Sec.10-76h-11. Hearing rights

(a) Any party to a hearing conducted pursuant to this section or Section 10-76h-7 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies has the right to:

(1) Be accompanied and advised by counsel and by individuals with special knowledge or training with respect to the problems of children with disabilities;

(2) A reasonable opportunity, as determined by the hearing officer, to present evidence and confront, cross-examine and compel the attendance of witnesses, including the presentation of evidence which is more than two years old if such evidence is required to rule on the issues presented and it meets evidentiary considerations such as relevancy and materiality as ruled upon by the hearing officer;

(3) Prohibit the introduction of any evidence at the hearing that has not been disclosed to that party at least five business days before the hearing except as specified as Section 10-76h-12(a) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies;

(4) Obtain a verbatim record of the hearing; and

(5) Obtain written findings of fact and decisions.

(b) A parent involved in hearings has the right to:

(1) Have the child who is the subject of the hearing present at the hearing;

(2) Open the hearing to the public.

(3) Obtain an electronic, verbatim record of the hearing in lieu of a written verbatim record; and

(4) Obtain electronic findings of fact and decisions in lieu of written findings and decisions.

(c) The record of the hearing and the findings of fact and decisions described in subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be provided at no cost to the parent.

(d) (1) An attorney authorized to practice law in the Superior Court of the State of Connecticut and in good standing with that court may represent a party in the advisory opinion process or hearing or, as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, sponsor a visiting attorney to serve as co-counsel in accordance with subdivision (3) of this subsection, provided the visiting attorney is a member in good standing of the bar of at least one other state, the District of Columbia or a territory or commonwealth of the United States. Said local attorney and the visiting attorney, if any, shall file an appearance with the due process unit on a form provided by the unit. The form shall include the following information: name of the child, name of the public agency, case number, name of the attorney, mailing address, each bar to which the attorney has been admitted to practice law and juris number or the equivalent thereof, telephone number, facsimile number, electronic mail address, signature and date signed. The appearance form shall be mailed to the due process unit, the hearing officer and the other party in the proceeding or their attorney. In the case of a visiting attorney, the affidavit required pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection shall also be mailed to the hearing officer and the other party in the proceeding or their attorney.

(2) Prior to the appearance of a visiting attorney in the advisory opinion process or hearing, the following information shall be filed with the due process unit:

(A) an appearance for the sponsoring attorney signed by said attorney, if not already on file;

(B) an appearance for the visiting attorney signed by said attorney; and,

(C) an affidavit, certified by the visiting attorney that (i) identifies each bar to which the visiting attorney has been admitted to practice and (ii) declares that the visiting attorney is in good standing for each admission.

Upon receipt of the information from the visiting attorney, the due process unit shall provide written notice of the appearance of the visiting attorney to the Statewide Grievance Committee. After the due process unit provides such notice, the visiting attorney may thereafter appear and participate in the advisory opinion process or hearing identified in the appearance form.

(3) The sponsoring attorney shall be responsible for the actions of the visiting attorney in the advisory opinion process or hearing. A sponsoring attorney shall be present at all proceedings and shall sign all pleadings, briefs and other papers filed with the hearing officer, unless the hearing officer has excused the sponsoring attorney from such obligations. Upon the sponsoring attorney's motion or sua sponte, the hearing officer may excuse the sponsoring attorney from any procedure, hearing date or appearance, and the granting of such motion shall not be unreasonably withheld. An attorney's misrepresentation of his or her good standing in any court shall be a ground for a hearing officer to deny, suspend, modify or revoke the privilege of representing a party in the advisory opinion process or hearing.

(4) A party to the advisory opinion process or hearing, including a parent representing the legal interest of his or her own child, may appear pro se. When a party elects to proceed pro se but is accompanied by an attorney or an advocate, the hearing officer may enter such orders to assure that the pro se party presents its case efficiently and in a manner that does not prejudice the opposing party, including but not limited to, an order that the attorney or advocate not participate directly by making argument or objections or examining witnesses.

(Adopted effective July 1, 2000; Amended March 26, 2004)