James McCaughey

The appellant appealed a 2003 Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) decision regarding her child's special education placement.

Over three years, the hearing was repeatedly delayed and adjourned at the appellant's request.

The school board brought a motion to dismiss the appeal as moot, noting the student was now in their fourth year of secondary school and close to graduation.

The Tribunal granted the motion and dismissed the appeal, finding it was moot due to the numerous delays caused by the appellant and the availability of subsequent annual IPRC reviews.

The appellant parent appealed the special education placement of her child, an eight-year-old student with autism, to the Ontario Special Education (English) Tribunal.

The school board raised a preliminary objection that the issue was moot because the parties had already reached an agreement on the placement (Regular Class with Resource Assistance) following a Special Education Appeal Board recommendation.

The Tribunal found that the parent had already received all the remedies sought in her Notice of Appeal and that there was no actual disagreement between the parties regarding identification or placement.

As the statutory precondition of a disagreement under s. 57(3) of the Education Act was not met, the Tribunal dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

The parent appealed directly to the Special Education Tribunal regarding the identification and placement of her child, bypassing the Special Education Appeal Board.

The school board consented to the Tribunal hearing the appeal despite the procedural defect.

The Tribunal held that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal because the parent had not exhausted all rights of appeal as required by section 57(3) of the Education Act.

The Tribunal declined to assume jurisdiction by consent and recommended mediation or following the statutory appeal process.