Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY › Chapter 89 - ADAPTATIONS FOR SPECIAL POPULATIONS › Subchapter AA - COMMISSIONER'S RULES CONCERNING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES › Division 7 - DISPUTE RESOLUTION › Section 89.1185 - Hearing Procedures

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) The hearing
					 officer must afford the parties an opportunity for hearing within the timelines
					 set forth in 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), §300.515 and
					 §300.532, as applicable, unless the hearing officer, at the request of
					 either party, grants an extension of time, except that the timelines for
					 expedited hearings cannot be extended.
(b) Each hearing must be conducted at a time
					 and place that are reasonably convenient to the parents and child
					 involved.
(c) All persons in
					 attendance must comport themselves with the same dignity, courtesy, and respect
					 required by the district courts of the State of Texas. All argument must be
					 made to the hearing officer alone.
(d) Except as modified or limited by the
					 provisions of 34 CFR, §§ 300.507-300.514 or
					 300.532, or this division,
					 the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure will govern the proceedings at the hearing
					 and the Texas Rules of Evidence will govern evidentiary issues.
(e) Before a document may be offered or
					 admitted into evidence, the document must be identified as an exhibit of the
					 party offering the document. All pages within the exhibit must be numbered, and
					 all personally identifiable information concerning any student who is not the
					 subject of the hearing must be redacted from the exhibit.
(f) The hearing officer may set reasonable
					 time limits for presenting evidence at the hearing.
(g) Upon request, the hearing officer, at his
					 or her discretion, may permit testimony to be received by telephone.
(h) Granting of a motion to exclude witnesses
					 from the hearing room will be at the hearing officer's discretion.
(i) Hearings conducted under this division
					 must be closed to the public, unless the parent requests that the hearing be
					 open.
(j) The hearing must be
					 recorded and transcribed by a court reporter, who will promptly prepare and
					 transmit a transcript of the evidence to the hearing officer with copies to
					 each of the parties.
(k) Filing of
					 post-hearing briefs will be permitted only upon order of the hearing
					 officer.
(l) The hearing officer
					 must issue a final decision, signed and dated, no later than 45 calendar days
					 after the expiration of the 30-day resolution period under
					 34 CFR, §
												300.510(b), and §
											89.1183 of
					 this title (relating to Resolution Process) or the adjusted time periods
					 described in
					 34 CFR, §
												300.510(c), and §
											89.1183 of
					 this title after a request for a due process hearing is received by the Texas
					 Education Agency (TEA), unless the deadline for a final decision has been
					 extended by the hearing officer as provided in §
											89.1186 of
					 this title (relating to Extensions of Time). A final decision must be in
					 writing and must include findings of fact and conclusions of law separately
					 stated. Findings of fact must be based exclusively on the evidence presented at
					 the hearing. The final decision must be mailed to each party by the hearing
					 officer on the day that the decision is issued. The hearing officer, at his or
					 her discretion, may render his or her decision following the conclusion of the
					 hearing, to be followed by written findings of fact and written
					 decision.
(m) At the request of
					 either party, the hearing officer must include, in the final decision, specific
					 findings of fact regarding the following issues:
(1) whether the parent or the public
					 education agency unreasonably protracted the final resolution of the issues in
					 controversy in the hearing; and
(2)
					 if the parent was represented by an attorney, whether the parent's attorney
					 provided the public education agency the appropriate information in the request
					 for a hearing in accordance with
					 34 CFR, §
													300.508(b).