(a) Within 15 days of receipt of the request for a hearing and after consultation with the parties to the hearing, the hearing officer shall take action to schedule a date for the hearing and notify the parties of such date. If more than one date is necessary for completion of a hearing, the hearing officer shall set additional hearing dates following consultation with the parties and/or their legal representatives and notify the parties of such additional dates.

(b) Adjournments of the hearing dates may be granted by the hearing officer for good cause, upon a written request by a party.

(c) The parties shall exchange evidence and witness lists not less than five days prior to the initial hearing date. However, additional evidence and witnesses may be allowed at the discretion of the hearing officer.

(d) Evidence in support of the cease and desist order shall be presented by an attorney for the department. Respondent may appear personally or may be represented by counsel at the hearing.

(e) Any post-hearing submissions shall be authorized in advance of submission by the hearing officer.

(f) The department has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence the facts and circumstances constituting a violation of section 6512 or 6513 of the Education Law.

(g) Results of the hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a written report, which shall include the following:

(h) A copy of the hearing officer's written report shall be served upon the parties within 10 days of the conclusion of the hearing, together with a notice setting forth the parties' right to an administrative appeal. A hearing shall be deemed concluded upon the hearing officer's receipt of the transcript and any post hearing submissions authorized by the hearing officer.

Notice

You are hereby notified that you have the right to appeal the decision of the hearing officer to a Regents Review Committee. To initiate such an appeal, you are required to file a notice of appeal, on a form that may be obtained from the Professional Conduct Officer, New York State Education Department, 475 Park Avenue South, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10016, within twenty days of the receipt of the hearing officer's report. The notice of appeal shall include a statement of the issues to be considered on appeal and a statement of any errors alleged to have been made by the hearing officer, and shall include any other supporting papers and an affidavit of service attesting that such notice and supporting papers were served on all other parties to the proceeding. The notice of appeal and any accompanying documents shall be filed with the Office of Legal Services, New York State Education Department, 475 Park Avenue South, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10016.

(i) The report of the hearing officer shall be final, unless it has been appealed to a Regents Review Committee within 20 days of the receipt of the hearing officer's report, as provided in section 31.8 of this Part.