PENNSYLVANIA
SPECIAL EDUCATION HEARING OFFICER
DECISION
Child’s Name: T.S.
Date of Birth: [redacted]
Dates of Hearing: May 16, 2014
CLOSED HEARING
ODR File No. 14950-1314KE
Parties to the Hearing: Parent[s]
Hamburg Area School District 701 Windsor Street
Hamburg, PA 19526
Representative:
Mark W. Voigt, Esquire
Law Office of Mark W. Voigt
600 West Germantown Pike, Ste. 400 Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462
Mark W. Cheramie Walz, Esquire Sweet Stevens Katz & Williams LLP 331 E. Butler Avenue
New Britain, PA 18601
Date Record Closed: May 19, 2014
Date of Decision: May 24, 2014
Hearing Officer: Cathy A. Skidmore, M.Ed., J.D.
INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Student1 is a high school student in the Hamburg Area School District (hereafter District) who is eligible for special education pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).2 Student’s Parents3 filed a due process complaint against the District challenging its proposed extended school year (ESY) program.
The case proceeded to an expedited due process hearing that convened in a single session, at which the parties presented evidence in support of their respective positions. The Parent sought to establish that the District’s proposed ESY program does not provide Student with a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) under the IDEA, and they sought a determination that Student should be provided with a specific private program, funded by the District, over the course of the summer. In response, the District maintained that its proposed ESY program is appropriate for Student.
For the reasons set forth below, I find that the District’s program is appropriate to a degree but will direct the IEP team to reconvene to address specific portions of the program for Student.
ISSUES
- Whether the District’s proposed ESY Program for the summer of 2014 is appropriate for Student; and
- If the District’s proposed ESY program is not appropriate, is the Student entitled to a specific private program over the summer at District expense?