Blank forms for requesting mediation-only or for requesting a due process hearing are available at www.oah.dgs.ca.gov. Click on Special Education Division. Click on Forms. Click on Mediation and Due Process Hearing, if you are asking for a due process hearing, or click on Mediation, if you are only requesting Mediation. You may also phone the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) for forms at (916) 263-0880. FAX: (916) 376-6319.
Another important form on the OAH website is the “Continuance” form, which you would use if you need more time and want to try to postpone the date of a Hearing or Mediation. On the OAH website, under Special Education Division, you may also wish to click on and review OAH’s “Understanding Special Education Due Process Hearings”. The OAH forms for requesting a Due Process Hearing or Mediation are preceded by informational pages which provide other useful information about these proceedings and about the information needed on the forms as well as a summary of the key federal laws regarding these proceedings (See Appendix N.)
So that your request for a Due Process Hearing, Mediation, or a continuance of a scheduled Hearing or Mediation are processed most efficiently, it is probably best to use one of OAH’s forms. Appendices K through M are designed to assist you in preparing the necessary information to fill out and potentially add to the OAH forms.