New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 6 - PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION › Chapter 68 - SCHOOL PERSONNEL - DENIAL, SUSPENSION, AND REVOCATION OF LICENSE › Part 3 - SUSPENSION, REVOCATION OR OTHER DISCIPLINARY ACTION REGARDING A LICENSE HELD BY A LICENSED SCHOOL INDIVIDUAL › Section 6.68.3.9 - PREHEARING PROCEDURES

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A. Filing
				of request for hearing: A licensee shall initiate a request for hearing by
				filing a timely, written request for hearing with the department, by delivery
				of such request to the office of the secretary of the department in Santa Fe,
				New Mexico. Such request must be sent by certified mail,
				return-receipt-requested within twenty (20) days after service of the notice on
				the licensee.
B. If a hearing is
				requested, the department, within twenty (20) days of receipt of the request,
				shall notify the licensee of the time and place of the hearing, the name,
				address and telephone number of the person who shall conduct the hearing for
				the department and the statutes and regulations authorizing the department to
				take the contemplated action, which hearing shall be held not more than sixty
				(60) nor less than fifteen (15) days from the date of service of said
				notice.
C. Failure to request a
				hearing: If the licensee does not make a timely written request for a hearing,
				the department may take the action contemplated in the notice and such action
				shall be final.
D. Appointment of a
				hearing officer
(1) All hearings may be
				conducted by a hearing officer who shall be a duly licensed New Mexico
				attorney, excluding any attorney then employed by the office of general counsel
				of the department. Upon receipt of the request for a hearing, the director of
				the ethics bureau or the licensure bureau shall appoint the hearing officer.
				Any hearing officer appointed to serve on a case shall at all times be held to
				the same ethical standards of impartiality that are set forth in Section
				21-300(B) of the New Mexico code of judicial conduct. The hearing officer may
				issue a pre-hearing order limited to: setting deadlines for the exchange of
				documents intended to be introduced; setting deadlines for the exchange of a
				list of the name, address and telephone number of each witness a party intends
				to call during the hearing; ordering the licensee to have his/her attorney, if
				any, file within thirty (30) days a written notice of appearance with the
				hearing officer with a copy to opposing party; and cautioning the parties of
				their need to comply with Subsection G of 6.68.3.9 NMAC below. If either party
				requests a pre-hearing conference with the hearing officer, such conference
				shall be scheduled by the hearing officer and be held telephonically unless
				both parties agree to meet in person.
(2) The hearing officer shall have the power:
(a) to have counsel to develop the case; to
				administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses called to testify; to take
				testimony; to examine witnesses; and to direct a continuance of any case;
				hearing officers may also hold conferences before or during the hearing for the
				settlement or simplification of the issues but such settlement or
				simplification shall only be with the consent of the licensee;
(b) to hear pre-hearing motions: the hearing
				officer shall issue a written order with a copy to both parties on any
				pre-hearing motion filed by a party;
(c) to subpoena, for purposes of discovery
				and of the hearing, witnesses and relevant books, papers, documents and other
				evidence in compliance with Rule 1-045A to D of the rules of civil procedure
				and New Mexico civil form 4-505; a party may also issue such subpoenas with the
				approval of the hearing officer;
(d) to impose any appropriate evidentiary
				sanction against a party who fails to provide discovery or to comply with a
				subpoena; such sanctions could include the striking of a witness or the
				striking of documentary evidence;
(e) to take notice of judicially cognizable
				facts as well as of general, technical or scientific facts within his/her
				specialized knowledge so long as the licensee is notified either before or
				during the hearing of the fact so noticed and its source, and is afforded an
				opportunity to contest said fact; and
(f) to impose costs on the licensee upon
				motion of the department.