Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a)
Impartial hearing officer rates. Commencing July 1, 1995, impartial hearing
officers shall be compensated in an amount not to exceed the applicable rate
prescribed in a schedule of maximum rates approved by the director of the
Division of the Budget. Provided, however, that any impartial hearing officers,
other than impartial hearing officers assigned by a permanent, standing
administrative tribunal in a city school district having a population of one
million or more inhabitants, who are appointed to conduct an accelerated review
as outlined in subdivision (o) of section
200.5 of this Part shall be
compensated at a flat rate of $500 per case.
(b) Procedures for the suspension or
revocation of impartial hearing officer certification. The certification of
impartial hearing officers is subject to suspension or revocation on the
grounds of incompetence or misconduct.
(1)
Complaints alleging the misconduct or challenging the competence of an
impartial hearing officer shall be made in a signed written statement to the
commissioner and shall contain a concise statement and documentation of the
facts upon which the complaint is based.
(2) Upon receipt of the complaint, the
commissioner shall provide the impartial hearing officer with notice of the
complaint and 30 days to respond thereto.
(3) The commissioner shall provide for review
and, if warranted, further investigation of the complaint. The investigation
process shall be conducted in accordance with the following:
(i) A summary of the complaint shall be sent
to the impartial hearing officer and complainant.
(ii) Additional information may be requested
from the complainant, as appropriate, which may include a request for a sworn
affidavit.
(iii) The impartial
hearing officer shall be provided an opportunity to respond in writing and
provide documentation to the State Education Department. The response from the
impartial hearing officer must be received not later than 30 days from the date
the impartial hearing officer receives the complaint summary.
(iv) All relevant information shall be
reviewed.
(v) A written final
decision shall be sent to the impartial hearing officer and complainant that
addresses each allegation in the complaint.
(vi) If, upon a review of the facts, the
commissioner finds misconduct or incompetence on the part of the impartial
hearing officer, the commissioner may issue a warning letter to the impartial
hearing officer containing an order for corrective action, or, depending on
such factors as the level of misconduct or incompetence and the number of prior
findings of misconduct or incompetence against the impartial hearing officer,
the certification of the impartial hearing officer may be suspended or
revoked.
(4) In addition
to complaints made to the commissioner in accordance with paragraph (1) of this
subdivision, the commissioner, on his or her initiative, may suspend, revoke or
take such other appropriate action with respect to the certification of the
impartial hearing officer upon a finding that:
(i) the impartial hearing officer failed to
comply with an order of the commissioner;
(ii) the impartial hearing officer failed to
issue a decision in a timely manner where such delay was not due to extensions
granted at the request of either party as documented in the record;
or
(iii) the State Review Officer
determined that an impartial hearing officer engaged in conduct which
constitutes misconduct or incompetence.
(5) The commissioner, upon finding that good
cause has been established of either misconduct or incompetence on the part of
the impartial hearing officer, shall revoke or suspend the certification of the
impartial hearing officer, except that the commissioner may, in his discretion,
issue either a warning or a conditional suspension of certification pending
completion of a specified course of training where the imposition of a more
severe penalty would not be justified.
