| (B) In lieu either of a recording of the testimony
electronically or of the reporting of testimony by a court reporter,
the parties to a hearing may agree upon a statement of the evidence
to use transcription as a statement of the testimonial evidence, or
agree to the summarization of testimony before the hearing officer,
provided, however, that proceedings or any part of them must be transcribed
on written request of any party.
(C) Unless otherwise provided in this subchapter, the
party requesting a transcription of any electronic recording of the
proceedings shall bear the cost for transcribing the testimony. Nothing
provided for in this section limits the Agency to an electronic record
of the proceedings.
(D) The record of the proceedings, including exhibits
and any transcription, shall be made available to the parties by the
Agency no later than the 30th business day after the close of the
hearing.
(13) The hearing officer shall issue a recommendation
that shall set forth the principal issues and relevant facts that
were stated at the hearing and the applicable provisions of law, rule,
the requirements of the BET manual, or any instruction by Agency personnel.
The recommendation shall contain findings of fact and conclusions
with respect to each of the issues, and the reasons and bases for
the conclusions.
(14) In formulating a recommendation, the hearing officer
shall not evaluate whether the Agency's actions were wise, efficient,
or effective. Rather, the hearing officer is limited to determining
whether the Agency's actions were unreasonable, or if they violated
applicable law, this subchapter, the requirements of the BET manual,
or any instruction by Agency personnel.
(15) If the hearing officer finds that the actions
taken by the Agency were unreasonable or violated applicable law,
this subchapter, the requirements of the BET manual, or any instruction
by Agency personnel, the hearing officer shall also recommend any
prospective action necessary to correct the violations.
(16) The hearing officer's recommendation shall be
made no later than the 30th business day after the receipt of the
official transcript. The recommendation shall be delivered promptly
to the VRD director.
(17) The VRD director shall review the recommendation
of the hearing officer and forward a decision to the manager no later
than the 20th business day after receipt of the hearing officer's
recommendation. The VRD director's decision shall include findings
of fact and conclusions of law based on the evidence in the record
and separately stated.
(18) Subject to the provisions of Texas Government
Code, §2001.144 and §2001.146, the VRD director's decision
shall be the final decision of the Agency. Any such decision becomes
the final decision of the Agency if a timely motion for rehearing
or reconsideration is not filed.
(f) Arbitration. A manager appealing the Agency's decision
must file a complaint with the US Secretary of Education in conformity
with the provisions of the implementing regulations at 34 CFR §395.13
of the Act, pertaining to arbitration of vendor complaints.
|
