| (a) At any time, a party or all parties to a dispute
involving a matter with respect to the provision of appropriate early
childhood intervention services or a potential or actual violation
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part C or other
applicable federal or Texas statutes or regulations or rules may request
mediation of that dispute by sending the request in writing to the
Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) Director of Early
Childhood Intervention (ECI). A request for mediation must:
(1) be in writing and signed by the requesting party;
(2) state the dispute to be mediated with some detail
showing it is a matter with respect to the provision of appropriate
early childhood intervention services to a particular child or children,
or that it is a matter with respect to a potential or actual violation
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part C or other
applicable federal or Texas statutes or regulations or rules;
(3) name the opposing party or parties and, if they
have agreed to mediation, contain their signatures;
(4) give contact information for all parties to the
extent known by the requestor; and
(5) show that the request for mediation has also been
sent to all other parties or that attempts have been made to do so,
if possible.
(b) If the request for mediation is also a complaint
pursuant to §350.215 of this subchapter (relating to Early Childhood
Intervention Procedures for Filing Complaints), it will be handled
both as a complaint and as a request for mediation under subsection
(c) of this section. If the request for mediation is also a request
for a due process hearing, it will be handled both as a request for
a due process hearing and a request for mediation under subsection
(c) of this section. If the request for mediation does not clearly
designate itself as a complaint or request for a due process hearing,
or if it does not comply with the filing requirements for those procedures,
it will be handled only as a request for mediation under this section.
(c) If the parties to a request for a due process hearing
as described in 40 TAC §101.1107 (relating to Administrative
Hearings Concerning Individual Child Rights) agree to mediate the
dispute in accordance with 40 TAC §101.947 (relating to Mediation
Procedures), those procedures shall apply, but the mediation shall
also comply with the requirements of federal regulation 34 CFR §303.431.
(d) If the parties to a complaint filed with HHSC under §350.215
of this subchapter agree to mediate the dispute in accordance with §350.217
of this subchapter (relating to Procedures for Investigation and Resolution
of Complaints), the procedures in this section apply except for those
in subsections (b) and (c) of this section.
(e) If not all parties have agreed to mediation, HHSC
will make reasonable efforts to contact the other parties and give
them the opportunity to agree to or to decline mediation. If neither
HHSC nor the requesting party is able to obtain agreement to mediate
by all parties within a reasonable time, HHSC may notify the requesting
party and treat the original request for mediation as having been
declined by the other party or parties.
(f) The parties may agree to mediate some or all of
the disputes described in the request for mediation, and they may
amend the disputes to be mediated by agreeing in writing.
(g) If HHSC is not a party to the dispute being mediated,
HHSC will not be a party to any mediation resolution agreement and
will not sign it, but HHSC may assist in the enforcement of it if
requested.
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §350.218 adopted to be effective June 30, 2019, 44 TexReg 3280; transferred effective March 1, 2021, as published in the Texas Register February 5, 2021, 46 TexReg 941; amended to be effective March 17, 2022, 47 TexReg 1280 |
