Hearing Letter 25: The Witness Planner
When to Use It
Fill one block for every witness before the hearing opens. In New York the district carries the burdens of production and persuasion, except that the parent bears both on the appropriateness of a unilateral placement (N.Y. Educ. Law § 4404(1)(c)). The statute does not prescribe which party presents first. Confirm the impartial hearing officer’s order at the prehearing conference, disclose your witnesses and exhibits, and prepare to establish the requested relief regardless of presentation order.
Four witnesses decide most ordinary cases, and they split cleanly. The district's side of the table holds the CSE chairperson, who speaks to the IEP and the process, the provider, who speaks to what was actually delivered, and the district evaluator, who speaks to the testing. Your side holds you, who establish the timeline and the parental-participation facts, and your expert, who gives the opinion the FAPE or placement claim needs. Keep the distinction the record turns on: a treating provider or a school witness testifies to facts, while a retained expert testifies to an opinion and must be qualified on the record before the opinion comes in (H-Tool 55).
Use it with: H-Tool 61 (direct examination) and H-Tool 62 (cross-examination of the district's witnesses).
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- The Form
- Before You Use It
Finish this packet document and download the editable file
The full Hearing Room - the step-by-step moves for the ordinary IDEA due process hearing, the scripts, the packet documents, and the New York overlay - is its own membership, separate from the Field Manual membership.
The Hearing Room membership opens soon.