j. Good Cause for Failure to Appear at Hearing

A new hearing shall be scheduled if the parent had good cause for failing to appear. The parent or his or her representative shall submit a good cause request to the administrative hearing official within ten days of the date of the original hearing.

Good cause reasons for not appearing at the hearing shall include, but not be limited to illness of the individual or immediate family member, a family emergency, severe weather or the unavoidable loss of transportation where there was no alternative immediately available.

The administrative hearing official shall decide if good cause exists and enters the decision into the hearing record. If good cause exists, the administrative hearing official who presided at the initial hearing shall schedule a new hearing. The decision reached as the result of the original hearing shall be rendered null and void when a new hearing is scheduled.