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Title 20, EducationRelease 119-110

§1234 Office of Administrative Law Judges

Title 20 › CHAPTER 31 — GENERAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING EDUCATION › SUBCHAPTER IV — ENFORCEMENT › § 1234

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates an Office of Administrative Law Judges inside the Department of Education to hold hearings on recovery of funds, withholding, cease-and-desist orders, and other cases the Secretary assigns. The Secretary must appoint the judges under 5 U.S.C. 3105. Judges are Department employees and must meet the ALJ rules in 5 U.S.C. 3105. The Secretary must pick one judge to be chief and should favor candidates with experience in State or local school agencies. The chief assigns judges to cases, and a judge must step aside if they have a big interest in the case, were a lawyer in it, are a key witness, or are closely related to a party or the party’s lawyer. Judges review preliminary Department decisions and can require evidence. Hearings follow the hearing rules in 5 U.S.C. 554, 556, and 557, and the costs/fees rules in 5 U.S.C. 504 apply. Judges can order document production, written questions, and depositions if those things are likely to help the case, are not meant to harass, and serve justice. Discovery is normally limited to 90 days but can be extended for good cause, and judges may set a schedule. Judges can issue subpoenas and ask a federal court to enforce them. The Secretary must offer voluntary mediation with an independent mediator agreed to by the parties; the mediator must consider mitigating circumstances and proportion of harm under section 1234b, settlement talks are not admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 408, and mediation is limited to 120 days unless extended. The Secretary must keep enough staff and judges to handle cases in a timely way.

Full Legal Text

Title 20, §1234

Education, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Establishment; duties
The Secretary shall establish in the Department of Education an Office of Administrative Law Judges (hereinafter in this subchapter referred to as the “Office”) which shall conduct—
(1)recovery of funds hearings pursuant to section 1234a of this title,
(2)withholding hearings pursuant to section 1234d of this title,
(3)cease and desist hearings pursuant to section 1234e of this title, and
(4)other proceedings designated by the Secretary.
(b)Appointment
The administrative law judges (hereinafter “judges”) of the Office shall be appointed by the Secretary in accordance with section 3105 of title 5.
(c)Employment requirements; chief judge
The judges shall be officers or employees of the Department. The judges shall meet the requirements imposed for administrative law judges pursuant to section 3105 of title 5. In choosing among equally qualified candidates for such positions the Secretary shall give favorable consideration to the candidates’ experience in State or local educational agencies and their knowledge of the workings of Federal education programs in such agencies. The Secretary shall designate one of the judges of the Office to be the chief judge.
(d)Assignment of judges
For the purposes of conducting hearings described in subsection (a), the chief judge shall assign a judge to each case or class of cases. A judge shall be disqualified in any case in which the judge has a substantial interest, has been of counsel, is or has been a material witness, or is so related to or connected with any party or the party’s attorney as to make it improper for the judge to be assigned to the case.
(e)Review and evidentiary functions
The judge shall review and may require that evidence be taken on the sufficiency of the preliminary departmental determination as set forth in section 1234a of this title.
(f)Conduct of proceedings; costs and fees of parties
(1)The proceedings of the Office shall be conducted according to such rules as the Secretary shall prescribe by regulation in conformance with the rules relating to hearings in title 5, section 554, 556, and 557.
(2)The provisions of title 5, section 504, relating to costs and fees of parties, shall apply to the proceedings before the Department.
(g)Discovery; scope, time, etc.; issue and enforcement of subpoenas
(1)In order to secure a fair, expeditious, and economical resolution of cases and where the judge determines that the discovered information is likely to elicit relevant information with respect to an issue in the case, is not sought primarily for the purposes of delay or harassment, and would serve the ends of justice, the judge may order a party to—
(A)produce relevant documents;
(B)answer written interrogatories that inquire into relevant matters; and
(C)have depositions taken.
The judge shall set a time limit of 90 days on the discovery period. The judge may extend this period for good cause shown. At the request of any party, the judge may establish a specific schedule for the conduct of discovery.
(2)In order to carry out the provisions of subsections (f)(1) and (g)(1), the judge is authorized to issue subpoenas and apply to the appropriate court of the United States for enforcement of a subpoena. The court may enforce the subpoena as if it pertained to a proceeding before that court.
(h)Mediation of disputes
The Secretary shall establish a process for the voluntary mediation of disputes pending before the Office. The mediator shall be agreed to by all parties involved in mediation and shall be independent of the parties to the dispute. In the mediation of disputes the Secretary shall consider mitigating circumstances and proportion of harm pursuant to section 1234b of this title. In accordance with rule 408 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, evidence of conduct or statements made in compromise negotiations shall not be admissible in proceedings before the Office. Mediation shall be limited to 120 days, except that the mediator may grant extensions of such period.
(i)Professional personnel; employment, assignment, or transfer
The Secretary shall employ, assign, or transfer sufficient professional personnel, including judges of the Office, to ensure that all matters brought before the Office may be dealt with in a timely manner.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Federal Rules of Evidence, referred to in subsec. (h), are set out in the Appendix to Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

Amendments

1988—Pub. L. 100–297 amended section generally, substituting provisions relating to Office of Administrative Law Judges for provisions relating to Education Appeal Board.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1988 Amendment Pub. L. 100–297, title III, § 3501(b), Apr. 28, 1988, 102 Stat. 357, provided that: “(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the

Amendments

made by this section [enacting sections 1234f to 1234i of this title and amending this section and section 1232d and 1234a to 1234e of this title] shall be effective 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Apr. 28, 1988]. “(2) The

Amendments

made by this part [part D (§ 3501) of title III of Pub. L. 100–297, enacting sections 1234f to 1234i of this title and amending this section and section 1232d and 1234a to 1234e of this title] shall not apply to any case in which the recipient, prior to the

Effective Date

of this part, received a written notice that such recipient must return funds to the Department.”

Effective Date

Subchapter effective 120 days after Nov. 1, 1978, see section 1261 of Pub. L. 95–561, set out as a note under section 1232c of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

20 U.S.C. § 1234

Title 20, Education

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110