Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 5 - DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION › Division 20 - Division of Learning Services › Chapter 500 - Office of Adult Learning and Rehabilitation Services › Section 5 CSR 20-500.190 - Due Process Hearing

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This rule establishes the procedures for due
				  process hearings for applicants or eligible individuals dissatisfied with a
				  determination made regarding the provision of services by the Office of Adult
				  Learning and Rehabilitation Services, Department of Elementary and Secondary
				  Education pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, 29 USC section
				  701 et. seq. and the Code of Federal Regulations, 34 CFR section 361.57(e),
				  (f), and (g).
(1) An
				applicant or eligible individual may request a due process hearing without
				informal review or mediation.
(2)
				An applicant or eligible individual may request a due process hearing in
				writing or by personally contacting the vocational rehabilitation (VR) consumer
				affairs office.
(3) The assistant
				commissioner of the Office of Adult Learning and Rehabilitation Services or
				his/her designee will schedule a hearing and assign an impartial hearing
				officer to hear the matter.
(4) A
				hearing will be held within sixty (60) days of the request unless the
				applicant, the eligible individual, or VR requests a specified time
				extension.
(5) A hearing will be
				conducted as a contested case pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 536,
				RSMo.
(6) The applicant or the
				eligible individual, or if appropriate, the individual's guardian or other
				representative of the applicant or the eligible individual will be allowed an
				opportunity to present additional evidence, information, and witnesses during
				the due process hearing.
(7) Copies
				of all correspondence, reports of contact, and written decisions rendered by
				the impartial hearing officer shall be placed in the applicant's or the
				eligible individual's case file.
(8) The impartial hearing officer will make a
				decision, including findings of fact and conclusions of law, based upon the
				provisions of the approved state plan, the federal act and/or applicable
				regulations, and appropriate state law and/or regulations. A written report
				from the impartial hearing officer will be submitted to the applicant or
				eligible client or, if appropriate, the individual's guardian or other
				representative and to the assistant commissioner within thirty (30) days of
				completion of the due process hearing.
(9) Within twenty (20) days of the mailing of
				the impartial hearing officer's written decision, either party may request in
				writing, a review of the written decision by the commissioner of the Department
				of Elementary and Secondary Education (department), or his/her
				designee.
(10) The commissioner or
				designee shall provide an opportunity for submission of additional evidence and
				information relevant to a final decision. The commissioner may not delegate the
				responsibility for reviewing the written decision of the impartial hearing
				officer to any VR staff.
(11) The
				commissioner or designee shall not overturn or modify the impartial hearing
				officer's decision, or part of the decision supporting the position of the
				applicant or eligible individual, unless the reviewing official determines
				based upon clear and convincing evidence that the decision of the impartial
				hearing officer is clearly erroneous on the basis of being contrary to the
				approved state plan, the federal act and/or applicable regulations, or the
				appropriate state law and/or regulations.
(12) The commissioner or designee shall
				provide a written final findings of fact and conclusions of law to the
				applicant or eligible individual or, if appropriate, the applicant's
				representative and VR within thirty (30) days of the request for administrative
				review.
(13) A decision of the
				commissioner or designee constitutes notice of a final decision on the matter
				by the department.
*Original authority: 161.092, RSMo 1963, amended 1973,
					 2002; 178.600, RSMo 1963; 178.610, RSMo 1963; and 178.620, RSMo
					 1963.