Section Ed 1123.24 - Hearing Officers(a) The office of legislation and hearings, pursuant to 34 CFR 300.511(c), shall keep a list of persons who serve as hearing officers. This list shall include a statement of the qualifications of each of those persons.(b) Hearing officers appointed by the department under RSA 186-C:16-a shall be attorneys who have been admitted to the practice of law in at least one jurisdiction or other individuals with knowledge of state and federal special education law.(c) The commissioner of education shall enter into contracts with attorneys or other individuals with knowledge of state and federal special education law to serve as impartial due process hearing officers at administrative due process hearings.(d) Such hearings shall not be conducted: (1) By a person who is an employee of a state agency or LEA which is involved in the education or care of the child;(2) By any person having a personal or professional interest which would conflict with his or her objectivity in the impartial due process hearing; or(3) By any elected member of a local school board.(e) An attorney or other individuals with knowledge of state and federal special education law under contract to serve as a hearing officer pursuant to 34 CFR 300.511(c) for purposes of this rule shall not be considered to come under (d)(1) above.(f) Hearing officers shall attend training sessions concerning current special education practices and law.(g) The training sessions required for hearing officers shall include:(1) Case management programs approved by the Federal District Court for the District of New Hampshire; and(2) Training for hearing officers provided by the department to include, but not be limited to, developments in state and federal special education law.(h) If a person shall serve as a hearing officer he or she shall have no clients in a special education matter in New Hampshire.(i) No person shall serve as a hearing officer who has served as a state or local school board official or a school administrator, including a special education administrator, or as an advocate for students with educational disabilities or their parents, in New Hampshire or in any other state within the immediately preceding 12-month period.(j) No attorney or other individuals with knowledge of state and federal special education law shall preside as a hearing officer in any hearing in which there is a party:(1) Whom the attorney or other individuals with knowledge of state and federal special education law has represented in any matter within the immediately preceding 12-month period; or(2) By whom the hearing officer has been employed during the immediately preceding 3-year period.N.H. Admin. Code § Ed 1123.24
(see Revision Note at chapter heading for Ed 1100) #9197, eff 6-28-08
Amended by Volume XXXVII Number 15, Filed April 13, 2017, Proposed by #12141, Effective 3/24/2017, Expires 3/24/2027.