Impartial Hearing Requirements and Procedures

FAQs and Guidance

The documents below provide responses to frequently asked questions and informal guidance about the impartial hearing process in New York State. 

• Questions and Answers on Impartial Due Process Hearings for Students with Disabilities – Revised May 2025
• Questions Relating to Impartial Hearing Procedures Pursuant to Sections 200.1, 200.5 and 200.16 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, as Amended Effective February 1, 2014 – Revised September 2016
• Summary and Guidance on Amendments to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Regarding Special Education Impartial Hearing Procedures – February 2014

Field Advisories

The New York State Office of Special Education has issued the following memoranda to clarify information pertaining to various regulatory and administrative responsibilities relating to the impartial hearing process.

All of State

• Requirements Related to Special Education Impartial Hearings – September 2017
• Guidance on Procedures Relating to Special Education Impartial Hearings – June 2016
• Selection and Appointment of Special Education Impartial Hearing Officers – April 2015
• Compensation Rates for Impartial Hearing Officers – August 2001

New York City

• New York City Impartial Hearing Decision Process – April 2022
• Impartial Hearing Officer Recusals from Appointments – November 2019
• Provision of Related Services to Students with Disabilities Placed in Approved Private Schools in New York City – September 2012

Accelerated Order of Relief

• Amendment of Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Special Education Due Process System Procedures – At their July 2022 meeting, the Board of Regents approved for permanent adoption the amendment of sections 200.5(j) and 200.21(a) and the addition of 200.5(o) to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education relating to special education impartial hearing officers (IHOs) and the special education due process procedures. These regulations become permanently effective on July 27, 2022. Chapter 812 of the Laws of 2021 (Chapter 812) was enacted to address the timely resolution of due process complaints. Chapter 812, effective March 29, 2022, amended Education Law section 4404 to permit the immediate appointment of an IHO to due process complaints that had been on the waitlist for 196 days so that the IHO could issue an order based on a proposed order of relief submitted by the parent identifying appropriate and individualized programs and services for the student. The amendment to section 200.5(j)(3)(i)(a) permits the immediate appointment of an IHO to conduct an accelerated review of a due process complaint and section 200.5(o) establishes the process by which a parent may request an accelerated review and indicates the timelines and procedures for an IHO to issue an accelerated order of relief or finding. The amendment to section 200.21(a) establishes the compensation rate for IHOs that have been appointed to accelerated due process cases.
• Accelerated Order of Relief Fact Sheet

New York City Impartial Hearing System: Transition to the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH)

• The Memorandum of Agreement among the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, the New York City Department of Education, and the New York State Education Department provides information relating to the transition of the administration of the New York City Department of Education special education impartial hearing system to the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings.