Section 850.66 - Assignment of Impartial Hearing Officer(a) The hearings coordinator, as described in § 850.62 of this subchapter (relating to Filing a Request for Review), shall select, on a random basis, or by agreement between the Agency and the appellant, or if appropriate, the appellant's authorized representative or a parent, an IHO from a list of qualified IHOs maintained by the Agency.(b) The IHO shall be an individual who: (1) is not an employee of a public agency (other than an administrative law judge, hearing examiner, or employee of an institution of higher education);(2) has knowledge of the delivery of VR services, the state plan, and the federal and state regulations governing appeals under this chapter;(3) has received training specified by the Agency with respect to the performance of official duties; and(4) has no personal, professional, or financial interest that would conflict with his or her objectivity in the hearing.(c) An individual is not considered to be an employee of a public agency for the purposes of subsection (b) of this section solely because the individual is paid by the Agency to serve as a hearing officer.(d) Despite the provisions in subsection (a) of this section, if in a subsequent appeal, the appellant raises factual issues or claims that were previously adjudicated or could have been adjudicated in a prior appeal: (1) the hearings coordinator may appoint the same IHO that heard the prior appeal to hear the subsequent appeal; or(2) the IHO, on Agency motion, reassigns the appeal to the IHO who heard the prior appeal.40 Tex. Admin. Code § 850.66
The provisions of this §850.66 adopted to be effective March 12, 2012, 37 TexReg 1706; duplicated effective September 1, 2016, as published in the Texas Register September 2, 2016, 41 TexReg 6773; Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 44, Number 19, May 10, 2019, TexReg 2370, eff. 5/13/2019