Page 85 - 2021-22 By-Laws

Rule 17 - Investigations ... Waivers

b. The hearing officer will prepare an agenda for the hearing, and a copy thereof shall be
furnished to the affected party, the IHSAA and all interested parties to the appeal. The
hearing officer shall set the length of the appeal hearing and shall have the power to
administer oaths and affirmations, rule upon offers of proof, receive relevant oral or
documentary evidence, regulate the course of the hearing and conduct of the parties and
witnesses, and do such other things necessary to effectuate the purposes of the IHSAA.
c. Attendance at the non-public Review Committee hearings:
(1) Each School principal or designee who conducted the initial investigation and/or made
the initial recommendation(s) or decision(s), as well as the Commissioner, Assistant
Commissioner or designee, is expected to attend the Review Committee hearing;
(2) Unless there exists extenuating circumstances, all Affected Parties, which includes
the student and the parents and/or guardians, shall attend the Review Committee
hearing; failure of an Affected Party to appear at the Review Committee hearing
without a valid excuse will subject the appeal to dismissal;
(3) To make each Review Committee hearing more informal and less intimidating,
neither the IHSAA nor a party may be represented at the hearing by a professional
representative or an attorney, provided however, the Review Committee reserves the
right to consult with its own counsel at any time; and,
(4) Only witnesses with relevant testimony may attend a Review Committee hearing; a
witness may attend via a video/audio conferencing platform (e.g. Zoom), provided good
cause is timely shown. Note: Review Committee hearings are non-public and may
not be streamed or published by a witness attending via a video/audio conferencing
platform.
(Amended pursuant to an emergency by-law amendment of the Executive Committee on
June 25, 2021.)
d. Each party to the appeal shall present, through the appeal statements, the party’s case.
This initial presentation should be limited to Fifteen (15) minutes. This presentation may
be supplemented through brief oral testimony, however, the testimony shall be limited to
pertinent evidence which is key to the party’s position. Lengthy statements and testimony
shall not be allowed. Following the parties’ presentations, the Review Committee shall ask
questions of the parties and the witnesses as needed. Following the questioning of the
Review Committee, the parties shall have a right of brief cross-examination of all parties
and witnesses present; lengthy cross-examination shall not be allowed.
e. The technical rules of evidence will not be applicable, and therefore, any oral or documentary
information may be received, but the Review Committee reserves the right to exclude any
information which it determines to be irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious.
f. The hearing officer shall require that the examination of witnesses be orderly. When
examination is disorderly, it may be terminated and the disruptive individuals may be
excluded from the hearing.
g. When more than One (1) party has requested an appeal, and where the facts are
substantially the same for all parties, a single hearing may be conducted when deemed
advisable by the hearing officer.
h. The Review Committee is not bound by the decision of a principal or the Commissioner,
but shall make its decision in the matter based upon the facts and information presented at
the hearing, and shall base its findings on information presented to it at the hearing which
it determines to be reliable, credible and of probative value. The Review Committee’s
decision may be based upon different facts and/or upon different rules from those cited or
relied upon by either the School principal or the Commissioner in their prior decisions or
rulings.
i. The Review Committee’s findings and decision, along with the rule upon which it is based,
shall be promptly sent to the School principal(s) involved and the Affected Party or Parties
along with a notice about the process for appealing the decision to the Panel described in
rule 17-10.
j. A record of the proceedings shall be kept and, when so directed by the hearing officer, a
transcript thereof prepared. Such a transcript, when signed and verified by the hearing
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