Court Opinion

ID: 9720289
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 08:24:19.210444+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:15.402536
License: Public Domain

RUCKER, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from that portion of the majority opinion which concludes that the Danielses were the prevailing parties at the due process hearing. At the conclusion of the May 20, 1992 case conference, the committee recommended the following services to the Danielses on Christopher’s behalf: “Special Preschool two days per week, O.V.O. Headstart two days per week, O.T./P.T., speech services, and transportation.” R. at 816.4 Unwilling to accept the committee’s recommendation the Danielses sought and obtained a due process hearing. Apparently the Danielses objected to the Head Start program and felt that the school should pay for transportation to and from Pope John, a regular preschool. After considering the evidence the hearing officer entered the following order: “[t]he dual placement in the special education preschool and the Head Start program is appropriate. The school will bear the costs of the program and related services.” R. at 503. As I see it the only difference between the remedy afforded the Danielses by the case conference committee and the remedy afforded them by the hearing officer was the hearing officer’s explicit pronouncement that the school district would pay the costs of the Head Start program. However, this is a non-issue because the Danielses never had to pay for the program in the first place. The record shows that the “O.V.O. Headstart program is made possible through federal grants and its services are provided at no cost to the students enrolled in that program.” R. at 144 (Affidavit of Director of the Madison Area Special Services Unit). Further, the record also shows that during a May 29, 1992 case conference the committee informed Mr. Daniels that the Head Start program as well as all other services which the committee was recommending would be provided at no expense to the Danielses. R. at 142 (Affidavit of the Supervisor of Special Education).
I cannot agree with the majority’s view that conflicting evidence presented by the school at the due process hearing is disposi-tive in this case. The question here is whether the Danielses succeeded on any significant issue in litigation, thereby achieving some of the benefit they sought in pursing the due process action. See Kellogg v. City of Gary, 562 N.E.2d 685, 714 (Ind.1990). In my opinion the answer is no. Apparently the Danielses’ request for a due process hearing was motivated by their objection to Head Start. The Danielses wanted to send Christopher to a private preschool paid for by the school corporation. The School rejected this claim as did the hearing officer. Ultimately the Danielses received the same remedy from the hearing officer as they received from the case conference committee. Under the circumstances they cannot be considered prevailing parties. I therefore dissent and would reverse the trial court on this issue. In all other respects I concur with the majority.

. The record shows that "O.V.O. Headstart" refers to the Ohio Valley Opportunity Headstart program, and O.T./P.T. refers to occupational and physical therapy.