The Long Term Suspension Hearing. At the beginning of the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall inform the student and the student’s representative(s): • that the District’s and the student’s representatives shall have the right to examine and cross-examine witnesses; • that the student has the privilege against self-incrimination, but that if the student does testify, s/he shall be subject to cross-examination; • that the District has the burden of proving the charges by a preponderance of the credible evidence; • that a tape or transcript of the proceedings shall be maintained and made available to the student’s representative upon request; and • that the hearing shall be private or open to the public, as determined by the student’s representative. In the event that one or more of the charges is sustained, the Hearing Officer shall then entertain statements from the parties regarding the appropriate penalty outcome. In the event that the parent and/or the student, in an appropriate case, have been served with a copy of the student’s past disciplinary anecdotal record in a timely fashion (at least 48 hours before the hearing), for consideration at the hearing, such record may be considered by the Hearing Officer in determining an appropriate penalty. The Hearing Officer, upon the conclusion of the portion of the proceedings dealing with penalty determinations, shall make findings of fact and penalty recommendations, if any, to the person or body which designated him/her immediately upon the conclusion of the long-term suspension hearing. The Superintendent or Board, whichever designated the Hearing Officer, shall make its own findings of fact and penalty decision, by adopting those of the designated Hearing Officer, where applicable, in whole or in part, or by reaching independent findings of fact and penalty determinations. This process shall be concluded within the five-school day period from the time of the initial suspension if the student is to be continuously suspended.
The Long Term Suspension Hearing. The hearing shall be conducted by the Superintendent of Schools or a designated Hearing Office in the event of a sus- pension by a Building Principal, Acting Building Principal or the Superintendent of Schools. The Hearing shall be conducted by the Board of Education or it’s designated Hearing Officer in the event that the suspension originated by Board of Education ac- tion. At the beginning of the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall inform the student and the student’s representative (a) that the District’s and the student’s representative shall have the right to examine and cross examine witnesses, (b) that the student has the privilege against self incrimination, but that if the student does testify, he/she shall be subject to cross-examination, (c) that the School District has the burden of proving the charges by a preponderance of the credible evidence, (d) that a transcript of the proceedings shall be maintained and made available to the student’s representative upon request and (e) that the hear- ing shall be private or open to the public as determined by the student’s representative. The person conducting the hearing shall not have intimate knowledge of the details of the charges to assure an impar- tial, unbiased hearing of the case. The Hearing Officer shall inform the party (a) that the case shall proceeded by having the District present its evidence through witnesses first, (b) that those witnesses shall be subject to cross-examination by the student’s representative. Following the conclusion of testimony and the introduction of other evidence matters, the parties shall be afforded the opportunity to pre- sent oral arguments to the Hearing Officer indicating the reasons why the charges should be sustained or dismissed. The Hearing Officer shall then reach findings of fact upon the charges. In the event that one or more of the charges is sustained, the Hearing Officer shall then entertain statements from the parties regarding the appropriate penalty outcome. In the vent that the parents and/or student in an appropriate case, have been served with a copy of the student’s past disciplinary anecdotal record in a timely fashion for consideration at the hearing, such record may be considered by the Hearing Officer in determining the appropriate penalty. The incidents contained within the past anecdotal record shall be subject to proof to the extent that they are denied by the student as expressed by the stu- dent’s representative. The Hearing Officer...
