Section 1415 (f) (3)
(3) Limitations on hearing
- A hearing officer conducting a hearing pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) shall, at a minimum—
- (i) not be—
- (I) an employee of the State educational agency or the local educational agency involved in the education or care of the child; or
- (II) a person having a personal or professional interest that conflicts with the person’s objectivity in the hearing;
- (ii) possess knowledge of, and the ability to understand, the provisions of this chapter, Federal and State regulations pertaining to this chapter, and legal interpretations of this chapter by Federal and State courts;
- (iii) possess the knowledge and ability to conduct hearings in accordance with appropriate, standard legal practice; and
- (iv) possess the knowledge and ability to render and write decisions in accordance with appropriate, standard legal practice.
- The party requesting the due process hearing shall not be allowed to raise issues at the due process hearing that were not raised in the notice filed under subsection (b)(7), unless the other party agrees otherwise.
- A parent or agency shall request an impartial due process hearing within 2 years of the date the parent or agency knew or should have known about the alleged action that forms the basis of the complaint, or, if the State has an explicit time limitation for requesting such a hearing under this subchapter, in such time as the State law allows.
- The timeline described in subparagraph (C) shall not apply to a parent if the parent was prevented from requesting the hearing due to—
- (i) specific misrepresentations by the local educational agency that it had resolved the problem forming the basis of the complaint; or
- (ii) the local educational agency’s withholding of information from the parent that was required under this subchapter to be provided to the parent.
- Subject to clause (ii), a decision made by a hearing officer shall be made on substantive grounds based on a determination of whether the child received a free appropriate public education.
- In matters alleging a procedural violation, a hearing officer may find that a child did not receive a free appropriate public education only if the procedural inadequacies—
- (I) impeded the child’s right to a free appropriate public education;
- (II) significantly impeded the parents’ opportunity to participate in the decisionmaking process regarding the provision of a free appropriate public education to the parents’ child; or
- (III) caused a deprivation of educational benefits.
- Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to preclude a hearing officer from ordering a local educational agency to comply with procedural requirements under this section.
- Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to affect the right of a parent to file a complaint with the State educational agency.
(A) Person conducting hearing
(B) Subject matter of hearing
(C) Timeline for requesting hearing
(D) Exceptions to the timeline
(E) Decision of hearing officer
(i) In general
(ii) Procedural issues
(iii) Rule of construction
(F) Rule of construction
Severe Discrepancy
Last modified on November 7, 2019