§ 300.513 Hearing decisions.

Plain English summary

This section governs how hearing officers must make decisions regarding FAPE, requiring that determinations be based on substantive grounds and limiting findings of FAPE denial based on procedural violations to only those that impede the child's rights, significantly impede parental participation, or cause a deprivation of educational benefit. It also preserves parental rights to file state-level appeals and separate due process complaints, and requires public agencies to transmit and publish hearing findings after removing personally identifiable information.

Key requirements

• A hearing officer's determination of whether a child received FAPE must be based on substantive grounds.
• In matters alleging a procedural violation, a hearing officer may find that a child did not receive a FAPE only if the procedural inadequacies impeded the child's right to a FAPE, significantly impeded the parent's opportunity to participate in the decision-making process, or caused a deprivation of educational benefit.
• Nothing in paragraph (a) shall be construed to preclude a hearing officer from ordering an LEA to comply with procedural requirements under §§ 300.500 through 300.536.
• Nothing in §§ 300.507 through 300.513 shall be construed to affect the right of a parent to file an appeal of the due process hearing decision with the SEA under § 300.514(b), if a State level appeal is available.
• Nothing in §§ 300.500 through 300.536 shall be construed to preclude a parent from filing a separate due process complaint on an issue separate from a due process complaint already filed.
• The public agency, after deleting any personally identifiable information, must transmit the findings and decisions referred to in § 300.512(a)(5) to the State advisory panel established under § 300.167.
• The public agency must make those findings and decisions available to the public.

Affected parties

• hearing officers
• parents
• children with disabilities
• local educational agencies (LEAs)
• public agencies
• State educational agencies (SEAs)
• State advisory panel

Official source

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/part-300/section-300.513