OAR 581-051-0120: Applicability of Appeals Procedure and Administrative Procedures Act

(1) The appeal procedures required by this rule and OAR 581-051-0125 apply to appeals of Department of Education decisions within the Child and Adult Care Food Program regarding: (a) A denial of a new or renewing application for participation; (b) A denial of an application submitted by a sponsoring organization on behalf of a facility; (c) The proposed termination of an institution’s agreement; (d) A notice of proposed disqualification of a responsible principal or individual; (e) The suspension of an institution’s participation; (f) A denial of an institution’s application for start-up or expansion payments; (g) A denial of a request for an advance payment; (h) The recovery of an advance payment in excess of the amount claimed for the relevant period; (i) A denial of all or a part of an institution’s claim for reimbursement; (j) A decision by the State agency not to forward to FNS an exception request for payment of a late claim, or a request for an upward adjustment to a claim; (k) A demand for the remittance of an overpayment; and (l) Any other action of the State agency affecting an institution’s participation or its claim for reimbursement. (2) Except as otherwise specified in the this rule or OAR 581-051-0125, appeals of actions identify in subsection (1) of this rule shall be conducted as a contested case hearing under ORS 183.411 to 183.471 and the Attorney General’s Model Rules of Procedure under the Administrative Procedure Act in effect on January 1, 2012. (3)(a) In addition to the appeal procedure described in OAR 581-051-0125, an institution may request a suspension review appeal if the suspension is based upon any of the following: (A) The information submitted on the application was false; (B) The institution, one of its sponsored facilities, or one of the principals of the institution or its facilities is on the National Disqualified List; (C) The institution, one of its sponsored facilities, or one of the responsible principles or responsible individuals of the institution or its facilities is ineligible to participate in any other publicly funded program by reason of violation of the requirements of the program; or (D) The institution, one of its sponsored facilities, or one of the responsible principles or responsible individuals of the institution or its facilities has been convicted for any activity that indicates a lack of business integrity. (b) If an institution wants a suspension review, it must send a request to the suspension review official within 10 days of receipt of the notice of the proposed suspension. The appeal request should include the reasons the institution disagrees with the suspension. The institution may submit documentation to support its appeal. (c) The suspension review official shall be designated by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The review official must be independent and impartial. The review official may be an employee of the Department, but must be independent of the original decision-making process. (d) The suspension review official shall notify the Department immediately of the institution’s request. The Department must provide the suspension review official with the original proposed suspension and any other supporting documentation. (e) The suspension review official must render a decision within 10 days of the deadline for receiving the institution’s documentation opposing the suspension.