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

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