Special Education Rights for Parents and Children 06

STATE COMPLAINT PROCEDURES

 

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DUE PROCESS HEARING COMPLAINT AND STATE COMPLAINT PROCEDURES

The regulations for Part B of IDEA set forth separate procedures for State complaints and for due process complaints and hearings.  As explained below, any individual or organization may file a State complaint alleging a violation of any Part B requirement by a school district, the State Educational Agency, or any other public agency.  Only you or a school district may file a due process complaint on any matter relating to a proposal or a refusal to initiate or change the identification, evaluation or educational placement of a child with a disability, or the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to the child.  While staff of the State Educational Agency generally must resolve a State complaint within a 60-calendar-day timeline, unless the timeline is properly extended, an impartial due process hearing officer must hear a due process complaint (if not resolved through a resolution meeting or through mediation) and issue a written decision within 45-calendar-days after the end of the resolution period, as described in this document under the heading Resolution Process, unless the hearing officer grants a specific extension of the timeline at your request or the school district's request.  The State complaint and due process complaint, resolution and hearing procedures are described more fully below.

 

ADOPTION OF STATE COMPLAINT PROCEDURES

General

Each State Educational Agency must have written procedures for:

1. Resolving any complaint, including a complaint filed by an organization or individual from another State;
2. The filing of a complaint with the State Educational Agency;
3. Widely disseminating the State complaint procedures to parents and other interested individuals, including parent training and information centers, protection and advocacy agencies, independent living centers, and other appropriate entities.

Remedies for Denial of Appropriate Services

In resolving a State complaint in which the State Educational Agency has found a failure to provide appropriate services, the State Educational Agency must address:

1. The failure to provide appropriate services, including corrective actionappropriate to address the needs of the child; and
2. Appropriate future provision of services for all children with disabilities.

 

MINIMUM STATE COMPLAINT PROCEDURES

Time Limit; Minimum Procedures

Each State Educational Agency must include in its State complaint procedures a time limit of 60 calendar days after a complaint is filed to:

1. Carry out an independent on-site investigation, if the State Educational Agency determines that an investigation is necessary;
2. Give the complainant the opportunity to submit additional information, either orally or in writing, about the allegations in the complaint;
3. Provide the school district or other public agency with the opportunity to respond to the complaint, including, at a minimum: (a) at the option of the agency, a proposal to resolve the complaint; and (b) an opportunity for a parent who has filed a complaint and the agency to agree voluntarily to engage in mediation;
4. Review all relevant information and make an independent determination as to whether the school district or other public agency is violating a requirement of Part B of the IDEA; and
5. Issue a written decision to the complainant that addresses each allegation in the complaint and contains: (a) findings of fact and conclusions; and (b) the reasons for the State Educational Agency’s final decision.

Time Extension; Final Decision; Implementation

The State Educational Agency’s procedures described above also must:

1. Permit an extension of the 60 calendar-day time limit only if: (a) exceptional circumstances exist with respect to a particular State complaint; or (b) the parent and the school district or other public agency involved voluntarily agree to extend the time to resolve the matter through mediation or alternative means of dispute resolution, if available in the State.
2. Include procedures for effective implementation of the State Educational Agency’s final decision, if needed, including: (a) technical assistance activities; (b) negotiations; and (c) corrective actions to achieve compliance.

State Complaints and Due Process Hearings

If a written State complaint is received that is also the subject of a due process hearing as described below under the heading Filing a Due Process Complaint, or the State complaint contains multiple issues of which one or more are part of such a hearing, the State must set aside the State complaint, or any part of the State complaint that is being addressed in the due process hearing until the hearing is over. Any issue in the State complaint that is not a part of the due process hearing must be resolved using the time limit and procedures described above.

If an issue raised in a State complaint has previously been decided in a due process hearing involving the same parties (you and the school district), then the due process hearing decision is binding on that issue and the State Educational Agency must inform the complainant that the decision is binding.

A complaint alleging a school district’s or other public agency’s failure to implement a due process hearing decision must be resolved by the State Educational Agency.

 

FILING A COMPLAINT

An organization or individual may file a signed written State complaint under the procedures described above.
The State complaint must include:

1. A statement that a school district or other public agency has violated a requirement of Part B of the IDEA or its regulations;
2. The facts on which the statement is based;
3. The signature and contact information for the complainant; and
4. If alleging violations regarding a specific child:

1. The name of the child and address of the residence of the child;
2. The name of the school the child is attending;
3.  In the case of a homeless child or youth, available contact information for the child, and the name of the school the child is attending;
4.  A description of the nature of the problem of the child, including facts relating to the problem; and
5.  A proposed resolution of the problem to the extent known and available to the party filing the complaint at the time the complaint is filed.

The complaint must allege a violation that occurred not more than one year prior to the date that the complaint is received as described under the heading Adoption of State Complaint Procedures.

The party filing the State complaint must forward a copy of the complaint to the school district or other public agency serving the child at the same time the party files the complaint with the State Educational Agency.