Section 10-76h-3 - Hearing request; content of hearing request(a) A parent, the Commissioner of Children and Families, or a designee of said commissioner, a public agency or an attorney or advocate acting on behalf of any of these parties, may request in writing a hearing regarding a public agency's proposal to or refusal to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of a child or the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child. Each public agency shall provide assistance to the parent as may be necessary to file a written hearing request.(b) When a hearing is requested under the provisions of this section, the public agency shall inform the parent of the availability of mediation and advisory opinion process as described in sections 10-76h-5 and 10-76h-6 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. The parent shall also be informed of any free or low cost legal services and other relevant services available in the area if the parent requests such information or a hearing is requested.(c) In addition to the hearing request addressed in subsection (a) of this section, a public agency may request a hearing in writing in the event a parent refuses or revokes consent for initial evaluation or reevaluation.(d) The party requesting a hearing shall file the hearing request with the opposing party and submit a copy of the hearing request to the due process unit. When a public agency requests a hearing, such agency shall provide, at the same time, a copy of the request to the Commissioner of Children and Families, or said commissioner's designee, for any child committed to or in the custody of said commissioner. The request shall contain the following information and shall be signed and dated by the person who is requesting the hearing: (1) The name of the child;(2) The address of the residence of the child, provided if the child is homeless, the request shall contain available contact information for the child;(3) The name of the school the child is attending;(4) A description of the nature of the dispute relating to the proposed or refused initiation or change, including facts relating to the dispute; and,(5) A proposed resolution of the dispute to the extent known and available to the party at the time. The department shall have available a model form to assist the party in filing a request for due process. Such model form shall be made available at each school and each school shall designate a staff member to assist the parent in completing the form.
(e) When the request for a hearing is filed by a parent with the public agency, the public agency shall notify the due process unit by facsimile transmission of the request on the same day that the request for due process is received. The public agency shall have seven days to send the original request to the department's due process unit.Conn. Agencies Regs. § 10-76h-3
Adopted effective July 1, 2000; Amended February 4, 2005; Amended July 1, 2013