Connecticut Administrative Code › Title 10 - Education and Culture › 76 - Children Requiring Special Education › Section 10-76h - Due process › Section 10-76h-7 - Appointment of hearing officer. Scheduling of prehearing conference and hearing dates

Current through July 10, 2024
(a) Upon receipt of
				a written request for a hearing, the due process unit shall appoint an
				impartial hearing officer. The due process unit shall, in writing, notify both
				parties and the hearing officer of the appointment.
(b) Upon appointment, the hearing officer
				shall contact the parties and schedule a prehearing conference. A prehearing
				conference shall be held in every case, except as provided in sections
				10-76h-6 and
				10-76h-10 of
				the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, on the date scheduled and shall
				be conducted via telephone only. The prehearing conference shall simplify or
				clarify the issues in dispute. If a party fails to participate in a prehearing
				conference, the hearing officer may proceed with the conference. At the
				prehearing conference the hearing officer may also establish dates for the
				completion of each party's evidence as well as review the possibility of
				settlement of the case. The hearing officer shall not, however, participate in
				substantive settlement discussions. The hearing officer shall schedule hearing
				dates, organize the submission of exhibits, identify witnesses and address such
				other administrative matters as the hearing officer deems necessary to complete
				a timely hearing. The hearing officer may assist an unrepresented party by
				providing information relating only to the hearing process.
(c) The hearing officer shall schedule the
				hearing at a place reasonably convenient to the parent as determined by the
				hearing officer. The hearing officer may schedule consecutive days of hearing
				to expedite the process. The parties shall identify to the hearing officer how
				long it will take them to put their case on by identifying the number and
				expected testimony of witnesses. The hearing officer shall have the sole
				discretion to determine the length of the hearing, including the number of
				witnesses to testify and the length of testimony and cross-examination, taking
				into consideration the issues presented and the need to complete the hearing in
				a timely fashion. The hearing, including the mailing of the final decision and
				order, shall be completed within the forty-five day timeline established in
				Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
				20 USC
				1400, et.seq., and the regulation adopted
				thereunder, as amended from time to time; and the hearing officer, in
				scheduling hearing dates, shall also set the date of such mailing. A specific
				extension of the forty-five day timeline may be granted by the hearing officer
				at the request of a party to the hearing only in accordance with the provisions
				of section
				10-76h-9
				of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, except as provided in section
				10-76h-10 of
				the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, and any order granting such an
				extension shall set a new mailing date.