June 13, 2022, Update: Transcripts for due process days March 25th, 28th, 29th, and 30th, 2022, were added.
Thank you to two Chesterfield County, Virginia, parents for sharing their due process experiences and associated documents.
You’ll find the hearing transcripts at the end of this article. In the coming weeks, subpoenas, motions, and other documents will be added, providing readers an example of how due process hearings play out record by record.
Here you’ll find the hearing officer’s decision and the transcripts for a two-day due process hearing, which Fauquier County Public Schools (FCPS) filed against the parents of a student who was clinically diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, emotional disability, ADHD, and anxiety, and who at the time of the hearing had an Individualized Education Program (IEP). FCPS filed the due process with the purpose of 1) proving the student isn’t eligible for an IEP and 2) terminating the student’s IEP.
Thank you to everyone who shared and who reached out to me about the recent article “Second Virginia Hearing Officer Rules Reading Program Inappropriate for Student with Dyslexia”.
Today’s article shares more information about how that hearing played out, starting with the opening remarks presented by Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) counsel John Cafferky of Blankingship & Keith.
John presented his opening statements September 30, 2020, the first day of the due process hearing filed against FCPS.
Among other things, the hearing focused on whether the program “Just Words”, which FCPS proposed four school years in a row for the student who was the focus of the hearing, is appropriate for a student who has Dyslexia.
For the second time in about a year, a Virginia Hearing Officer ruled that the program “Just Words” is inappropriate for a student with Dyslexia. In both cases, the due process hearing focused on a student attending Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), in Virginia.
The law firm Blankingship & Keith represented FCPS in both cases, too. Although the first hearing officer ruled “Just Words” to be inappropriate for a student with Dyslexia, FCPS continued to enroll students with Dyslexia in it, and FCPS and Blankingship & Keith continued forward in the second hearing, arguing “Just Words” to be appropriate for a student with Dyslexia.
Due Process Hearings are supposed to be impartial—at least that’s what federal regulations state (See §300.511).
Does the Following Smell Neutral?
Virginia Hearing Officer Morgan Brooke-Devlin worked in a Blankingship & Keith office during a due process hearing for which she was assigned to be the hearing officer.
In addition to its lawyers being bcc’d on e-mails from teachers to students, Blankingship & Keith lawyers, among other things, represent school divisions during due process hearings.
Virginia Hearing Officer Frank Aschmann thought it appropriate to judge the skin color of a parent’s advocate, and include his judgement of his interpretation of her appearance in his due process decision.
Why?
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