Board adopts concise 'de novo' definition, agrees hearing procedure text appears elsewhere

Board members debated whether the term 'de novo' should simply be defined as a Latin term meaning 'from the beginning' or whether the definition should include step‑by‑step procedural guidance for how the Board conducts such hearings. Some members argued for a short, dictionary-style definition; others wanted process-level clarity in the same paragraph.

Chair Gene Ryan proposed a concise definition—"an appeal in which a case is completely retried without deference to prior determinations or findings"—that incorporated language discussed from Cornell Law. The board agreed to adopt the shorter definition in the definitions section and to keep the more detailed procedural description in the separate de novo hearings rule so the document does not duplicate content.