NYSED redacts decisions, and its source files vary in quality. Gaps and text errors are original to the NYSED documents.
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
__________________________________________ In the Matter of __ and __ on behalf of __,
Petitioners, Findings of Fact and and Decision _______ School District, No. ______ Respondent. __________________________________________
This case was brought before me upon my designation as impartial hearing officer to hear this matter, pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 29 U.S.C. §1415(f)(1) and Part 200 of the Regulations of the New York State Commissioner of Education.
___________(__) is a __-year-old student resident of the ___________ School District (_______, school district, or district). In 2014, __ was classified as __________ recommended for _________________ placed at ____________ schol. parents _______________ sought to have __ placed in ___________ and brought the instant hearing, claiming the district’s actions were in violation of IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and “related federal and state laws and regulations.” Ex.[1].
Both Petitioners and Respondent school district were represented by counsel. The district was represented by _________________. The parents were represented by ______________.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
The parents filed a due process complaint notice, dated ____________; the district entered a response __________. Exs. 1, 2. Following an initial prehearing conference with the p__ties, dated September 9, 2014, the __________ submitted briefs concerning the parent motion to exclude testimony, dated _______________. IHO Exs. IV, V.
Three days of hearing were held in the _______ School District. Hearings were conducted on _____________________. Requests for extensions of time were granted in this case, and entered in the record as IHO Ex. III. The parties submitted post-hearing briefs on _________ and following a request for time to submit brief reply briefs, the record closed upon receipt of reply briefs and accompanying materials on __________. IHO Exs. VI, VII, VIII, IX.
The argument in this case was undertaken by the parents’ ________________________ At the time of the hearing request and hearing, __ was _________________. Alternatively, the parent argued that ___________________. The school district argued that __ was receiving an appropriate education _______________.
A Note on Terminology. The terms ___________ refer to _________. placement.
FINDINGS OF FACT
__’s In the 2013-2014 school year, __ attended ________.
The class ____________
She could follow ____________. She had _____________ at times _____________. She had ___________. She demonstrated _______________.
Testing and observation. On ___________ assessments __________.
An observation was conducted _____________.
CSE meeting, _______________. The district never recommended __________. was rejected by the CSE _______________. the recommendation was made for _________. The -2- district has ________________.
The parents rejected _______________.
Evaluation by Dr. _______.
CSE meeting, At a _________ CSE meeting ________recommended by the CSE.
Evaluations of Dr. _______ and Dr. _______. The report from Dr. _______ revealed ________________. Dr. _______ conducted __________. The report by Dr. _______, __’s addressed ____________.
CSE meeting, ________ The committee reviewed ___________. Dr. _______’s report included a recommendation for ___________. The district offered ___________.
The discussion at the meeting was about ___________. were rejected, as _____________. The CSE recommended _______________.
__’s The _____ class __________________.
Discussion
Much of the discussion ______________ legal argument that ____________.
___ belief was in the ________________. Several witnesses noted ____________________. 416.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
The dispute over _____________ in this case is basically one of ____________. As articulated in the parents’ due process complaint notice, the parents’ _______________. the decision _______ requires consideration of the claims that _____________________. .
___________________ -3-
I find that the district ____________________
It was undisputed that the district _____________. Testing and evaluations supported _________________.
In fact, there was no dispute that _____________.
The benefits of ___________ detailed in testimony of __________.
______________________________
The parents’ claim presented the position that ______________. While it was undisputed that ___________________, there was no credible evidence offered concerning ________________.
In arguing that the child _______________. The evidence was undisputed that _______________________.
___________ misreads state regulations concerning _______________.
I do not find evidence to support _____________________.
______________________
The parallel question raised by the parents’ complaint is ________________________. For purposes of appeal _________________ the legal arguments _______________ concerning the application of _______________.
