New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 8 - HEALTH › Chapter 17 - EARLY INTERVENTION SYSTEM › Subchapter 13 - PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS › Section 8:17-13.9 - Procedural Safeguards Office responsibilities in impartial due process hearing procedure

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) The Procedural Safeguards Office shall:
1. Date-stamp each request for an impartial due
				process hearing immediately upon receipt;
2. Maintain a log of all requests for impartial
				due process hearings (impartial due process hearing log) that shall consist of:
i. The request number;
ii. The date the Procedural Safeguards Office
				receives the request;
iii. The name of
				the requester; and
iv. The completion
				date of each step in the process;
3. Create a file containing all documents related
				to the hearing;
4. Acknowledge receipt
				of the request;
5. Administer any
				mediation request in accordance with the procedures for mediation established in
				this subchapter, if requested by both parties;
6. Within one business day of its receipt of the
				request, transmit the case in accordance with
				N.J.A.C.
				1:1-8.2 to the Office of Administrative Law
				pursuant to (b) below;
7. Notify the
				parent in writing:
i. Of the availability of, and
				procedure to request mediation;
ii. Of
				the parent's right to be accompanied and advised by legal counsel and by individuals
				with special knowledge or training with respect to early intervention services for
				children and may be accompanied by other persons of their choices;
iii. That the parent has the right to inspect and
				review the child's early intervention record without unnecessary delay and before
				the hearing, and has the right to request copies of these records and that fees may
				be charged for copies of records if the fees do not prevent the parent from
				exercising the parent's right to inspect and review these records, and that fees may
				not be charged to search for or to retrieve records;
iv. Of the right to have an interpreter or
				translator to the maximum extent possible; and
v. Of legal services and advocacy organizations
				available to assist the parent in the impartial due process hearing
				process;
8. Notify the
				parties in writing of the following, which are subject to the Administrative
				Procedure Act,
				52:14B-1 et seq. and 14F-1
				et seq., the Uniform Administrative Procedure Rules, N.J.A.C. 1:1, and the Special
				Rules for Special Education Program, N.J.A.C. 1:6A, except that the following rules
				shall not apply:
				1:6A-1.1(b),
				4.1, 5.1(a), 12.1, 13.1, 14.2, 14.4, 18.1, and 18.2(b); provided that the term
				"Procedural Safeguards Office" shall be substituted for "Special Education Program
				of the Department of Education" and "Department of Education" and "N.J.A.C. 8:17"
				shall replace references to "N.J.A.C. 6A:14" in those provisions of N.J.A.C. 1:6A,
				which are incorporated by reference.
i. That they
				have the right to obtain written findings of fact and decisions within 30
				calendar-days of the receipt of the request for the hearing;
ii. The child must continue to receive the
				appropriate early intervention services being provided at the time that the request
				for impartial due process hearing is filed pending the decision of the
				administrative law judge and any appeal of such decision, unless the parent and
				provider agency otherwise agree, and provided that if the hearing involves an
				application for initial services pursuant to Part C of IDEA, the child shall
				continue to receive those services that are not in dispute; and
iii. That any individual representing the parent,
				including counsel, has the right to review, inspect and request copies of the
				child's records with the written consent of the parent; and
9. As necessary, ensure the availability and
				provision of the services of a qualified interpreter of the deaf and/or, to the
				maximum extent possible, an interpreter fluent in the primary language of the
				parents of the child at all stages of the hearing.