STATE OF CONNECTICUT
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Student v. Board of Education - CT SDE Case No. 06-0275
Case No. 06-0275
Student v. Board of Education
Appearing on behalf of the Parent: Parent, Pro Se
Appearing on behalf of the Board: Attorney Susan C. Freedman Shipman & Goodwin, LLP One Constitution Plaza Hartford, CT 06103-1919
Appearing before: Attorney Mary H.B. Gelfman Hearing Officer
PROCEDURAL HISTORY:
Case #06-141 was requested on May 30, 2006, and a pre-hearing conference was held on June 7, 2006. The hearing was scheduled for July 11, 2006, and the deadline for mailing the final decision and order was August 13, 2006. The parties engaged in mediation on July 11, requesting that the hearing be postponed to allow for settlement negotiations. That request was granted, and the hearing was rescheduled for September 12, 2006.
A partial settlement was achieved, but Parents then requested a second hearing on September 6, 2006, and asked that the two hearing be consolidated. The hearing officer, in consultation with the hearing officer assigned to the second case (#06-275), agreed to consolidate the two cases and notified the parties of the need for another pre-hearing conference prior to convening the consolidated hearing. The hearing was again postponed. The Board filed a motion for clarification and a motion to contest the sufficiency of the complaint for case #06-275 on September 12, 2006.
On September 26, 2006, the attorney representing the Parents filed a motion to be allowed to withdraw from both cases, because of “irreconcilable differences concerning the management of the cases.” The hearing officer granted this motion, and wrote to the Parents concerning the status of the two cases. She suggested that they could either go forward, Pro se, or engage another attorney, or they could withdraw the requests for hearings and re-file when they were ready. The hearing officer extended the deadline for responding to the Board’s motions to October 25, 2006, to allow time to consider these options. The hearing officer also encouraged another mediation session.
Thus far, there has been no response from Parents.
FINAL DECISION AND ORDER:
Having had no communication from Parents, this matter is DISMISSED without prejudice to the Parents’ right to file for a hearing again at any time.