Pennsylvania
Special Education Hearing Officer
FINAL DECISION AND ORDER
Student’s Name: EW
Date of Birth: [redacted]
ODR No. 15392-1415KE
CLOSED HEARING
Parties to the Hearing: Parent[s]
Abington School District 970 Highland Avenue Abington, PA 19001
Representative:
Deborah G. Delauro, Esq. P.O. Box 321
Haverford, PA 19041
Claudia L. Huot, Esq.
Wisler Pearlstein, LLP
460 Norristown Road, Suite 110 Blue Bell, PA 19422
Dates of Hearing: 10/15/2014, 12/03/2014, 12/04/2014, 01/16/2015, 01/20/2014, 01/29/2015, 02/24/2015, 03/02/2015
Record Closed: 03/25/2015
Date of Decision: 04/13/2015
Hearing Officer: Brian Jason Ford
Introduction
Petitioners (Father) and (Mother), collectively “Parents,” requested this special education due process hearing against respondent Abington School District (District) on behalf of their child, (Student).1
This matter arises under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), 34 C.F.R. Part 104.4. Both parties agree that the Student, who has an anxiety disorder, is a “student with a disability” as defined by the IDEA. The Parents claim that the District denied the Student a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in a number of ways. Specifically, the Parents claim that the District failed to timely identify the Student as a student with a disability, and that the District failed to provide appropriate programing for the Student after the Student was identified. The Parents further claim that evaluations conducted by the District were not appropriate, and they seek reimbursement for evaluations that they obtained. Finally, the Parents have enrolled the Student in a private school, and seek tuition reimbursement.
Issues and Remedies
- Did the District violate the IDEA’s Child Find rules by failing to identify the Student as a student with a disability prior to May of 2013?
- Did the District violate its obligation to provide a FAPE to the Student from September 15, 2012 through the end of the 2013-14 school year?
- If the District violated the Child Find rules or failed to provide a FAPE, is the Student owed compensatory education, and if so, how much?
- Are the Parents owed tuition reimbursement for the 2014-15 school year?
- Are the Parents owed reimbursement for an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE)?