Pursuant to applicable federal and State law and regulations, the Board of Education of the North Colonie Central School District (“Board of Education”) hereby adopts the following policies and procedures to govern the selection, appointment and compensation of Impartial Hearing Officers (“IHO”) for impartial hearings with respect to any matter relating to the identification, evaluation or educational placement of a student with a disability or a student suspected of having a disability or the provision of a free appropriate public education requested pursuant to New York State Education Law §4404(1), Part 200 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education and/or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) 20 U.S.C. §1400 et. seq.:
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Maintenance of Impartial Hearing Officer List. The Board of Education shall utilize the most recent rotational list of New York State certified IHO’s pursuant to §200.2(e)(1) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. Upon receipt of notice that a newly certified IHO is available to serve in the District, the Director of Pupil Services shall insert said name into the list in alphabetical order. The list of IHO’s shall be submitted to the Board of Education annually in July of each year for adoption.
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Selection of IHO. The District Clerk shall maintain the list of the names of all IHO’s who are: certified by the Commissioner of Education pursuant to §200.1(x)(4) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education and available to serve in the District in hearings conducted pursuant to Education Law §4404 (1) and the IDEA.
Upon receipt of a due process complaint notice, the appointment process shall begin immediately, where practicable, but in no event later than two (2) business days after the receipt of a hearing request. Selection of IHO’s shall be made only from the rotational list and in accordance with the rotational selection process prescribed herein. Such names will be listed in alphabetical order. Selection from such list shall be made by the District Clerk, or if the District Clerk is unavailable, by a person designated by the Superintendent, and shall be made on a rotational basis beginning with the first name appearing after the IHO on the list who last served or, in the event no IHO on the list has served, beginning with the first name appearing on such list.
The District Clerk, or designee, shall first attempt contact by telephone call. If unsuccessful at reaching the prospective IHO, the District Clerk, or designee, shall leave a message and/or send a letter by overnight mail informing the prospective IHO that: (a) a hearing has been requested and the name of the District; (b) the IHO’s name is the next one on the rotational list; and (c) the IHO must contact the District Clerk, or designee, no later than 24 hours from the time the telephone message was left and/or the date of the correspondence.
Should the prospective IHO decline appointment, or if, within twenty-four (24) hours fails to respond or is unreachable after reasonable efforts, the District Clerk, or designee, shall offer appointment to each successive IHO on the list until such appointment is accepted.
The District Clerk or designee shall inform the IHO of District policy on compensation and reimbursement of expenses for hearing-related activities. No IHO shall be appointed unless he or she is available to make a determination of sufficiency of a due process complaint notice within five (5) days of receiving such request and to initiate the impartial hearing within (14) days after the date contracted.
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Appointment. Once an IHO has agreed to serve, the Board of Education shall formally appoint him/her in accordance with the above-referenced procedure. Pursuant to §200.5(j)(3)(ii), the Board of Education may designate and authorize one or more Board of Education members to appoint/rescind the IHO.
If, after appointment, by mutual agreement of the parties, the IHO is deemed incapacitated, or otherwise unavailable to continue the hearing or issue a decision, the appointment must be rescinded and a new IHO appointment must be made in accordance with the procedure set forth above.
Once appointed, the District Clerk, or designee, shall provide the IHO with the relevant contact information for the District’s legal counsel and contact information for the parent(s) and student and/or their legal counsel.
Records relating to the IHO selection process and any actions taken pursuant to this Policy will be maintained by the District’s Pupil Services Office and made available to the parties. Such information will be reported to the Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities of the State Education Department as required by the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.
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Compensation of IHO. IHO’s appointed to conduct hearings under the provisions of Article 89 of the Education Law shall submit statements to the School District for fees and expenses in accordance with the following guidelines:
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A statement for fees and expenses shall be submitted monthly and at the conclusion of the hearing and receipt of the IHO’s final decision or other determination having the effect of terminating the IHO’s involvement in the hearing.
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All statements for fees and expenses shall separately list each individual item of service or expense, the date it occurred and the time spent, by hour or fraction thereof in increments of one-tenth of an hour (e.g., .1, .2, .3, . . .).
Time charges must be appropriate. The District reserves the right to request additional information concerning the appropriateness of any time charges and to withhold payment for time charges deemed to be inappropriate and/or inconsistent with applicable policy. All statements for fees and expenses shall be submitted by the IHO within thirty (30) days of the performance of services.
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Compensation will be made at the state mandated rate for authorized activities.
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The District will not reimburse IHOs for administrative assistance, secretarial or other overhead expenses.
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The District will, upon review and approval of properly submitted receipts, reimburse IHOs for automobile travel at the I.R.S. approved rate and for tolls reasonable and necessarily incurred as a result of the hearing.
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In addition to hearing time itself, the Board of Education will reimburse, at the hourly rate, for time actually expended by the IHO for:
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Scheduling the hearing;
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Pre-hearing conference calls (if necessary);
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Scheduling letters;
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Time necessarily and actually spent preparing the Decision, including any Interim Decisions.
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Absent extraordinary circumstances, as determined in advance by the District, IHOs will not be reimbursed for any other expenses associated with their appointment and service as an IHO.
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A hearing cancellation fee of $500.00 shall be paid by the District where five (5) calendar days notice is not provided to the IHO. The District will not be responsible for any compensation in connection with hearing cancellations where five (5) or more calendar days notice is provided to the IHO.
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Notice. A copy of this policy will be forwarded to the IHO at the time of appointment by the District Clerk.
Authority:
Education Law §207, 4404(a)
8 NYCRR 200.2(e)(1)
8 NYCRR 200.1(x)
8 NYCRR 200.5(j)
RESOLUTION
Be it resolved that the Board of Education of the North Colonie Central School District hereby authorizes and directs the District Clerk, or designee, in the event a special education impartial hearing is requested, to make a selection from the approved list of Impartial Hearing Officers (IHOs) on a rotational basis beginning with the first name appearing after IHO who last served. If the District Clerk is unavailable, selection shall be made by a person designed by the Superintendent. The District Clerk, or the designated person, shall confirm with the prospective IHO the terms and conditions in the District policy on compensation and reimbursement of expenses for hearing-related activities. Should the IHO decline appointment, or if, the IHO fails to respond or is unreachable within 24 hours, the District Clerk shall offer appointment to each successive IHO whose name next appears on the list until such appointment pursuant to the terms of the District’s policy attendant thereto, is accepted.
Be it further resolved that the Board of Education hereby appoints, authorizes and designates ________________________ to immediately appoint the specific individual who agrees to serve as IHO.
Adopted: October 24, 2011
RESOLUTION
Authorizing Appointment of Next Available Hearing Officer
Be it resolved that the Board of Education of the North Colonie Central School District hereby authorizes and directs the District Clerk, or designee, in the event a special education impartial hearing is requested, to make a selection from the approved list of Impartial Hearing Officers (IHOs) on a rotational basis beginning with the first name appearing after IHO who last served. If the District Clerk is unavailable, selection shall be made by a person designated by the Superintendent. The District Clerk, or the designated person, shall confirm with the prospective IHO the terms and conditions in the District policy on compensation and reimbursement of expenses for hearing-related activities. Should the IHO decline appointment, or if, the IHO fails to respond or is unreachable within 24 hours, the District Clerk shall offer appointment to each successive IHO whose name next appears on the list until such appointment, pursuant to the terms of the District’s policy attendant thereto, is accepted.
Be it further resolved that the Board of Education hereby appoints, authorizes and designates ________________________ to immediately appoint the specific individual who agrees to serve as IHO.