The D.C. Hearing Room: the IDEA due process hearing in Washington, D.C.
The ordinary IDEA due process hearing in the District of Columbia, start to finish. The opening tool is free to read; membership unlocks the rest.
PART I - IS THERE A CASE, AND IS IT YOURS TO BRING
- D.C. Tool 1: Which forum, which claim: sorting a D.C. dispute onto the right road free
- D.C. Tool 2: The claim inventory, and the burden that rides on each claim
- D.C. Tool 3: The two-year clock, and the two ways it moves
- D.C. Tool 4: Exhaustion: when you must run the hearing first
- D.C. Tool 5: The remedy you can actually get
- D.C. Tool 6: Washington, D.C.: one tier, one hearing office, and the burden that shifts halfway
- D.C. Tool 7: Who you are actually suing: choosing the respondent in a two-sector city
PART II - THE COMPLAINT, AND THE ROADS THAT AVOID A HEARING
- D.C. Tool 8: Drafting the due process complaint on the D.C. model form
- D.C. Tool 9: Sufficiency: the 15-day challenge, and how to survive it
- D.C. Tool 10: Filing with ODR and serving the respondent
- D.C. Tool 11: The LEA's response, and the answer you read for admissions
- D.C. Tool 12: The resolution session, and the waiver checkbox
- D.C. Tool 13: Mediation
- D.C. Tool 14: Withdrawal without waiver
PART III - BUILDING THE RECORD
- D.C. Tool 15: The records foundation: the complete file, free, before you plead
- D.C. Tool 16: The independent evaluation as evidence
- D.C. Tool 17: Reading the IEPs and the progress data as your timeline
- D.C. Tool 18: No subpoena: the Notice to Appear
- D.C. Tool 19: The expert, and the $6,000 the District lets you recover
- D.C. Tool 20: The exhibit set and the five-business-day disclosure
- D.C. Tool 21: Researching your hearing officer
PART IV - PLANNING THE HEARING
- D.C. Tool 22: The theory of the case
- D.C. Tool 23: Who proves what: the prima facie gate, and the burden that shifts
- D.C. Tool 24: The prehearing conference and the order that governs your case
- D.C. Tool 25: Motions, and the deadline that swallows them
- D.C. Tool 26: Direct examination
- D.C. Tool 27: Cross-examination of the LEA's witnesses
- D.C. Tool 28: Objections, offers of proof, and protecting the record for court
PART V - HEARING DAY, THE DECISION, AND THE REMEDY
- D.C. Tool 29: Hearing day, on video
- D.C. Tool 30: Reading the HOD, and the timelines inside it
- D.C. Tool 31: Compensatory education: proving the make-up your child is owed
- D.C. Tool 32: Tuition reimbursement, and the burden that stays yours
- D.C. Tool 33: Prospective relief, placement, and the Branham factors
- D.C. Tool 34: Enforcement: winning is not getting
- D.C. Tool 35: The D.C. rights nobody tells you about