Written State Complaints

If a due process resolution agreement addresses all issues set aside in a state complaint, do you continue with the state complaint investigation?

I am working on a complaint decision right now where we are considering ordering a temporary diagnostic placement and an independent evaluation. In the four years I’ve been doing complaint investigation our agency has never ordered a placement as a remedy in a complaint. Are placements something you order as a complaint remedy?

Our office is investigating a State complaint where one of the allegations deals with the matter of “involuntary transfers.” I had never heard about this until receiving the complaint. Has anyone ever dealt with involuntary transfers in a complaint and if you have, did your state consider it to be a disciplinary removal?

We have schools called non-public agencies (NPAs). These include some private schools, residential schools, out of state residential placements, etc. There is a process through the State to have a school approved as an NPA. LEAs can place student at an NPA to provide educational services, with the LEA retaining the responsibility to provide FAPE. Currently, we do not directly investigate NPAs through our written state complaint process. Instead, if a complaint is filed it is against the placing LEA and we investigate the LEA who has placed the student at the NPA. We are considering changing our complaint process to include NPAs directly in the written state complaint process, in other words we would be able to investigate the NPA directly. Do any other states investigate NPAs (or your equivalent), including out-of-state residential placements, through their written state complaint process?

Have any of you investigated complaints over graduations requirements? Essentially that a student should not graduate or should not have been graduated because the complainant argues they shouldn’t be issued a regular diploma because they are on an alternate assessment, and their curriculum was modified.

In the past 6 months or so we have had two schools file complaints against parents to enforce mediation agreements.  I don’t see that we have any authority to require a parent to comply with a mediation agreement even if we did determine the parent didn’t comply with the agreement.  The most recent complaint filed by the school against the parent has resulted in the parent filing a complaint against the school, and the parties now agreeing to use mediation to attempt to resolve the first complaint but not, at least so far, the second. We want to propose that the state board of education amend the regulation more in line with Washington’s regulations that the complaint must state the school district is not implementing the mediation or resolution agreement.  Do any other states have similar language that you can share?

There has been some talk about considering updating our rules to include electronic submission of state complaints. I am just wondering how other states who already accept them electronically do so? Also did you see in an increase in complaints when you began allowing electronic submissions?

Our state is looking to increase the use of early and alternative dispute resolution options, including using these options to resolve state complaints. We are aware that some states will notify the LEA that they have X number of days to offer a proposal to resolve the complaint, or to reach a resolution with the complainant to the issues in the complaint, before the SEA proceeds with its investigation or requires the LEA to respond to the complaint. If your state has this type of procedure, what are the associated timelines in which the LEA has to provide that proposal for resolution or reach a resolution with the complainant? Do you have an example of correspondence you could share in which the LEA is notified of such an option?

If an SEA has issued corrective actions to include comp services, but then the student is not available during the one year time frame due to extenuating circumstance (ex. Hospitalization), how would you handle the requirement for comp services (also considering the need to close out the corrective actions at the SEA level)? Any unique approaches?

Do other states fine an LEA for not completing corrective actions in a complaint?