The department shall conduct hearings initiated under section 79-1162 using hearing officers and may employ, retain, or approve such qualified hearing officers as are necessary to conduct hearings provided by sections 79-1162 to 79-1167. The hearing officers shall not be persons who are employees or officers of a state or local public agency which is involved in the education or care of the child with a disability on whose behalf the hearing is being held. A person who otherwise qualifies to conduct a hearing under such sections is not an employee of the agency solely because the person is paid by the agency to serve as a hearing officer. No hearing officer shall participate in any way in any hearing or matter in which the hearing officer may have a conflict of interest. Hearing officers appointed and assigned by the department shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over cases arising under such sections, and juvenile courts shall not in any event have jurisdiction over such matters.

Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 79-1163

  • Child with a disability: means any person having a disability listed in section 79-1118. See Nebraska Statutes 79-1117
  • Department: means the State Department of Education. See Nebraska Statutes 79-1118
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: shall include bodies politic and corporate, societies, communities, the public generally, individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, and associations. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
  • State: when applied to different states of the United States shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories organized by Congress. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
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