NC Education Code · NC Policy Manual

NC 1504-1.12 Impartial Due Process Hearing

Plain English summary

This regulation establishes the procedures for impartial due process hearings under Section 504, requiring such hearings to be conducted by the Office of Administrative Hearings using Administrative Law Judges as impartial hearing officers. Parents or LEAs must request a hearing within one year of knowing or should have known about the alleged action, with limited exceptions for LEA misrepresentation or withholding of required information. The regulation also specifies qualifications for hearing officers and restricts the issues that may be raised at the hearing to those included in the original due process petition.

Key requirements

  • Whenever a request for a due process hearing is received under NC 1504-1.8 or NC 1504-2.3, the parents or the LEA involved in the dispute must have an opportunity for an impartial due process hearing.
  • The hearing must be conducted by the Office of Administrative Hearings, as determined under State statute.
  • The hearing shall be conducted in the county where the child attends school or is entitled to enroll under General Statutes 115C-366, unless the parties mutually agree to a different venue.
  • An Administrative Law Judge must not be an employee of the SEA or the LEA that is involved in the education or care of the child.
  • An Administrative Law Judge must not be a person having a personal or professional interest that conflicts with the person's objectivity in the hearing.
  • An Administrative Law Judge must possess knowledge of, and the ability to understand, the provisions of the IDEA, Federal and State regulations pertaining to the IDEA, and legal interpretations of the IDEA by Federal and State courts.
  • An Administrative Law Judge must possess the knowledge and ability to conduct hearings in accordance with appropriate, standard legal practice.
  • An Administrative Law Judge must possess the knowledge and ability to render and write decisions in accordance with appropriate, standard legal practice.
  • The party requesting the due process hearing may not raise issues at the due process hearing that were not raised in the due process petition filed under NC 1504-1.9, unless the other party agrees.
  • A parent or an LEA must request an impartial due process hearing within one year of the date the parent or the LEA knew or should have known about the alleged action that forms the basis of the due process petition.
  • The one-year timeline does not apply to a parent if the parent was prevented from filing due to specific misrepresentations by the LEA that it had resolved the problem forming the basis of the due process petition.
  • The one-year timeline does not apply to a parent if the parent was prevented from filing due to the LEA's withholding of information from the parent that was required by these Policies to be provided to the parent.

Affected parties

  • parents of children with disabilities
  • local education agencies (LEAs)
  • State Education Agency (SEA)
  • Office of Administrative Hearings
  • Administrative Law Judges
  • students with disabilities

Official source

https://www.dpi.nc.gov/documents/publications/catalog/ec144-policies-governing-services/open#page=90