Where the employee desires a hearing, he or she may file a written request for a hearing with the clerk or secretary of the employing board within 10 days of receipt of the charges, and where the charges concern pedagogical incompetence or issues involving pedagogical judgment, the employee shall choose either a single hearing officer or a three member panel. In the request for a hearing, the employee may designate an attorney who will represent the employee at the hearing and who shall be authorized to receive correspondence from the commissioner pertaining to the 3020-a proceeding on his or her behalf.