In 2005, Long Beach Unified denied access to a private evaluator to observe a proposed placement for a student with Autism. Bonnie Z. Yates took the matter before the California Court of Appeals and won the seminal and often cited Benjamin G. case, that established the right of experts to observe prior to a due process hearing.
Almost 14 years later, Long Beach Unified once again denied our client’s functional behavior evaluator the right to observe a Student with Autism prior to a due process hearing. Yesterday, the Law Offices of Hirji & Chau, LLP obtained an order from the Office of Administrative Hearings compelling Long Beach Unified to permit the observation, relying on the Benjamin G. case.