(a) Government Code section 11420.10 of the APA does not apply to special education due process hearing procedures because Education Code sections 56500, 56501, 56502, 56503, 56504, 56505, 56506 and 56507 provide for mediation.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a communication made in mediation is protected to the following extent:
(1) Anything said, any admission made, and any document prepared in the course of, or pursuant to, mediation under this article is a confidential communication, and a party to the mediation has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent another from disclosing the communication, whether in an adjudicative proceeding, civil action, or other proceeding. This subdivision does not limit the admissibility of evidence if all parties to the proceedings consent.
(2) No reference to mediation proceedings, the evidence produced, or any other aspect of the mediation may be made in an adjudicative proceeding or civil action, whether as affirmative evidence, by way of impeachment, or for any other purpose.
(3) No mediator or interpreter or other participants are competent to testify in a subsequent administrative or civil proceeding as to any statement, conduct, decision, or order occurring at, or in conjunction with, the mediation.
(c) Evidence otherwise admissible outside of mediation under this section is not inadmissible or protected from disclosure solely by reason of its introduction or use in mediation under this section.
(d) Interim and final agreements in writing that result from mediation are admissible for purposes of enforcement unless the written agreement specifies otherwise.
Authority cited:
Education Code 56100
Reference:
Education Code 56500
Education Code 56501
Education Code 56502
Education Code 56503
Education Code 56504
Education Code 56505
Education Code 56506
Education Code 56507
Government Code 11420.10
20 U.S.C. 1415(b)(2)(c)
34 C.F.R. 300.506
(Amended by Register 2012, No. 39.)