Connecticut Administrative Code › Title 10 - Education and Culture › 76 - Children Requiring Special Education › Section 10-76h - Due process › Section 10-76h-6 - Advisory opinion

Current through July 10, 2024
(a) The department
				may, within its discretion, offer the parties to a due process hearing an
				advisory opinion process.
(b) Any
				party may submit to the due process unit a written request for an advisory
				opinion. In order to commence the advisory opinion process, a request for an
				advisory opinion may be submitted after, or simultaneously with, a request for
				hearing or before, or after, the convening of the prehearing conference, but
				before the hearing convenes. The advisory opinion process is not available
				after the hearing has been convened.
(c) The parties may jointly request an
				advisory opinion. One party may request an advisory opinion simultaneously
				providing a copy of the request to the other party. If the non-requesting party
				agrees to participate in the advisory opinion process, that party shall so
				notify in writing the due process unit and the requesting party within five
				calendar days from the receipt of the request.
(d) As may be necessary, the parties to the
				advisory opinion process shall request a postponement of a prehearing
				conference or of any scheduled hearing date. The hearing officer assigned to
				the full hearing shall reschedule such hearing date and other dates as
				appropriate with the cooperation of the parties. Such rescheduling shall not
				exceed 30 days from the initial full hearing date.
(e) If the parties agree to an advisory
				opinion hearing officer and if such hearing officer is available, the due
				process unit shall appoint such hearing officer. The hearing officer assigned
				to the advisory opinion process by agreement of the parties shall not be the
				hearing officer assigned to the full hearing. If the parties do not agree to an
				advisory opinion hearing officer, the due process unit shall assign an advisory
				opinion hearing officer for the advisory opinion who shall not be the hearing
				officer assigned to the full hearing. The advisory opinion hearing officer
				shall schedule a date consistent with the parties' identified date as indicated
				in the request for the advisory opinion process. The advisory opinion hearing
				officer shall send a notice to the parties confirming the date, time, and
				location of the advisory opinion proceeding as well as a copy of the advisory
				opinion procedure set forth in subsection (f) of this section.
(f) Each party shall exchange copies of
				documents intended to be submitted to the advisory opinion hearing officer and
				the names of no more than two (2) witnesses no later than five (5) calendar
				days prior to the advisory opinion proceeding. Each party shall simultaneously
				provide copies of the same documents and the witnesses' names to the advisory
				opinion hearing officer. If not already provided, the party who requested an
				advisory opinion shall provide a statement of the issues in dispute and a
				proposed resolution of those issues.
(g) The advisory opinion hearing officer
				shall accept only essential and reliable exhibits, which may include the most
				recent IEP, revisions to the IEP, educational evaluations, progress reports,
				transcripts, independent evaluations and teacher narratives.
(h) The parties shall agree in writing, prior
				to the commencement of the advisory opinion proceeding, to abide by the
				following procedures in the advisory opinion proceeding:
(1) The proceedings shall not be recorded or
				transcribed;
(2) In addition to the
				parent, special education director and an attorney or advocate for each party,
				only three (3) additional individuals may attend and/or participate for each
				party;
(3) The process shall not be
				open to the public;
(4) Witness
				presentations, whether in question and answer format or not, shall not be under
				oath;
(5) Unless the advisory
				opinion hearing officer determines otherwise, once the advisory opinion
				proceeding has begun, there shall be no adjournments;
(6) The parties' presentations shall be
				conducted as follows:
(A) The party requesting
				a change in special education or related services shall be allocated 45 minutes
				to present that party's case, and shall present no more than two witnesses. No
				cross-examination or objections shall be permitted during this time.
(B) The responding party shall then be
				allocated 45 minutes to present that party's case, and shall present no more
				than two witnesses. No cross-examination or objections shall be permitted
				during this time.
(C) The
				requesting party shall then have 15 minutes to ask questions of any witness or
				elaborate on any part of that party's case.
(D) The responding party shall then have 15
				minutes to ask questions of any witness or elaborate on any part of that
				party's case.
(E) If both parties
				and the advisory opinion hearing officer agree, the number of witnesses and
				time limits in this subsection may be modified provided the advisory opinion
				process is completed in one day.
(7) The advisory opinion hearing officer may
				ask questions of any witness at any time; time consumed in responding to the
				hearing officer questions shall not extend a party's allocated 45 minute and
				15-minute presentation periods.
(8)
				The advisory opinion hearing officer shall render an oral advisory opinion
				within 30 minutes of the close of presentations. The advisory opinion hearing
				officer need not respond to questions concerning such advisory
				opinion.
(9) After rendering an
				advisory opinion, an advisory opinion hearing officer may facilitate settlement
				discussions.
(10) The rendering of
				any advisory opinion shall have no effect on a party's right to proceed to a
				full due process hearing, nor on the outcome of any due process hearing, and
				the advisory opinion shall be confidential and shall not be admissible in any
				due process hearing.
(11) An
				advisory opinion hearing officer shall not be a witness in any subsequent due
				process hearing involving the issues raised in the advisory opinion process and
				shall be precluded from serving as a hearing officer in any later hearing
				involving issues raised in the advisory opinion process.