Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 1 - TEXAS HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD › Chapter 1 - AGENCY ADMINISTRATION › Subchapter B - DISPUTE RESOLUTION › Section 1.20 - Definitions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this
					 subchapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly
					 indicates otherwise.
(1)
				  Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)--The person appointed by the State Office of
				  Administrative Hearings (SOAH) to hear a contested case and to propose findings
				  of fact and conclusions of law, under §
										2003.041
				  of the Texas Government Code, for adoption by the Board, regarding a
				  determination that has been made by the Commissioner with which the party
				  disagrees.
(2) ADR--Alternative
				  dispute resolution. A nonjudicial, informally conducted forum for the voluntary
				  settlement of contested matters through the intervention of an impartial third
				  party.
(3) Alternative dispute
				  resolution coordinator or ADR coordinator--The agency employee appointed by the
				  Commissioner to coordinate and oversee ADR procedures and mediators.
(4) Board--The Texas Higher Education
				  Coordinating Board; as used in this subchapter, "Board" means the agency acting
				  through its voting members in a decision-making capacity.
(5) Commissioner--The Commissioner of Higher
				  Education; as used in this subchapter, "Commissioner" means the agency acting
				  through its executive, and his or her designees, staff, or agents, as
				  distinguished from the agency acting through Board members in a decision-making
				  capacity.
(6) Contested Case--A
				  circumstance in which the Board or Commissioner shall allow a full evidentiary
				  hearing as provided under the APA and this subchapter, if the right is properly
				  invoked. In such a case, the Board shall finally determine the rights, duties,
				  or privileges of the party. Right to a hearing is established only by explicit
				  statutory provisions or by rules found in Title 19 of the Texas Administrative
				  Code. There is no statute in the Texas Education Code, or rule herein, which
				  requires the Commissioner to initiate a contested case hearing in the absence
				  of a written petition for same, as defined herein.
(7) Contested Case Status--The condition that
				  is established by a person who has a right to a contested case hearing, by the
				  filing of a properly pled petition.
(8) Mail or mailed--Deposit(ed) into United
				  States mail, certified, return receipt requested, unless otherwise provided by
				  this subchapter. In determining the timeliness of a pleading, a postmark shall
				  be evidence of the date of mailing, and the markings on a green card or on
				  certified mail shall be evidence of the date of receipt. Certified mail that is
				  refused or not claimed shall be considered received upon the earliest date of
				  notice. When a document has been placed into United States mail, certified,
				  return receipt requested, it shall be assumed that it was received on the third
				  day after it was mailed, in the absence of a showing otherwise.
(9) Mediator--The person appointed by the
				  Board's ADR coordinator to preside over an ADR proceeding, regardless of which
				  ADR method is used.
(10)
				  Participant--When used in relation to ADR, the Commissioner, the Board's
				  counsel, a respondent in a contested case, and his or her attorney; or if
				  parties have been named, the named parties.
(11) Party--Each person or agency named or
				  admitted as a party to a hearing.
(12) Private mediator--A person in the
				  profession of mediation who is not a Texas state employee and who has met all
				  the qualifications prescribed by Texas law for mediators
(13) SOAH--The State Office of Administrative
				  Hearings