Time Table

STEP

PROCEDURE

1.

Filing of written charges against the employee not more than five days before the next scheduled board meeting with the district clerk or the secretary of the board of education, who then must notify the board of the charges immediately (Ed. Law 3020-a, subdivisions 1 and 2).

2.

Board of education meets in executive session to determine whether there is probable cause for the charges filed within five days of receipt of the charges (Ed. Law 3020-a, subdivision 2; Commissioner’s Regulations 82-1.3 (a)).

3.

If a majority of the board finds probable cause:

a)

A written statement of the charges in detail and an outline of the employee’s rights must be forwarded to him or to her by the district clerk or secretary of the board of education immediately by certified mail (Ed. Law 3020-a, subdivision 2).

4.

The employee must notify the district clerk or the secretary of the board of education within ten days of receipt of the charges whether he or she desires a hearing on the charges. The employee may:

a)

Elect to have a hearing and so notify the district clerk or the secretary of the board of education; or

b)

Waive his right to a hearing and so notify the district clerk or the secretary of the board of education; or

c)

Take no action within ten days, in which case a waiver of the hearing right will be deemed to have occurred. (Ed. Law 3020-a, subdivision 2).

5A.

If the tenured employee elects to have a hearing, the district clerk or secretary of the board of education must notify the Commissioner of the need for a hearing. This must be done within three days of receipt of the request for a hearing. A copy of this Notice of the Need for a Hearing must also be forwarded to the employee by certified mail.

The notice to the Commissioner shall include a copy of the charges, an affidavit of service of a copy of the charges on the employee, a copy of the employee’s request for a hearing, an estimate of the number of days that will be required to hear the case, notification as to suspension and whether the suspension is with or without pay, the place to be provided by the board for the hearing, the name and address of the attorney, if any, who will represent the complainant at the hearing, and a check in the amount of $100.00 made payable to the American Arbitration Association. If the charges concern pedagogical incompetence or issues involving pedagogical judgment, the employee may choose to have the charges heard by a three member panel. In such circumstance, the notice to the Commissioner must also include the name of the panel member selected by the board from the list furnished to the district clerk or the secretary of the board of education by the Commissioner. It is essential that the person selected as panel member by the board be contacted to ascertain that the person selected will be able to serve for the duration of the hearing.

If the board fails to name a panel member in the Notice of the Need for a Hearing, the Commissioner will appoint a panel member for the board (Ed. Law 3020-a, subdivision 2; Commissioner’s Regulations 82-1.8 (b).

5B.

If the employee waives the right to a hearing or is deemed to have waived his or her right to a hearing pursuant to statute, the board, by a majority vote, determines the case and fixes the penalty or punishment, if any, to be imposed, within 15 days of receipt of the waiver of the hearing from the employee or within 15 days from the date when the waiver was deemed to have occurred (Ed. Law 3020-a, subdivision 2). Copies of the board’s determination should be provided to the employee and to the Commissioner of Education.

The following procedures apply when Step 5A has been followed. If Step 5B is selected, no further reference to the timetable is necessary.

6A.

The Commissioner shall notify the American Arbitration Association (AAA) of the need for a hearing and request AAA to provide to the Commissioner a list of names of persons chosen by the AAA from the panel of labor arbitrators to potentially serve as hearing officers, together with relevant biographical information on each arbitrator. The Commissioner shall forthwith forward a copy of the list to the board and to the employee. (Ed. Law 3020-a, subdivision 3).

Within ten days of receipt of the list of potential hearing officers and biographies, the board and employee, individually or through their attorneys, shall by mutual agreement select a hearing officer and shall notify the Commissioner of their selection. (Commissioner’s Regulations 82-1.6).

6B.

If the board and the employee fail to agree on an arbitrator to serve as hearing officer, they must notify the Commissioner within ten days of receiving the list. The Commissioner shall then request AAA to appoint a hearing officer from said list. The Commissioner shall notify the hearing officer selected and confirm his or her acceptance of such selection.

7.

The hearing officer shall contact the parties and, within ten to fifteen days of receipt of notice from the Commissioner confirming his or her acceptance of a selection to serve as hearing officer, hold a prehearing conference.

8.

Within five days after receiving a copy of the Notice of the Need for a Panel Hearing, the employee must notify the Commissioner and the board in writing by Certified Mail of the name of his or her selection for the hearing panel. If the employee fails to notify the board and the Commissioner, and the employee has not waived or been deemed to have waived his or her right to a hearing, the Commissioner shall select the member of the hearing panel for the employee (Commissioner’s Regulation 82.6). It is essential that the employee contact his or her selection for the hearing panel to ascertain if the panel member selected will be able to serve for the duration of the hearing. Where an employee has exercised the option to have the hearing conducted before a hearing panel and the hearing officer determines that the absence of a panel member is likely to delay unduly the prosecution of the hearing, he or she shall order the replacement of the panel member. If the party who selected such panel member fails to select the replacement within two days, the Commissioner will select the replacement. If the hearing officer needs to be replaced, and the Commissioner determines that the parties cannot agree on a replacement, the Commissioner shall request AAA to select a replacement from the list of hearing officers. In no event shall a panel hearing proceed except in the presence of two panel members and the hearing officer (Commissioner’s Regulations 82-1.lOd).

9.

Unless the employee or his attorney shall have served a written demand for a public hearing upon the hearing officer, at least twenty four hours before the first day of hearing, the employee will be deemed to have waived his or her right to a public hearing and the hearing will be private. The prehearing conference will be private (Commissioner’s Regulations 82-1.9).

At the prehearing conference, the hearing officer shall determine the reasonable amount of time necessary to hear the charges and shall schedule the location, time and date(s). If more than one day is required, the days scheduled shall be consecutive. The final hearing shall be completed no later than sixty days after the prehearing conference unless the hearing officer determines that extraordinary circumstances warrant a limited extension. (Ed. Law 3020-a, subdivision 3 iv).

10.

At the conclusion of the testimony, the hearing officer may adjourn the hearing to a specified date, to permit preparation of the transcript, submission by the parties of memoranda of law, and deliberation.  This date may not be more than sixty days after the prehearing conference unless the hearing officer determines that extraordinary circumstances warrant a later date. The hearing officer shall arrange for the preparation and delivery of one copy of the transcript of the hearing to each party. (Commissioner’s Regulations 82-1.lOf).

11.

Within thirty days of the final hearing day, the hearing officer or panel shall render a written decision and forward a copy of such decision to the Commissioner. The decision shall include the findings of fact on each charge and its recommendation as to disciplinary action, if such action is warranted. The findings of fact shall set forward the factual basis for its determination. The hearing officer shall, no later than thirty days from the last hearing date, forward the findings of fact and recommendations, together with all copies of the record, to the Commissioner, and shall than declare the hearing concluded (Commissioner’s Regulations 82-1.10(g).

12.

The Commissioner will immediately forward a copy of the decision, and the recommendations as to penalty, if one is warranted, to the employee and the board of education. (Ed. Law 3020-a, subdivision 4).

13.

Within fifteen days of receipt of the hearing officer’s decision, the employing board shall implement the decision. If the employee is acquitted, he or she shall be restored to his or her position with full pay for any period of suspension without pay and the charges expunged from the record (Ed. Law 3020-a, subdivision 4).

14.

Within ten days after receipt of the hearing officer’s decision, the employee or the employing board may make an application to the New York state supreme court to vacate or modify the decision pursuant to Section 7511 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules (Ed. Law 3020-a, subdivision 5).