New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 8 - EDUCATION DEPARTMENT › Chapter II - Regulations of the Commissioner › Subchapter C - Teacher › Part 82 - Hearings Of Charges Against Employees On Tenure › Subpart 82-3 - PROCEDURES FOR HEARINGS COMMENCED BY THE FILING OF CHARGES ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 2015 › Section 82-3.10 - Probable cause hearing for certain suspensions without pay

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) In accordance with Education Law
					 §3020-a(2)(c), where a board suspends an employee without pay pending a
					 determination in an expedited hearing based on charges of misconduct
					 constituting physical or sexual abuse of a student, a probable cause hearing
					 shall be conducted pursuant to this section within ten (10) days of the
					 decision to suspend without pay. Such unpaid suspension shall not exceed 120
					 days from the decision of the board of education to suspend the employee
					 without pay
(b) Probable cause
					 hearing procedures
(1) A school district
					 shall notify the Commissioner of a request for a probable cause hearing within
					 one (1) business day of suspending an employee without pay based on charges of
					 misconduct constituting physical or sexual abuse of a student.
(2) The Commissioner shall maintain a
					 rotational list or lists of individuals who have agreed to serve as impartial
					 hearing officers in accordance with the timeframes and conditions set forth in
					 Education Law §3020-a(2)(c) . The Commissioner, in his discretion, may remove a
					 hearing officer from the rotational list, if he or she engages in a pattern of
					 declinations or is unable to perform his/her duties in the timelines prescribed
					 in Education Law §3020-a(2)(c) or this Subpart. A pattern of declinations is
					 defined as two (2) or more declinations within one year. If a hearing officer
					 is removed, he or she may make an application to be reinstated after one year,
					 which may be granted in the Commissioner's discretion.
(3) Upon receipt of request for a need for a
					 probable cause hearing, the Commissioner shall appoint the next available
					 hearing officer from the rotational list. The failure of the hearing officer to
					 accept the case within 24 hours of being notified that he or she has been
					 selected shall be deemed a declination.
(4) At the conclusion of the probable cause
					 hearing, the impartial hearing officer may make an oral ruling or issue a
					 written decision on the record as to whether the decision to suspend an
					 employee without pay should be continued or reversed.
(5) The impartial hearing officer shall
					 reverse the decision of the board to suspend without pay and reinstate the pay:
(i) upon a finding that probable cause does
					 not support the charges; or
(ii)
					 upon a written determination that suspension without pay is grossly
					 disproportionate in light of all surrounding circumstances.
(6) The employee shall be eligible
					 for reimbursement of the withheld pay and accrued interest at the rate of six
					 percent compounded annually if the hearing officer finds in the employee's
					 favor, at either in the probable cause hearing or in a final determination at
					 the conclusion of the expedited hearing.