Hearing Procedures
Due process hearings can take place in-person or virtually. Please notify the case manager or hearing officer assigned to your case of your preference. For additional information, please review Understanding Special Education Due Process Hearings: A Guide for Parents and the Prehearing Directions.
Prehearing Directions
This document was written to provide useful information to parties preparing for a due process hearing. These directions are followed consistently by all of the Hearing Officers, and the hearing officers will implement these procedures.
Pagination of Exhibits
ODR is required to comply with federal and state court requirements for maintaining and transmitting case records. Additionally, when certifying a record to court upon appeal, the time/labor resources expended by ODR staff and/or hearing officers to comply with those requirements by remediating inappropriately-marked exhibits-of-record has been extraordinary and at times has required resubmission of exhibits by the parties. For these reasons, please note that exhibit pages must be numbered exactly as set forth in the Prehearing Directions. Counsel for the parties and/or unrepresented parties are responsible for ensuring accurate marking, orientation, and pagination of exhibits.
Hearing officers will not admit to the record exhibits that are marked, formatted, or paginated incorrectly in any respect. Neither the hearing officers nor ODR will correct the pagination of exhibits.
Due Process Hearing Videos
Hearing Officer Video Series
This video series provides an overview of what to expect if you are involved in a special education due process hearing. The first video addresses prehearing matters, the second video discusses preparing for the hearing, and the third and fourth videos talk about the hearing itself.