PENNSYLVANIA
SPECIAL EDUCATION HEARING OFFICER
DECISION
DUE PROCESS HEARING
Name of Child: T.L.
ODR #15183 /13-14-AS
Date of Birth: [redacted]
Dates of Hearing: August 5, 2014 September 8, 2014 October 7, 2014
CLOSED HEARING
Parties to the Hearing: Parent[s]
Lower Merion School District 301 East Montgomery Avenue Ardmore, PA 19003
Representative:
David Arnold, Esquire
920 Matsonford Road
West Conshohocken, PA 19428
Amy Brooks, Esquire
Wisler Pearlstine
Blue Bell Executive Campus 460 Norristown Road Suite 110 Blue Bell, PA 19422
Date Record Closed: October 29, 2014
Date of Decision: November 26, 2014
Hearing Officer: Linda M. Valentini, Psy.D., CHO Certified Hearing Official
Background
Student1 is an elementary school age child who is eligible for special education under the classification of specific learning disability and other health impairment. Student enrolled in the District for Kindergarten and remained there until the end of second grade when the Parents withdrew Student from the District and enrolled Student in a private school for children with learning differences. The Parents requested this hearing in order to receive reimbursement of tuition and fees for their unilateral placement of Student during school years 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and 2014-2015 as well as for ESY for the summers of 2012, 2013 and 2014 and transportation to ESY for the summers of 2012 and 2013.2
Issue[s]
- Did the District offer Student a free appropriate public education for school years 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and/or 2014-2015 as well as for ESY for the summers of 2012, 2013 and/or 2014?
- If the District did not offer Student a free appropriate public education for any or all these periods, was the placement unilaterally selected by the Parents appropriate?
- If the District’s proposed placement was inappropriate, and the Parents’ unilateral placement was appropriate, are there equitable considerations that would remove or reduce the District’s obligation to reimburse the Parents for tuition and fees at the private school for school years 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and/or 2014-2015 as well as for ESY for the summers of 2012, 2013 and/or 2014 and transportation to ESY for the summers of 2012 and/or 2013?