56505
. (a) The state hearing shall be conducted in accordance with
regulations adopted by the board.
(b) The hearing shall be held at a time and place reasonably
convenient to the parent or guardian and the pupil.
(c) (1) The hearing shall be conducted by a person who, at a
minimum, shall possess knowledge of, and the ability to understand,
the provisions of this part and related state statutes and
implementing regulations, the federal Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.), federal regulations
pertaining to the act, and legal interpretations of this part and the
federal law by federal and state courts, and who has satisfactorily
completed training pursuant to this subdivision. The Superintendent
shall establish standards for the training of hearing officers, the
degree of specialization of the hearing officers, and the quality
control mechanisms to be used to ensure that the hearings are fair
and the decisions are accurate.
(2) The hearing officer shall possess the knowledge and ability to
conduct hearings in accordance with appropriate, standard legal
practice.
(3) The hearing officer shall possess the knowledge and ability to
render and write decisions in accordance with appropriate, standard
legal practice.
(4) A due process hearing shall not be conducted by an individual
listed in Section 1415(f)(3)(A)(i) of Title 20 of the United States
Code. Pursuant to Section 300.511(c)(2) of Title 34 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, a person who is qualified to conduct a hearing
is not an employee of the agency solely because he or she is paid by
the agency to serve as a hearing officer. The hearing officer shall
encourage the parties to a hearing to consider the option of
mediation as an alternative to a hearing.
(d) Pursuant to Section 300.518(a) of Title 34 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, during the pendency of the hearing proceedings,
including the actual state-level hearing, or judicial proceeding
regarding a due process hearing, the pupil shall remain in his or her
present placement, except as provided in Section 300.533 of Title 34
of the Code of Federal Regulations, unless the public agency and the
parent or guardian agree otherwise. A pupil applying for initial
admission to a public school, with the consent of his or her parent
or guardian, shall be placed in the public school program until all
proceedings have been completed. As provided in Section 300.518(d) of
Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, if the decision of a
hearing officer in a due process hearing or a state review official
in an administrative appeal agrees with the parent or guardian of the
pupil that a change of placement is appropriate, that placement
shall be treated as an agreement between the state or local
educational agency and the parent or guardian. In accordance with
Section 300.518(c) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, if
a due process hearing request involves an application for initial
services from a child who is transitioning from an early education
program under Chapter 4.4 (commencing with Section 56425) to a
special education program serving individuals with exceptional needs
between the ages of three to five years, inclusive, under Chapter
4.45 (commencing with Section 56440), and is no longer eligible for
early education services because the child has turned three years of
age, the local educational agency is not required to provide early
education services that the child had been receiving. If the child is
found eligible for special education and related services for
children age three years of age and older, and the parent or guardian
consents to the initial provision of special education and related
services under Section 300.300(b) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, the local educational agency shall provide those special
education and related services that are not in dispute between the
parent or guardian and the local educational agency.
(e) A party to the hearing held pursuant to this section shall be
afforded the following rights consistent with state and federal
statutes and regulations:
(1) The right to be accompanied and advised by counsel and by
individuals with special knowledge or training relating to the
problems of individuals with exceptional needs.
(2) The right to present evidence, written arguments, and oral
arguments.
(3) The right to confront, cross-examine, and compel the
attendance of, witnesses.
(4) The right to a written, or, at the option of the parents or
guardians, electronic verbatim record of the hearing.
(5) The right to written, or, at the option of the parent or
guardian, electronic findings of fact and decisions. The record of
the hearing and the findings of fact and decisions shall be provided
at no cost to parents or guardians in accordance with Section 300.512
(c)(3) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The findings
and decisions shall be made available to the public after any
personally identifiable information has been deleted consistent with
the confidentiality requirements of Section 1417(c) of Title 20 of
the United States Code and shall also be transmitted to the Advisory
Commission on Special Education pursuant to Section 1415(h)(4) of
Title 20 of the United States Code.
(6) The right to be informed by the other parties to the hearing,
at least 10 days prior to the hearing, as to what those parties
believe are the issues to be decided at the hearing and their
proposed resolution of those issues. Upon the request of a parent who
is not represented by an attorney, the agency responsible for
conducting hearings shall provide a mediator to assist the parent in
identifying the issues and the proposed resolution of the issues.
