STATE OF CONNECTICUT
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Student v. Stamford Board of Education - CT SDE Case No. 20-0451
Case No. 20-0451
Student v. Stamford Board of Education [1]
Appearing on behalf of Student: Attorney Piper Paul Piper Paul Law LLC 1465 Post Road East, #100 Westport, CT 06880
Appearing on behalf of the Board of Education: Attorney Marsha Moses Berchem Moses, P.C. 75 Broad Street Milford, CT 06460
Appearing before: Janis C. Jerman Hearing Officer
A special education hearing in the above-captioned matter was requested by Student’s Attorney via letter dated May 26, 2020.[2] The Board of Education (“BOE”) received the request for hearing on May 27. On May 28, Student’s Attorney filed an amended request for hearing, which was received by BOE on June 8. The case timelines reset based on the filling of the amended complaint. The 30-day resolution period ended on July 8 and the original 45-day deadline to mail the final decision and order was August 22. A telephonic pre-hearing conference was held on June 8. Attorney Paul appeared on behalf of Student and Attorney Moses appeared on behalf of BOE. At the pre-hearing conference, BOE’s Attorney objected to the proposed issue regarding placement in a therapeutic residential program. After considering the parties’ positions on this issue, the following issues were identified for hearing:
1. Did the Board of Education provide Student with a free appropriate public education during the period May 27, 2018 through the end of the 2017-18 school year?
2. Did the Board of Education provide Student with a free appropriate public education during the 2018-19 school year?
3. Did the Board of Education provide Student with a free appropriate public education during the 2019-20 school year?
4. Did the Board of Education offer Student a free appropriate public education for the 2020-21 school year?
5. Should the Board of Education be required to pay for an educational consultant to determine whether Student requires a residential placement and, if so, to recommend an appropriate residential placement?
6. Should the Board of Education be required to reimburse Student’s Parents for Student’s educational and therapeutic costs that are not covered by insurance?
7. If the answer to any one of the Issues One through Four above is in the negative, what shall be the remedy?
On July 14, BOE’s Attorney filed a Motion to Dismiss Issue 5. Student’s Attorney filed a Response to Motion to Dismiss on July 20. The Motion to Dismiss was denied on July 20. Hearings were scheduled for July 21 and July 28, to be held via video-conference in light of school facilities being closed due to Coronavirus Pandemic regulations. The hearing convened via video-conference on July 21, 3 at which Student’s Attorney made an opening argument and Student’s Mother testified on direct and cross-examination. On July 27, Student’s Attorney requested that the July 28 hearing be cancelled due to her illness. The request was granted. On August 7, Student’s Attorney requested a 30-day extension of the deadline to mail the final decision and order to accommodate scheduling hearing dates on August 19 and August 25. After fully considering the positions of the parties, the request was granted, the deadline to mail the final decision and order was extended to September 21, and hearings were scheduled for August 19 and August 25. On August 12, the parties requested that the August 19 hearing be postponed. The request granted. On August 20, Student’s Attorney indicated that the parties were progressing with settlement discussions and requested that the August 25 hearing be postponed. The request was granted and additional hearings were scheduled for September 2 and September 9. On August 29, Student’s Attorney indicated that the parties were very close to reaching a settlement agreement and requested that the September 2 and September 9 hearings be postponed. The hearings were rescheduled for September 14 and September 15. On September 10, Student’s Attorney indicated that the parties had reached a settlement agreement and withdrew the matter with prejudice.
The above-captioned case is dismissed with prejudice.
APPENDIX A: EXHIBITS
Hearing Officer Exhibits are cited as “HO#”; Student’s Exhibits as “S#”; and BOE’s Exhibits as “B#.”
