WHAT IS AN IMPARTIAL HEARING?
An impartial hearing is a legal proceeding held under the special education laws that can be requested by a parent whenever a parent disagrees with any aspect of a child’s evaluation, individualized education program (“IEP”), school or special education and related services.
A hearing is initiated when a complaint is filed against the school district. This complaint usually takes the form of a letter. A complaint has to include specific information in order for it to be deemed sufficient. A parent can file a complaint on his or her own, but it is generally preferable to be represented by a lawyer or advocate.
o Pendency
o Payment for private school tuition (reimbursement or payment of debt to school)
o Payment for private school tuition (prospective)
o Payment for after-school private services – tutoring, speech therapy, occupational therapy, counseling, etc.
o Payment or reimbursement for private evaluations, for example neuropsychological evaluations, speech evaluations, etc.
o Additional District Evaluations
o Defer to CBST
o Change of placement or IEP
o Ordering a specific services part of an IEP
o Accommodations and modifications
o IEP Enforcement
o Compensatory Education (private tutoring, additional related services to make up for what the child was deprived of by lack of FAPE)
o Assistive Technology
o Transportation
The federal special education laws require a school district to pay reasonable attorney’s fees to parents who “prevail” (or win) a hearing.
After a complaint is filed, the DOE will appoint an independent hearing officer (administrative judge).
The DOE may be represented by a lawyer or a non-lawyer administrator.
Although these proceedings are called “hearings,” they are often informal and are held downtown at 131 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, in the DOE’s offices.
The majority of cases do not proceed to a full hearing. Of the cases that proceed to hearing in New York City, parents frequently win, and appeals are infrequent.
Many hearings are settled or resolved before the full hearing has to take place. Further, in cases where the DOE does not offer an IEP or school placement, the hearing is usually streamlined.
If a parent or district loses a hearing, in New York, there is an administrative appeal process before the New York State Office of Review (“SRO”), an office operated by the New York State Education Department.If a case is lost at the SRO, a party can file in Court.
Some parents hire special needs advocates, other parents hire special education attorneys and some parents file hearings on their own without an advocate, attorney or special education lawyer.
Parents are unaware that they can hire a special education attorney even if they do not have the resources to pay the attorney a retainer. The law gives parents the right to have the school district pay for their attorney's fees if a parent wins a hearing or court case against the district. There are nonprofits that offer special education legal services to families who cannot afford lawyers, as well as private firms, like ours, that offer no-cost up front, free and even pro bono legal services to families.