January 2007 – Case opened
September 2007 – Settlement agreement reached
Case Closed

For several months, J.O., a hard-of-hearing middle school student, was denied the sign-language interpreter services specified in his individual education plan under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Hoping to swiftly resolve the matter, YELP student Peter Khalil (’07) attempted to negotiate with the school district to secure an appropriate interpreter. When that effort proved fruitless, Peter filed a complaint with the California Department of Education. That complaint prompted the District to negotiate with YELP and resulted in a favorable settlement of the matter that included the hiring of a sign-language interpreter (as well as provision for service providers in the interpreter’s absence) and nearly $15,000 in compensatory education services for J.O.