An administrative law hearing concerning a Northport Public School student's education plan will continue today and could go well into next week.

The hearing started Tuesday morning with both sides disputing each other’s exhibits. Jeff Butler, a lawyer with the firm of LaPointe and Butler, P.C., of Okemos who is representing the school district, declined to comment on the record about the disputes. The family’s attorney, John Brower, also declined to comment on the day’s proceedings.

Administrative law judge Lauren J. Harkness adjourned the hearing Tuesday afternoon so both sides could try to resolve the issues. The hearing was scheduled to reconvene yesterday at 9 a.m., with the first witnesses for the parents, the student’s mother and Northport superintendent Tyrus Wessell slated to take the stand.

The issue over which exhibits are accurate and will be allowed to be presented during the due process hearing has been contentious.

At the Northport Board of Education special meeting Monday, Wessell said there are 600 exhibits scheduled to be presented by both sides. “There are 45 witnesses scheduled to appear as well,” he said while emphasizing the amount of testimony and evidence that could be presented.

The case involves the parents of the Northport student who have taken issue not only with the Individual Education Plan (IEP) that the Northport district and Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District put together for the child, but also the entire assessment process for special needs students.

In October, Wessell presented the Northport board with a synopsis of how the hearing could proceed. While the primary complaint centers on the IEP for the student, the parents also took issue with the kind of assessment testing the student was to take. The IEP recommended the student take the alternative assessment test, called the Michigan Access, instead of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP).

According to the synopsis presented by Wessell last month, the parents asked that the student be allowed to take the MEAP with some accommodations. The district and intermediate school district’s staff agreed and developed proposed accommodations, including not having the student’s MEAP results be considered as part of the district’s overall MEAP results. The parents did not agree to the concession, however.

Ten days prior to the start of a due process hearing, the parties are encouraged to try and reach a settlement outside of the hearing. Wessell said no settlement was offered by either side prior to the start of the hearing Tuesday morning.