§ 115C-325.7.  Hearing before board.

The following procedures shall apply for a board hearing for dismissal, demotion, reduction to part-time employment for disciplinary reasons, or disciplinary suspension without pay:

(1) The hearing shall be private.

(2) The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with reasonable rules adopted by the State Board of Education to govern such hearings.

(3) At the hearing, the teacher and the superintendent shall have the right to be present and to be heard, to be represented by counsel, and to present through witnesses any competent testimony relevant to the issue of whether grounds exist for a dismissal, demotion, reduction to part-time employment for disciplinary reasons, or disciplinary suspension without pay.

(4) Rules of evidence shall not apply to a hearing under this subsection, and the board may give probative effect to evidence that is of a kind commonly relied on by reasonably prudent persons in the conduct of serious affairs.

(5) At least five days before the hearing, the superintendent shall provide to the teacher a list of witnesses the superintendent intends to present, a brief statement of the nature of the testimony of each witness, and a copy of any documentary evidence the superintendent intends to present.

(6) At least three days before the hearing, the teacher shall provide the superintendent a list of witnesses the teacher intends to present, a brief statement of the nature of the testimony of each witness, and a copy of any documentary evidence the teacher intends to present.

(7) No new evidence may be presented at the hearing except upon a finding by the board that the new evidence is critical to the matter at issue and the party making the request could not, with reasonable diligence, have discovered and produced the evidence according to the schedule provided in this section.

(8) The board may subpoena and swear witnesses and may require them to give testimony and to produce records and documents relevant to the grounds for dismissal, demotion, reduction to part-time employment for disciplinary reasons, or disciplinary suspension without pay.

(9) The board shall decide all procedural issues, including limiting cumulative evidence, necessary for a fair and efficient hearing.

(10) The superintendent shall provide for making a transcript of the hearing. The teacher may request and shall receive at no charge a transcript of the proceedings. (2013-360, s. 9.6(b).)