SECTION 707.851. Can due process hearings be combined?

Yes. An administrative law judge (ALJ) may combine hearings that involve issues related to the same decision or action, including hearings from different agencies that are related. For example, if Child Care Licensing (CCL) takes an adverse action against your operation based on a finding of child abuse, neglect, or exploitation that we made, and you request a due process hearing on the abuse, neglect, or exploitation finding as well as the adverse action, then the ALJ may combine the hearing to listen to these related issues at the same time. Another example is when three different individuals are designated as perpetrators of abuse, neglect, or exploitation based on the same incident, and all three individuals request a due process hearing. In this situation, the ALJ may combine all three hearings to listen to the related abuse, neglect, or exploitation issues at the same time. However, the ALJ's judgment must reflect a determination on all of the individual due process requests before the ALJ.

Source Note: The provisions of this §707.851 adopted to be effective July 15, 2020, 45 TexReg 4780