OAR 581-015-2345: Hearing Request and Response

(1) Request for Hearing: (a) Parent Requests for a Due Process Hearing: (A) A parent may request a due process hearing in accordance with subsection(3) if the parent does not agree with the identification, evaluation, educational placement of a child, or the provision of a free appropriate education to a child who may be disabled. (B) The parent, or the attorney representing the child, must provide notice to the school district and to the Department when requesting a hearing. The notice (which remains confidential) must, include: (i) The child's name and address (or available contact information in the case of a homeless child); (ii) The name of the school the child is attending; (iii) A description of the nature of the problem of the child relating to the proposed or refused initiation or change, including facts relating to the problem; and (iv) A proposed resolution of the problem to the extent known and available to the party at the time. (b) School District Requests for a Due Process Hearing: (A) A school district may request a due process hearing regarding identification, evaluation or educational placement of a child with a disability, or the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child. (B) The school district requesting a due process hearing, or the attorney representing the district, must provide notice to the parent and to the Department in as described in subsection (1)(a)(B). (c) A party may not have a hearing until the party, or the attorney representing the party, files a due process hearing request that meets the requirements of subsection (1)(a)(B) or (1)(b)(B). (2) Response to hearing request: (a) School district: If the school district has not sent a prior written notice to the parent regarding the subject matter in the parent’s due process request, the school district must, within ten days of receiving the request: (A) Send to the parent a response that includes: (i) An explanation of why the school district proposed or refused to take the action raised in the hearing request; (ii) A description of other options that the IEP team considered and the reasons why those options were rejected; (iii) A description of each evaluation procedure, assessment, record or report the school district used as the basis for the proposed or refused action; and (iv) A description of the factors relevant to the school district’s proposal or refusal. (B) The school district’s response under subsection (2)(a)(A) may not be construed to preclude the school district from asserting that the parent’s due process request was insufficient, where appropriate. (b) Parent and school district: (A) The party that did not file the hearing request must, within ten days of receiving the request for hearing, send to the other party a response that specifically addresses the issues raised in the hearing request. (B) A school district providing a response to an issue under subsection (3)(a) is not required to respond to the same issue under (3)(b). (3) Time limitation and exception: (a) A special education due process hearing must be requested within two years after the date of the act or omission that gives rise to the right to request the hearing. (b) This timeline does not apply to a parent if the parent was prevented from requesting the hearing due to specific misrepresentations by the school district that it had resolved the problem forming the basis of the complaint, or the school district’s withholding of information from the parent that the district was required to provide under Chapter 343. (4) Information: The Department will inform a parent of any free or low-cost legal services and other relevant services available in the area if a parent requests the information.