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What do I do if the Commission votes to sanction my certificate? |
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If an educator does not sign the Consent Order in front of a notary public and return it to the Professional Standards Commission within 30 days thereby accepting the proposed sanction, he may request an administrative hearing. The hearing request must be in writing and clearly express a desire to contest the PSC’s probable cause determination. |
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What is the purpose of a hearing? |
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A hearing gives the educator an opportunity
to present witnesses or evidence in support of his or her case or explain
any mitigating circumstances. |
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What happens if I request a hearing? |
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A copy of the investigative file is forwarded to the State Attorney General’s Office, which represents the PSC. Once an Assistant Attorney General is assigned, the educator/educator’s attorney may contact that attorney to request documents or discuss possible settlement. |
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Do I have to have an attorney? |
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It is not necessary to have an attorney
in order to request a hearing. |
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Where is the hearing held and
what do I need to do to prepare for a hearing? |
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The Office of State Administrative Hearings (OSAH) is an independent State Agency that will appoint an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to conduct the hearing. The purpose of OSAH’s existence is to provide a neutral ground for the hearing process. |
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OSAH is located at 235 Peachtree Street, NE, Atlanta, GA 30303, (404) 657-2800.
The ALJ will serve a Notice of Hearing upon all parties which will schedule the date, time and location for the matter to be heard. The Notice of Hearing will also contain other important procedural information.
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In preparation for a hearing, the educator must file an Answer to the AG’s Statement of Matters Asserted. It is during this time that the educator should gather any witnesses and/or evidence he wishes to present at the hearing in support of his case. |
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The ALJ will serve a Notice of Hearing
upon all parties which will schedule the date, time and location for the
matter to be heard. The Notice of Hearing will also contain other important
procedural information. |
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What happens at the hearing? |
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The hearing will be conducted according
to OSAH’s rules, PSC rules, and the Administrative Procedures Act.
A certified Court Reporter will be in attendance to take down and produce
a transcript of the proceedings. The PSC shall incur all costs related
to the transcript and provide the original with original exhibits to the
ALJ to assist with preparing the Initial Decision. The PSC also orders
a copy of the official transcript to be forwarded to the Assistant AG by
the ALJ’s Case Management Assistant. Should the educator or the attorney
representing the educator wish to purchase a copy, it is available through
the court reporting service. The ALJ should receive the transcript within
3 or 4 weeks from the hearing date. |
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The Initial Decision is a recommendation
back to the PSC based on credibility of the witnesses and all evidence
presented at the hearing. OSAH’s rules state that the ALJ will render
an Initial Decision within 30 days of the close of the record. The record
is usually deemed closed either upon receipt of the transcript or, if so
ordered by the ALJ, upon receipt of Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions
of Law being filed by both parties. If, due to the complexities of the
issues and/or the length of the record, the ALJ determines that the Initial
Decision will not be rendered within thirty (30) days, he/she will issue
an order projecting a date of issuance in accordance with OSAH rule 616-1-2-.27. |
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Could a hearing result in a more
serious sanction? |
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After hearing a case, the ALJ has the authority
to order any of the possible sanctions. While it is unusual, it is possible
that the Initial Decision will be a more serious sanction than the original
probable cause determination by the PSC. |
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What happens after the judge makes
a decision? |
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Once an Initial Decision has been rendered,
the PSC and the educator have thirty (30) days from the “Filed” stamp
date to accept or appeal the decision. The decision will be presented to
the PSC at the next monthly Commission meeting. The PSC will vote to either
accept the ALJ’s decision or vote to conduct a Review Hearing. Should
the educator wish to appeal the ALJ’s decision, he/she must file
an Application for Agency Review within thirty (30) days of the “Filed” stamp
date of the Initial Decision. The application must state the reasons for
seeking the review and alleged errors made by the ALJ. If neither party
ask for Review of the Initial Decision, at the conclusion of the thirty
(30) days, the Initial Decision will then become the Final Decision of
the PSC by operation of law and a Final Order will be served on all parties. |
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If I request a review hearing,
what happens? |
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The Review Hearing shall be held to
those issues raised in the educator’s Application for Agency Review
or the PSC’s Order Scheduling Review. According to the Administrative
Procedures Act, the Review Hearing must be conducted within thirty days.
It also allows for two thirty-day extensions, if the PSC finds it impractical
to conduct the review within thirty days of the Initial Decision. The PSC
will produce an order scheduling the Review Hearing and serve it upon the
parties. The Review Hearing will be conducted in accordance with PSC rule
505-6-.05. The arguments at the review hearing must be limited to the OSAH
hearing record. Each side will have 20 minutes to present oral argument
to the Commissioners. At the conclusion of all oral argument, the PSC will
go into executive session to deliberate on a final decision. Following
executive session, the PSC will announce it’s final decision in open
session. A copy of the Final Order is usually served upon the educator
and/or the attorney for the educator immediately following the announcement
of the decision. |
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Is there any appeal following the
review hearing? |
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If the Respondent decides to appeal
the final decision, he or she must file a petition in superior court within
30 days after service of the Final Decision pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 50-13-19. |
