Nika Gholston

Due Process Hearing Officer @Alabama State Department Of Education

AL, US

The Special Education Hearing Officer serves as an impartial adjudicator responsible for conducting due process hearings under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This role ensures fair, timely, and legally sound resolution of disputes between parents/guardians and school districts regarding the identification, evaluation, educational placement, and provision of free appropriate public education (FAPE) for students with disabilities.Preside over impartial due process hearings involving disputes over the provision of special education to students in Alabama schools under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Conduct pre-hearing conferences and issued pre-hearing orders, review expert reports and other documentary evidence for admissibility, decide motions and evidentiary objections, receive expert and lay testimony, and conduct examinations of witnesses. Serve as Settlement Judge to aid parties in resolving disputes before trial. Interpret federal education regulations, research case law, determine remedies and sanctions, and issue legal opinions and case decisions with lengthy findings of fact and conclusions of law within the applicable federal timeline.

Harvard Law School

CopyrightX

Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University

B.S., Biology, Chemistry

Samford University

JD, Law