Ariz. Admin. Code § R7-2-1147 - Appeals to a Hearing Officer

A. An appeal to a hearing officer from a decision entered or deemed to be entered by the district representative shall be filed with the district representative within 30 days from the date of decision.

B. Content of appeal. The appeal shall contain:

1. The information set forth in R7-2-1142(B) ; and

2. The precise factual or legal error in the decision of the district representative from which an appeal is taken.

C. All costs associated with conducting a hearing, including the costs of the hearing officer, shall be paid by the school district. If the hearing officer decides in favor of the school district, the other party shall reimburse the school district for the costs of the hearing within 30 days of receipt of a copy of the hearing officer's invoice.

D. The Executive Director of the State Board of Education ("Executive Director") shall prepare and maintain a list of individuals who meet the qualifications specified in R7-2-1185 to serve as hearing officers.

E. A hearing officer may be selected by mutual agreement of both parties. If the parties are unable to mutually agree on a hearing officer, three hearing officers shall be selected randomly by the Executive Director and shall be screened to determine availability and possible bias. Once the Executive Director has selected three hearing officers who are available and show no evidence of bias, the three names shall be provided to both parties. Both parties have the opportunity to strike one name from the list provided, but shall do so within 14 calendar days from the date on which the Executive Director provided the list to the parties. If after the time period for striking a hearing officer has passed and more than one person remains on the list, the Executive Director shall select one of the remaining individuals on the list as the hearing officer unless either party objects for cause and provides such reason in writing to the Executive Director. If after the time period for striking a hearing officer has passed and there is only one person remaining on the list, the remaining individual shall be named as the hearing officer unless either party objects for cause and provides such reason in writing to the Executive Director. Objections for cause shall require specific evidence that the individual does not meet the criteria specified in R7-2-1185 . The Executive Director shall review the evidence submitted and determine the qualifications of the individual. If the Executive Director determines that the individual is not qualified to serve as the hearing officer, the Executive Director shall repeat the process and select three additional hearing officers to be provided to the parties.

F. Issuance of a school district purchase order shall constitute the official selection date of the hearing officer.

Notes

Ariz. Admin. Code § R7-2-1147

Adopted effective December 17, 1987 (Supp. 87-4). Amended by exempt rulemaking at 33 A.A.R. 1527, effective 7/1/2014. Amended by final exempt rulemaking at 26 A.A.R. 597, effective 7/1/2020.