(d) Must provide the parents with the opportunity to discuss the complaint and the facts that form the basis of the complaint, and the LEA must be allowed the opportunity to resolve issues in the complaint ( Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations § 300.510(a)(2) ).
Resolution session may be confidential or non-confidential. The parties decide which type of meeting they prefer at the beginning of the resolution session.
If an agreement is reached during resolution, either party has three business days to void the agreement.
There is no requirement for a resolution session when the Charter LEA files a due process complaint.
• Step 2 – Mediation: Voluntary and Confidential
If the complaint is not settled during the resolution session the next step is voluntary mediation. The mediator is an administrative law judge (ALJ) assigned by the OAH who is a neutral participant, skilled in methods of facilitating effective communication between the parties. As a mediator, the ALJ’s role is to manag e the communication between the parties in order to settle the issues in the complaint. If the parties reach an agreement during mediation, it is binding and the due process complaint is withdrawn. Any discussions or agreement reached during mediation are confidential and protected by law from being revealed to any other party. Step 3 – Due Process Hearing If resolution and/or mediation are not successful in settling the complaint, the case moves to a due process hearing before a different ALJ. A telephonic pre-hearing conference will be scheduled with both parties before the first date of hearing to discuss the issues, documents, witnesses, and the length of days for the hearing. The ALJ from the OAH is in charge of the hearing just like a judge is in a trial. The ALJ rules on all procedural matters, facilitates the hearing, listens to the evidence and arguments of the parties, and writes a final decision, which is binding. The due process timeline is 45 calendar days from the receipt of a complaint for a due process hearing. The timeline does not include time used by a postponement requested by a party or granted by the OAH, or time used by the resolution session. Expedited hearings, which involve student discipline, must be held within 20 school days of receipt of the complaint and a written decision must be issued within 10 school days after the hearing. A party has the right to appeal the OAH decision to a state or federal court of competent jurisdiction within 90 days of the receipt of the decision, but no later. The hearing is digitally recorded and either party may request a written verbatim transcript of the hearing.
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Stay-Put
The stay-put or status quo provision of the IDEA acts as an automatic preliminary injunction, preventing a party from unilater ally changing the child’s program or placement pending the
Chapter 4 – Procedural Safeguards, Charter SELPA
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As of 11/18/2016
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