Opening Statement for the Due Process Hearing

    Your due process hearing is on Monday morning. You are representing yourself. You will have no attorney. Please write your opening statement to the hearing officer. Don’t worry about presenting every detail of the evidence – this is the opening statement in the hearing. The opening statement is where you summarize your case and explain what the evidence and the testimony of the witnesses will show. You are not a lawyer and not expected to cite case law or make a formal legal argument. You just need to explain why your son is entitled to an IEP, or at least entitled to a fair hearing to determine whether he needs an IEP. In this opening statement, you should include: A brief statement of the facts of the case. The reasons for the need for an IEP for your youngest son and the process you have gone through so far. How procedural and substantive due process applies to your son in this case (i.e. what are his rights and what must the state do in order to comply with them.) A sentence or two in which you persuasively ask the hearing officer to give your son what he needs and why the hearing officer should do so.