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If the parent is the petitioner, the district will have the right to respond to your Request for Review in one of two ways, either with

1. an "Answer" or

2. an "Answer with Cross-Appeal."

If the parent is the petitioner,  an Answer is the district's response to the issues you as the petitioner have raised and the Answer explains why the district thinks the impartial hearing officer's decision was correct.

An Answer with Cross-Appeal is similar to an Answer, but it also includes argument by the respondent district that some portion(s) of the impartial hearing officer's decision are incorrect as well.  If the district serves you with an Answer that includes a Cross-Appeal and thereby challenges a portion of the IHO's decision, then you will have the right to respond to the district's Cross-Appeal with an Answer of your own as described in the next step in this guide.