(7) The right to receive from other parties to the hearing, at
least five business days prior to the hearing, a copy of all
documents and a list of all witnesses and their general area of
testimony that the parties intend to present at the hearing. Included
in the material to be disclosed to all parties at least five
business days prior to a hearing shall be all assessments completed
by that date and recommendations based on the assessments that the
parties intend to use at the hearing.
(8) The right, pursuant to Section 300.512(a)(3) of Title 34 of
the Code of Federal Regulations, to prohibit the introduction of any
evidence at the hearing that has not been disclosed to that party at
least five business days before the hearing.
(f) (1) In accordance with Section 1415(f)(3)(E) of Title 20 of
the United States Code, the decision of a due process hearing officer
shall be made on substantive grounds based on a determination of
whether the child received a free appropriate public education.
(2) In matters alleging a procedural violation, a due process
hearing officer may find that a child did not receive a free
appropriate public education only if the procedural violation did any
of the following:
(A) Impeded the right of the child to a free appropriate public
education.
(B) Significantly impeded the opportunity of the parents to
participate in the decisionmaking process regarding the provision of
a free appropriate public education to the child of the parents.
(C) Caused a deprivation of educational benefits.
(3) The hearing conducted pursuant to this section shall be
completed and a written, reasoned decision, including the reasons for
a nonpublic, nonsectarian school placement, the provision of
nonpublic, nonsectarian agency services, or the reimbursement for the
placement or services, taking into account the requirements of
subdivision (a) of Section 56365, shall be mailed to all parties to
the hearing not later than 45 days after the expiration of the 30-day
period pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 56501.5. Either party
to the hearing may request the hearing officer to grant an extension.
The extension shall be granted upon a showing of good cause. An
extension shall extend the time for rendering a final administrative
decision for a period only equal to the length of the extension.
(4) This subdivision does not preclude a due process hearing
officer from ordering a local educational agency to comply with
procedural requirements under this chapter.
(g) Subdivision (f) does not alter the burden of proof required in
a due process hearing, or prevent a hearing officer from ordering a
compensatory remedy for an individual with exceptional needs.
(h) The hearing conducted pursuant to this section shall be the
final administrative determination and binding on all parties.
(i) In decisions relating to the placement of individuals with
exceptional needs, the person conducting the state hearing shall
consider cost, in addition to all other factors that are considered.
(j) In a hearing conducted pursuant to this section, the hearing
officer shall not base a decision solely on nonsubstantive procedural
errors, unless the hearing officer finds that the nonsubstantive
procedural errors resulted in the loss of an educational opportunity
to the pupil or interfered with the opportunity of the parent or
guardian of the pupil to participate in the formulation process of
the individualized education program.
(k) This chapter does not preclude a party aggrieved by the
findings and decisions in a hearing under this section from
exercising the right to appeal the decision to a state court of
competent jurisdiction. An aggrieved party also may exercise the
right to bring a civil action in a district court of the United
States without regard to the amount in controversy, pursuant to
Section 300.516 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. An
appeal shall be made within 90 days of receipt of the hearing
decision. During the pendency of an administrative or judicial
proceeding conducted pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section
56500), the child involved in the hearing shall remain in his or her
present educational placement, unless the public agency and the
parent or guardian of the child agree otherwise. An action brought
under this subdivision shall adhere to Section 300.516(c) of Title 34
of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(l) A request for a due process hearing arising under subdivision
(a) of Section 56501 shall be filed within two years from the date
the party initiating the request knew or had reason to know of the
facts underlying the basis for the request. In accordance with
Section 1415(f)(3)(D) of Title 20 of the United States Code, the time
period specified in this subdivision does not apply to a parent if
the parent was prevented from requesting the due process hearing due
to either of the following:
(1) Specific misrepresentations by the local educational agency
that it had solved the problem forming the basis of the due process
hearing request.
(2) The withholding of information by the local educational agency
from the parent that was required under this part to be provided to
the parent.
(m) Pursuant to Section 300.511(c) of Title 34 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, each public agency shall keep a list of the
persons who serve as due process hearing officers, in accordance with
Section 56504.5, and the list shall include a statement of the
qualifications of each of those persons. The list of hearing officers
shall be provided to the public agencies by the organization or
entity under contract with the department to conduct due process
hearings.
(n) A party who filed for a due process hearing prior to the
effective date of this section is not bound by the two-year statute
of limitations time period in subdivision (l) if the party filed a
request within the three-year statute of limitations provision
pursuant to subdivision (l) as it read prior to October 9, 2006.
(o) This section shall become operative October 9, 2006.