(a) The Department of Education shall establish and maintain procedures to assure that children with disabilities and their parents or guardians are guaranteed procedural safeguards with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public education which shall include but shall not be limited to:
(1) an opportunity for the parents or guardians to examine all relevant records with respect to the identification, evaluation, and educational placement of the child and the provision of a free appropriate public education to such child, and to obtain an independent evaluation of the child;
(2) procedures to protect the rights of the child whenever the parents or guardians are unknown, unavailable, or the child is a ward of the Territory, including the assignment of an individual (who shall not be an employee of the Department of Education) to act as a surrogate for the parents or guardians;
(3) written prior notice to the parents or guardians of the child whenever the Department of Education:
(A) proposes to initiate or change, or
(B) refuses to initiate or change, the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child or the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child;
(4) procedures designed to assure that the notice required by paragraph (a)(3) of this section fully informs the parents or guardians, in the parents' or guardians' dominant language, unless it clearly is not feasible to do so, of all procedures available pursuant to this chapter;
(5) an opportunity to present complaints with respect to any matter relating to the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child, or the provision of a free appropriate public education to such child;
(6) an opportunity for an impartial due process hearing, upon receipt of a complaint under this section, shall be available to parents or guardians and such hearing shall be conducted by the Department of Education;
(7) provisions that any party to subsection (a)(6) of this section shall be accorded (1) the right to be accompanied and advised by counsel or by an advocate; (2) the right to present evidence and confront, cross-examine, and compel the attendance of witnesses; (3) the right to a written or electronic verbatim record of such hearing; and (4) the right to written findings of fact and decisions.
(b) No hearing conducted pursuant to the requirements of this chapter shall be conducted by any employee involved in the education or care of the child.
(c) Any party aggrieved by the findings and decision shall have the right to bring a civil action with respect to the complaint presented pursuant to this section, which action may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(d) During the pendency of any proceedings conducted pursuant to this section, unless the Department of Education and parents or guardians otherwise agree, the child shall remain in the then current educational placement of such child, or, if applying for initial admission to a public school, shall, with the consent of the parents or guardians, be placed in the public school program until all such proceedings have been completed.