I may be exercising the blog writers privilege here, but do you realize how difficult it is for a due process hearing officer to write a decision? This post results from the convergence of two facts: I'm going to do a presentation on decision writing as a last minute replacement at the California SpEd ALJ Conference at UCLA next week and I am currently writing a decision.
If you have any tips as to the former, please let me know. Any good decision writers out there? Anybody ever receive a due process decision that they didn't like (other than just the result)?
I'm not at a complete loss. I have done some previous hearing officer trainings on the topic. Also, I have written my share of decisions. But I'm always looking for help.
One thing many new hos don't realize is that decision writing doesn't exist in a vacuum. You have to do your preliminary research to know what's relevant. You have to run a good hearing to make sure you have the evidence you need to rule. You have to have clearly identified the issues at the prehearing conference in order to decide all issues in the decision. Sitting down to write is still a task, but there are steps you can take before you get there to make it a bit easier. Being a good ho is an art! Portrait of the artist as a young ho...
Don't forget to vote on our poll about the case before the supreme court. For the parents has a razor thin lead over for the school district. Also on the techno-end, the Facebook group and the Ning group and the Twitter group continue to grow and my twitter mini-posts are on the left-hand side of the blog. How do you like these technical innovations so far?
Don't forget to vote on our poll about the case before the supreme court. For the parents has a razor thin lead over for the school district. Also on the techno-end, the Facebook group and the Ning group and the Twitter group continue to grow and my twitter mini-posts are on the left-hand side of the blog. How do you like these technical innovations so far?
I know what you are going through because my husband is a retired judge and agonized over handing down his decisions. He always felt the weight that his decision made in affecting someone's life. I know he constantly referred to the laws and the facts that were given in the trial that backed his decision. Sometimes he had to make a decision he didn't like because one side didn't produce enough evidence for him to decide their way. Good luck with your presentation. I guess that means you won't be at the CEC conference in Seattle? I will be there.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important for the hearing officer to provide a clear discussion on the weight they give to testimony. Courts often rely on their judgment as to the proper weight to give testimony since the hearing officer is in a better position than they are to assess it.
ReplyDeleteMatt Stowe
I’ll preface by saying that I practice special education law in Pennsylvania. Your call was for decisions that we do not like. With respect, it may be more useful to consider what makes a decision good. The best decisions I have ever received were from Hearing Officers who clearly articulated the disputed issues, then went on to address each issue systematically. This yields overt, unambiguous factual findings, credibility determinations and legal analysis. Such decisions are helpful because they serve as a reality check on the losing party and lower the likelihood of appeal.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Crane is the best hearing officer we have in the Commonwealth of MA. Some of his decisions:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.doe.mass.edu/bsea/rulings/09-1335.pdf
http://www.doe.mass.edu/bsea/decisions/08-5330.pdf
Thanks loonyhiker,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that others also take decision writing seriously.
No, sorry I'll miss you at CEC. I presented at CEC last year and hope to do so again. Great organization.
Jim
Thanks Matt,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Credibility and the reasons we were persuaded are the hardest and most important parts of a decision!
Jim
Thanks Brian,
ReplyDeleteMany HOs are afraid to adress opposing viewpoints for fear they may persuade a reviewing court that they are wrong. But I agree with you. Explaining why arguments are rejected is fairer and does, I believe, make the losing party feel at least listened to if not happy.
Jim
Thanks Anon,
ReplyDeleteI have met Mr. Crane and he is very thoughtful. But I had heard that many of the Mass hos are extremely good. I had two of them in a training last year, and they seemed very smart and competent. I may be biased having met and worked with these folks, but they all seem extremely good to me.
Jim
http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/cgi-bin/swish-e/oal.cgi/?query=iep+%2B+2009&submit=Search!
ReplyDeletehttp://odr.pattan.net/dueprocess/Appeals-Browse.aspx?pageNumber=8&AppealAuthor=McElligott
I think that one of the most important things in writing a good special education decision is that the decision needs to effectively communicate with the folks who need to understand it. So... not only the parties, who may be represented by counsel, but many school districts who are not lawyers and will try to digest the decision.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anon & Pamela,
ReplyDeleteI used many of your comments. See the April 7 post.
Jim
California ALJ's need all the help they can get!
ReplyDeleteI see them as basing lot of recent decision on Rowley when Rowley has been outdated by updates to IDEA99, and 2004! IDEA 2004 states the out come should be Maximum self sufficiency when Rowley offers a floor (or more likely a basement) of opportunity out of which few ever climb. Based in national results and outrageous numbers of prison populations most sped kids are left in the basement and move to prison.