___________ held that in determining ________________
The question of ______________ received further consideration in ___________. Although the __________ argues that _____________ the reasoning is not persuasive. The parents’ due process complaint _______________ I discount the _________ argument that ______________ Under the standard of ________________ ; the same ruling applies to __. -4- ________________________________________
The ___________ attributed great importance ________________ to ________________. The district _____________
The ________ misreads the federal regulation regardding ___________. The exact language of the regulation governing ________________ The question is not whether _______________.
There is also no legal ______________ Several federal courts have held that ________________. the law is well settled that
Additional claims
To the extent ___________ include a demand that __________ the claims are denied ________________. I note in addition that there was no request __________.
__________________________
Finally, the parents claim violation of _______________________ and _______________________. authority to decide a complaint _________________ As ____________________ the claims are hereby dismissed.
DECISION AND ORDER
Petitioners’ claims and application for relief concerning ________________ for the 2014-2015 school year are denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Date:
_____________________________ Nancy M. Lederman
Impartial Hearing Officer
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE
Within 35 days of the date of this decision, the parent and/or the Bo__d of Education has a right to appeal the decision to the State Review Officer of the New York State Education Dep__tment under Section 4404 of the Education Law and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
If the parent plans to appeal the decision, the notice of intention to seek review shall be served upon the school district not less than 10 days before service of a copy of the petition for review upon such school district, and within 25 days from the date of the decision sought to be reviewed so that a certified copy of the hearing record may be prep__ed for submission by the school district. Failure to file the notice of intention to seek review is a waiver of the right to appeal the decision.
If the school district plans to appeal the decision, the district shall file a certified copy of the hearing record together with its petition.
The petition for review shall be served upon the opposing p__ty within 35 days from the date of the decision sought to be reviewed. If the decision has been served by mail upon petitioner, the date of mailing and the four days subsequent thereto shall be excluded in computing the 25- or 35-day period. (8 NYCRR §279.2[b])
The rules of procedure for proceedings before a State Review Officer __e found in P__t 279 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education available at http://www.sro.nysed.gov/p__t279home.html.
APPENDIX A
WITNESSES
District witnesses ___________ teacher, _______ School District ___________ teacher, __________ ___________ teacher, _______ School District ___________ teacher, _______ School District ___________ Director Special Education & Support Services, _______ School District Parent witnesses _________, __’s parent ________________,
APPENDIX B
EXHIBITS
District Exhibits * 1 Due Process Complaint, ______ 6 pages 2 District Response, ______ 6 pages 3 IEP ______ 19 pages 4 __________________________ evaluation, ______ 14 pages 5 ______ Report, ______ 14 pages 6 Progress Report ______ 18 pages 7 IEP ______ 15 pages 8 Letter, ______ 2 pages 9 E-mail, ______ with ______ _______, 26 pages 10 ______ _______, 2 pages 11 ______ _______, 9 pages 12 CV, ______ undated, 4 pages 13 IEP ______ 18 pages 14 Prior Written Notice ______ 2 pages 15 Prior Written Notice, ______ 3 pages 16 Prior Written Notice, ______ 6 pages 17 E-mail, ______ 2 pages 18 E-mails, ______ 3 pages 19 E-mails, ______ 2 pages 20 __’s Daily ______ 35 pages 22 Class Schedule, undated, 1 page -8- 23 ______ 5 pages * There was no Exhibit 21 entered into evidence. Parent Exhibits ** A Progress Report ______ 14 pages B Documentation for ______ 6 pages D Prior Written Notice, ______ 2, pages E CV, ______ undated, 30 pages F Letter, ______ 1 page ** There was no Exhibit C entered into evidence. Joint Exhibits
Footnotes
[1] Stipulation, ______ 7 pages IHO Exhibits I Pre-hearing conference summary, ______ 1 page II Subpoenas, ______ 2 pages III Extensions decisions, IHO Lederman, ______ 3 pages IV Letter Brief, ______ 3 pages V Letter Brief, ______ 6 pages VI Post-Hearing Brief, ______ 30 pages VII Post-Hearing Brief, ______ 2 pages VIII Reply Brief, ______ 2 pages IX Reply Brief, ______ 2 pages -9-