Exhibit Date Description # Pages
HO1 5/26/20 Request for Impartial Special Education Hearing 29
HO2 5/28/20 Amended Request for Impartial Special Education Hearing 29
B1 9/30/14 PPT/IEP [3]
B2 9/30/14 Notice and Consent to Conduct Reevaluation 2
B3 1/26/15 Yale University Child Neuroscience Laboratory Research 7 Project
B4 2/6/15 PPT Notice 2
B5 2/23/15 PPT/IEP 6
B6 2/25/15 Email correspondence 2
B7 3/10/15 PPT/IEP Notice 2
B8 3/16/15 School-Based Occupational Therapy Evaluation 6
B9 3/23/15 Speech and Language Report of Evaluation 4
B10 3/23/15 Psychological Evaluation 6
B11 3/23/15 Functional Behavior Assessment Behavior Intervention Plan 2
B12 3/23/15 PPT/IEP 30
B13 11/5/15 PPT Notice 2
B14 12/7/15 PPT/IEP 28
B15 2/23/16 PPT Notice 1
B16 3/14/16 PPT/IEP 31
B17 9/20/16 PPT Notice 1
B18 9/21/16 Notice and Consent to Conduct a Reevaluation 1
B19 10/14/16 PPT Notice 1
B20 9/20/16 Confidential Psychological Evaluation 9
B21 10/28/16 PPT/IEP 31
B22 3/3/17 PPT Notice 1
B23 3/3/17 Progress Report for IEP Goals and Objectives 2016-17 12
B24 3/24/17 PPT/IEP and Notice and Consent to Conduct a Reevaluation 34
B25 6/14/17 PPT Notice 1
B26 6/19/17 PPT/IEP 30
B27 6/19/17 Notice and Consent to Conduct a Reevaluation 1
B28 Summer Teacher Reports 11
B29 9/1/17 PPT/IEP and Agreement to Change an Individualized 6 Education Program Without Convening a Planning and Placement Team Meeting
B30 10/18/17 Behavioral Observation Report 2
B31 11/28/17 PPT/IEP and Notice and Consent to Conduct a Reevaluation 30
B32 12/7/17 Yale Child Study Developmental Disabilities Clinic 18 Evaluation Summary
B33 1/9/18 PPT Notice 2
B34 1/29/18 Educational Evaluative Report Final 6
B35 1/31/18 Speech and Language Report of Evaluation 3
B36 2/2/18 PPT Notice 2
B37 2/9/18 PPT/IEP and Assistive Technology Referral Form 41
B38 2/26/18 PPT Notice 1
B39 2/28/18 PPT/IEP and Request for Signature/An In District Placement 35
B40 4/19/18 PPT Notice 1
B41 9/6/18 PPT/IEP and Agreement to Change an Individualized 36 Education Program Without Convening a Planning and Placement Team Meeting
B42 9/7/18 Consent for Release Exchange of Information 1
B43 9/9/18 Four Winds Report 22
B44 11/30/18 PPT Notice 1
B45 12/19/18 PPT Notice 1
B46 1/4/19 Consent for Release Exchange of Information 1
B47 1/24/19 Consent for Release Exchange of Information 2
B48 2/1/19 PPT Notice 1
B49 2/5/19 PPT/IEP 29
B50 2/8/19 PPT Notice 1
B51 2/14/19 Safety plan 2
B52 2/20/19 Progress Report for IEP Goals and Objectives 14
B53 2/22/19 PPT Notice 2
B54 3/5/19 PPT/IEP 26
B55 3/13/19 Yale Child Center Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic for Children 4 – Psychiatric Evaluation
B56 8/12/19 PPT Notice 1
B57 8/19/19 PPT/IEP 30
B58 8/19/19 Consent for Release Exchange of Information 1
B59 8/19/19 Report of Psychological Evaluation 4
B60 8/29/19 Occupational Therapy Progress Notes 2
B61 9/13/19 PPT Notice 2
B62 9/19/19 PPT Notice 2
B63 10/3/19 Westchester Medical Center Memorandum 9
B64 10/15/19 PPT/IEP 33
B65 10/17/19 PPT/IEP 34
B66 10/23/19 Letter from New England Pediatrics 1
B67 10/26/19- Reports from Yale New Haven 15 11/6/19
B68 11/18/19 PPT Notice 2
B69 11/21/19 PPT/IEP 34
B70 12/12/19 PPT Notice 2
B71 8/29/19- Attendance List View – Daily 2 1/3/20
B72 12/12/19 PPT Notice 2
B73 1/2/20 PPT/IEP 37
B74 1/28/20 PPT Notice 1
B75 2/5/20 Applied Behavioral Strategies Observation Summary and 11 Recommendations
B76 2/6/20 PPT/IEP 34
B77 4/28/20 PPT Notice 2
B78 5/5/20 PPT/IEP 36
B79 2016-2020 Reading Progress Reports 8
B80 8/29/16- Progress to College and Career Report – Reading 2 6/30/20 Comprehension Report
B81 Email correspondence 38
Footnotes
[1] In order to comply with the confidentiality requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g (“FERPA”) and related regulations at 34 CFR § 99, this decision uses “Student,” “Parents,” and titles of certain school staff members and witnesses in place of names and other personally-identifiable information.
[2] All dates are 2020 unless otherwise indicated.
[3] See Appendix A for a list of exhibits that were admitted as full exhibits.