(1)(a) To file a due process hearing request, the parent or the school district (party), or the attorney representing a party, must:
(i) Serve the request, which must remain confidential, directly with the other party; and
(ii) File a copy of the request via mail, fax, or electronically directly with the OSPI's designee, the office of administrative hearings, at the following:
Mail:
Office of Administrative Hearings
600 University Street, Suite 1500
Seattle, WA 98101-3126
Electronically: Successfully uploading documents through the filing portal operated by the office of administrative hearings.
(b) Due process hearing timelines will begin upon receipt of the request by both the other party and the office of administrative hearings, whichever date is later.
(c) When a parent is filing a due process hearing request, the party to be served is the superintendent of the school district, or public agency responsible for the student.
(2) The due process hearing request required in subsection (1) of this section must include:
(a) The name of the student;
(b) The address of the residence of the student;
(c) The name of the school the student is attending, and the name of the district or public agency that is responsible for the student's special education program in the school;
(d) In the case of a homeless child or youth, available contact information for the student in addition to the information in (c) of this subsection;
(e) A description of the nature of the problem of the student related to the proposed or refused initiation or change, including facts relating to the problem; and
(f) A proposed resolution of the problem to the extent known and available to the party at the time.
(3) OSPI has developed a due process hearing request form to assist parents and school districts filing a due process hearing. Parents and school districts are not required to use this form, and may use the form, or another form or other document, so long as the form or document that is used, meets the requirements in subsection (2) of this section.
(4) A party may not have a hearing on a due process hearing request until the party, or the attorney representing the party, files a due process hearing request that meets the requirements of subsection (2) of this section.
(5)(a) The due process hearing request will be deemed sufficient unless the party served with the due process hearing request notifies the administrative law judge and the other party in writing, within fifteen days of receipt of the due process hearing request, that the receiving party believes the due process hearing request does not meet the requirements in subsection (2) of this section.
(b) Within five days of receipt of notification that a due process hearing request is not sufficient, the administrative law judge must make a determination on the face of the due process hearing request of whether the request meets the requirements of subsection (2) of this section, and must immediately notify the parties in writing of that determination.
(6) A party may amend its due process hearing request only if:
(a) The other party consents in writing to the amendment and is given the opportunity to resolve the due process hearing request through a resolution meeting held pursuant to the procedures in WAC
392-172A-05090; or
(b) The administrative law judge grants permission, except that the administrative law judge may only grant permission to amend not later than five days before the due process hearing begins.
If a party is allowed to amend the due process hearing request under (a) or (b) of this subsection, the timelines for the resolution meeting in WAC
392-172A-05090 (2)(a) and the time period to resolve in WAC
392-172A-05090 (2)(b) begin again with the filing of the amended due process hearing request.
(7)(a) If the school district has not sent a prior written notice under WAC
392-172A-05010 to the parent regarding the subject matter contained in a parent's due process hearing request, the school must send the parent a response, within ten days of receiving the due process hearing request, that includes:
(i) An explanation of why the agency proposed or refused to take the action raised in the due process hearing request;
(ii) A description of other options that the IEP team or evaluation group considered and the reasons why those options were rejected;
(iii) A description of each evaluation procedure, assessment, record, or report the agency used as the basis for the proposed or refused action; and
(iv) A description of the other factors that are relevant to the district's proposed or refused action.
(b) A response by a school district under subsections (7) and (8) of this section shall not be construed to preclude the school district from asserting that the parent's due process hearing request was insufficient, where appropriate.
(8) Except as provided in subsection (7)(a) of this section, the party receiving a due process hearing request must send the party a response that specifically addresses the issues raised in the due process hearing request within ten days of receiving the due process hearing request.