Opinion ID: 2570363
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: IDEA procedural overview

Text: Under the IDEA, state and local agencies that accept federal IDEA funding must ensure that children with disabilities and their parents are guaranteed procedural safeguards with respect to the provision of free appropriate public education. [8] Thus, the IDEA delineates the rights of parents and children to participate in an impartial due process hearing regarding any complaint that pertains to the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child, or the provision of a free appropriate public education to such child. [9] The parties to a due process hearing are afforded the rights (1) to be advised by counsel, (2) to present evidence and compel witnesses, (3) to obtain a record of the hearing, and (4) to receive written findings of fact and a decision. [10] Any party aggrieved by the hearing's outcome may administratively appeal to a state review officer, and any party aggrieved by the review officer's decision may appeal that decision by initiating a civil action in the district court within thirty days of the decision's issuance. [11] Related to, yet separate from the due process hearing, NDOE must investigate and resolve any complaint alleging that a public agency has violated the IDEA or regulations promulgated pursuant to the IDEA for which a due process hearing is not requested or is not available. [12] This complaint review procedure (CRP) is thus an alternative method of resolving an IDEA complaint, identified not in the IDEA but rather in federal and state regulations. It is intended to constitute an informal and less expensive means of resolving complaints alleging due process violations, as well as complaints involving other IDEA concerns. [13] Unlike due process hearings, the CRP is performed by NDOE, rather than by an impartial administrative officer. Once a complaint is received, NDOE has sixty days in which to investigate the complaining party's allegations and render a decision; the local school district must comply with any NDOE order directing it to remediate a violation. [14] Issues that are addressed in a due process hearing decision are final, however, and may not be further reviewed during a CRP. [15] But a complaint alleging a public agency's failure to implement a due process decision must be resolved by [NDOE] through the CRP. [16] Neither federal nor state regulations contain any provision regarding appeals from CRP decisions. [17] In this instance, the review officer's due process decision became final when no party thereafter initiated a district court action. Then, once the Gumms discovered that they would not receive the amount they believed was due, they invoked the CRP's enforcement mechanism by filing a complaint with NDOE alleging that the school district had failed to fully implement the due process decision. NDOE timely resolved the complaint.