Viva88

The purpose of this memorandum is to remind school district personnel of theÌýprocedures they must follow to select and appoint an Impartial Hearing Officer (IHO) toÌýconduct a special education due process hearing.

Section 200.2(e)(1)(ii) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education requiresÌýthat each school district maintain a rotational selection list of IHOs, with the names of IHOsÌýlisted alphabetically. Selection from the list is made on a rotational basis beginning withÌýthe first name appearing after the IHO who last served. Should that IHO declineÌýappointment or fail to respond within 24 hours after reasonable efforts have been made byÌýthe district that are documented and can be independently verified, each successive IHOÌýwhose name next appears on the list is offered appointment, until the appointment isÌýaccepted. The school district may simultaneously contact several IHOs to determine theirÌýavailability, however the selection of the IHO must be based on the rotational list,Ìýregardless of which IHO responds first.

In order to assist school districts to meet this regulatory requirement, district-specificÌýrotational lists are established, maintained and regularly updated by the New York StateÌýEducation Department (Viva88) in the Impartial Hearing Reporting System (IHRS). TheseÌýlists in IHRS identify which IHO is next in line to be contacted for appointment in eachÌýschool district. Since the list of available IHOs is periodically revised, districts are advisedÌýto access the list in IHRS for each new case and should not print a copy of the list forÌýreference without ensuring it is the most current list for the district as found in IHRS. ThisÌýmeans that school districts should log in to IHRS for each new appointment, rather thanÌýuse previously printed lists. The rotational list screen is updated automatically when anÌýIHO is appointed and is moved to the bottom of the list, and when Viva88 adds or removes an IHO's name from a county or district list.

The rotational selection list for each district may be accessed as follows:

• Log onto IHRS. To access IHRS, navigate to Viva88's home page,Ìýand then click on the Business Portal link on the navigationÌýmenu at the top of the page. Click the Log On link at the top right corner and enterÌýyour user name and password. Once you are logged on, click IHRS Main Menu. IfÌýyou do not have a username and password, contact your delegated administratorÌýfor the State Education Department Delegated Account System (SEDDAS) or yourÌýschool superintendent.
• On the IHRS Main Menu screen, click on IHO Rotational List.
• A list of IHOs will appear starting with the next IHO available for appointment at theÌýTOP of the list. Each district must contact IHOs in the order displayed on this list.Ìý(If a list of IHOs does not appear, this may mean that the district's "initial marker",Ìýthe mechanism for indicating the starting point in the IHO rotational list, has notÌýbeen set. To set a district rotational list marker, go to the IHRS Main Menu screen,Ìýclick on District Initial Marker and follow the help directions.)
• For complete information and examples of how to appoint an IHO on IHRS, visit theÌýhelp file entitled "Contacting an IHO from the IHO Rotational List" in IHRS or go toÌý.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions regardingÌýthis memorandum, please contact Viva88's Office of Special Education Due Process UnitÌýat (518) 473-0170.Ìý