AG obo EA v Morris Hills Regional BOE | Case 05481-22 | 2022-07-21

New Jersey is an Equal Opportunity Employer State of New Jersey OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW AMENDED FINAL DECISION OAL DKT. NO. EDS 05481-22 OAL DKT. NO. 2022-34405 A.G. ON BEHALF OF E.A., Petitioner, v. MORRIS HILLS REGIONAL BOARD OF EDUCATION, Respondent. ___________________________ No Appearance by A.G., petitioner, pro se Nathanya G. Simon, Esq., for respondent (Scarinci & Hollenbeck, attorneys) Record Closed: July 19, 2022 Decided: July 21, 2022 BEFORE SUSANA E. GUERRERO, ALJ: On or around April 5, 2022 , petitioner filed a petition for due process with the Office of Special Education . The Office of Special Education subsequently transmitted the case to the Office of Administrative Law under the Administrative Proced ure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 to -15, and N.J.S.A. 52:14F-1 to -23, for a hearing under the Uniform Administrative Pro cedure Rules, N.J.A.C. 1:1-1.1 to -21.6, and N.J.A.C. 1:6A-1.1 to - 18.5, where it was received on July 1, 2022. In a letter dated July 1, 2022, pet itioner was notified that the case had been transmitted to the O ffice of Administrative Law for a hearing and that a Settlement

OAL DKT. NO. EDS 05481-22 2 Conference had been scheduled for July 13, 2022 , at 1 :00 p.m., via Zoom. The Settlement Conference had been assigned t o th e und ersigned. On July 13, 2022, counsel fo r Morris Hills Regional Board of Education (the District) and a translator retained for the pro se petitioner appeared for the Settlement Confer ence. The petitioner did not appear for the S ettlement Conference. Attempts were made to reach her between 1:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., but she did not respond . She never reached out to this tribunal to explain why she failed to appear. Another email was sent to the petitioner o n July 14, 2022 by th is tribunal informing petitio ner tha t she was required to appear for a rescheduled Sett lement Conference on July 19, 2022 at 3:30 p.m., via Zoom, and that her failure to appear may result in the dismissal of her petition. She never responded to that email and she never appeared for t he Sett lement Conference. T he parties waited until after 4 :00 p.m. for petitioner to appear via Zoom but she failed to do so. To date , petitioner has not contacted this tribunal to explain why she did not appear for the July 13, 2022 or the July 19, 2 022 Settlement Conference and participate in this process . Therefore, this case is DISMISSED without prejudice. This decision is final pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(1)(A) and 34 C.F.R. § 300.514 (2022) and is appealable by filing a complaint an d bringing a civil action either in the Law Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey or in a district court of the United States. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2); 34 C.F.R. § 300.516 (2022). If the parent or adult s tudent feels that this decision is not being fully implem ented with respect to program or services, this concern should be communicated in writing to the Directo r, Office of Special Education. July 21, 2022 DATE SUSANA E. GUERRERO, ALJ Date Received at Agency Date Mailed to Parties: jb