-aged student residing in the Wissahickon School District (“District”). The District seeks to perform an initial comprehensive evaluation to see if the student should be identified as a student with a disability under both the federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act of 2004 (“IDEA”) and Pennsylvania special education regulations (“Chapter 14”)1. Parents are resistant to the District’s requests seeking permission to evaluate the student. Consequently, the District sought special education due process for authority to proceed with the evaluation process.
For the reasons set forth below, I find in favor of the District.
ISSUE
Should the District be authorized to proceed with an evaluation process involving the student?
S-M-Wissahickon-ODRNo-14661-1314AS