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Pennsylvania Statutes Title 24 P.S. Education § 2070.13. Hearing

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) Upon determination to initiate the formal adjudicatory hearing process, the department shall within 30 days send a written notice to the educator advising of the charges and of his right to request a hearing within 30 days of service of such notice. A copy of the written notice of the charges shall be served upon the current and former school entity in which the educator is or was employed. The notice of charges shall set forth all acts or omissions which the department asserts constitute misconduct and warrant discipline, which need not be limited to the allegations in the complaint or complaints, and may include allegations of misconduct that were discovered in the course of the department's investigation of a complaint or complaints.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, if the department in its discretion determines that immediate discipline is necessary to protect the health, safety or welfare of students or other persons in the schools of this Commonwealth, it may request that the commission modify the procedure set forth in this section and schedule an expedited hearing.

(c) The hearing shall be held in accordance with the following procedures unless otherwise specified in this act or ordered by the commission:

(1) Within 15 days of receiving a request for a hearing, the commission shall appoint a hearing officer from a list of impartial third parties qualified to conduct such hearings. The list shall have been previously agreed upon jointly by the Governor's General Counsel and at least two-thirds of the commission, and shall have at least five names which shall be chosen on a rotating basis.

(2) The burden of proof shall be on the department, which shall act as prosecutor, to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that grounds for discipline exist.

(3) The educator against whom the charges are made shall have the right to be represented by counsel and to present evidence and argument in accordance with rules of procedure promulgated by the commission.

(4) After the filing of charges against an educator with the commission, the current or former school entity in which the educator is or was employed may intervene as of right in the disciplinary proceeding. Admission as an intervener shall not be construed as conferring full party status on the school entity, and interveners are granted no rights which survive discontinuance or resolution of the disciplinary matter before the commission.

(5) The hearing shall be closed and only the department, commission members and staff, the educator and his or her counsel, any intervener or its counsel, if applicable, and any witnesses shall be permitted to attend. Where a witness is a child or student, the commission or its hearing officers may in their discretion permit a parent or guardian to be in attendance during the testimony of the child or student.

(6) The department may recommend to the hearing officer and commission appropriate discipline.

(7) Within 90 days after the conclusion of the hearing, receipt of the transcript and submission of written legal memoranda, the hearing officer shall issue a proposed report concerning whether the department has met its burden of establishing that misconduct has occurred and whether discipline should be imposed. The proposed report shall include findings of fact and conclusions of law and specify the recommended discipline.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Pennsylvania Statutes Title 24 P.S. Education § 2070.13. Hearing - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-24-ps-education/pa-st-sect-24-2070-13/

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