Pennsylvania
Special Education Hearing Officer
DECISION
Child’s Name: Z. G.
Date of Birth: [redacted]
Dates of Hearing: September 10, 2013 November 1, 2013 November 4, 2013
CLOSED HEARING
ODR Case #14032-1213AS
Parties to the Hearing: Parent
Greater Johnstown School District 1091 Broad Street
Johnstown, PA 15096-2437
Representative:
Angela Uliana-Murphy, Esquire 106 North Franklin Street Suite 2
P.O. Box 97
Pen Argyl, PA 18072
John J. Kuzmiak, Esquire 442 Main Street Johnstown, PA 15901
Date Record Closed: November 25, 2013
Date of Decision: December 10, 2013
Hearing Officer: Jake McElligott, Esquire
INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Student is an early elementary school age student residing in the Greater Johnstown School District (“District”). The parties agree, at this time, that the student qualifies under the terms of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act of 2004 (“IDEA”)1, although there is a dispute as to nature of the student’s identification status. Parent believes the student should qualify for specially designed instruction/related services as a student with a complex matrix of identifications, including autism and mild intellectual disability; the District has identified the student as a student with a health impairment, specifically attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (“ADHD”).
Due to this alleged mis-identification, parent asserts that the student has been denied a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) as the result of inappropriate educational programming, both in what has been provided to the student and in what has been, in parent’s eyes, omitted. As a result of these claims, parent claims that compensatory education should be awarded for the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years.2
The District counters that, at all times, it met its obligations under the IDEA and provided the student with FAPE. As such, the District argues that no remedy is owed to the student.
For the reasons set forth below, I find in favor of the parent.
ISSUES
Was the student provided with FAPE
in the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years?
If the answer to this question is in the affirmative, what remedy is available to the student?
Z-G-Greater-Johnstown-ODRNo-14032-1213AS