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Q&A
OATH's handling of DOE's June 1 deadline policy in hearings
2:20:30
ยท
3 min
Council Member Restler inquires about OATH's handling of DOE's newly enforced June 1 deadline for non-public school students' applications for continued services. Commissioner Rahman explains OATH's role in adjudicating this issue during hearings.
- DOE enforced the June 1 deadline for the first time, resulting in thousands of children potentially losing vital services.
- The June 1 deadline is in the law, and it's up to DOE to raise it as a legal defense in hearings.
- OATH hearing officers independently adjudicate these claims based on the facts and law of each case.
- Commissioner Rahman notes that DOE has been raising this claim more frequently since last summer, but OATH doesn't track specific data on its frequency or outcomes.
Lincoln Restler
2:20:30
I wanted to follow-up on the issue of this June 1 policy that DOE implemented for the first time this past year.
2:20:37
My understanding is that for children attending non public schools that sorry, let me restate that.
2:20:44
DOE enforced the June 1 deadline for the first time for children that attend non public schools regarding their applications for continued services.
2:20:54
This resulted in thousands of children being left without vital services.
2:20:59
Has Oath seen an increase in cases relating to this issue, how many, and is Oath taking into account the fact that the city never ever previously enforced this deadline?
Asim Rahman
2:21:09
So this is a question that would come up in the course of a hearing.
2:21:15
DOE, the June 1 deadline is in the law.
2:21:19
It's up to DOE to raise that in a hearing or not as a legal defense or as a legal claim that this particular due process complaint or this assertion should not move forward because they missed the deadline.
2:21:31
It is a legal
Lincoln Restler
2:21:32
Are they consistently raising it in hearings?
Asim Rahman
2:21:34
So it is I'll come to that in a second.
2:21:38
It is being when it's raised, it then has to be adjudicated by the hearing officer.
2:21:42
The hearing officer is going to look at that claim.
2:21:45
They're going to look at the facts of that case.
2:21:47
They're going to look at the law.
2:21:48
They're going to reach a determination.
Lincoln Restler
2:21:49
Do you give guidance to hearing officers on how to handle this?
Asim Rahman
2:21:52
Once they are trained, they are independent.
2:21:54
They reach the determinations based on the fact and law in front of them.
2:21:57
So as an agency head, I do not give them guidance, not my place to.
2:22:00
Our deputy commissioner does not direct them on how to rule these.
2:22:03
We trust them to reach the result that they believe is right under the law and the facts.
2:22:07
So what it might mean is it could mean
Lincoln Restler
2:22:09
So that may mean that it's inconsistently applied depending on the hearing officer if we don't have a consistent approach.
Asim Rahman
2:22:13
Well, I'll say this.
2:22:16
We don't keep data details of individual dispositions.
2:22:21
We may know the number of cases, but this a legal ruling within a case.
2:22:26
It's not something that we track.
2:22:28
I can tell you anecdotally that since this issue emerged, anecdotally we've seen DOE raise it more as a claim in a case than we did before this past summer.
2:22:42
So are we seeing it being raised as a claim by one party?
2:22:46
Yes, we are.
2:22:47
Do I have data on the frequency?
2:22:48
I do not.
Lincoln Restler
2:22:52
It's troubling because we've never seen the law implemented before.
2:22:56
So for many people who have been navigating the very painful bureaucracy of our special education system for years.
2:23:03
They didn't know this was a meaningful deadline, and then all of a sudden it was having outsized impact on their lives.
2:23:09
And it sounds to me like we think DOE is raising this a bunch of the time, but we don't know exactly how much, And we don't know how different hearing officers are approaching it individually based on the facts of the case, even though it seems like we should be allowing for greater latitude or flexibility since there was no warning provided by the DOE that this knew that they were finally taking this deadline seriously.
2:23:33
I just think we're putting families in a horrible position and dramatically impacting their access to the special education services that they need.
2:23:41
Is there anything more that you can do in the leadership role of the agency in trying to help rectify this to ensure that families get the services and support that they deserve?
Asim Rahman
2:23:49
If it's a legal argument that a party is entitled to raise in a hearing, they can raise that and the other party is in a position to explain why the hearing officer should or should not follow that argument.
Lincoln Restler
2:23:59
Are these families primarily arguing cases without an attorney?