(a) Within 30 days of the date of the Department Investigation Report, either party may request reconsideration by the Superintendent or the Superintendent's designee. The request for reconsideration shall specify and explain why:

(b) In evaluating or deciding on a request for reconsideration, the CDE will not consider any information not previously submitted to the CDE by a party during the investigation unless such information was unknown to the party at time of the investigation and, with due diligence, could not have become known to the party. This prohibition does not prohibit the CDE from seeking and obtaining information from any source necessary to issue an accurate Department Investigation Report.

(c) Within 60 days of the receipt of the request for reconsideration, the Superintendent or the Superintendent's designee shall respond in writing to the parties. Such response may include a denial of the request for reconsideration, or modifications to the Department Investigation Report necessary to ensure factual and legal accuracy. Pending the Superintendent's response to a request for reconsideration, the Department Investigation Report remains in effect and enforceable, unless stayed by a court.

(d) Appeals from investigations of complaints involving Child Development contractors, whether public or private, shall be made to the Superintendent of Public Instruction as provided in subsection (a) except as otherwise provided in division 19 of title 5 of the Code of California Regulations.

(e) For those federal programs for which there is a right to appeal to the United States Secretary of Education, the parties shall be notified of that right.