Written State Complaints

When a district is found through the special education complaints process to be out of compliance and it appears that the student was denied FAPE, does your state specify the compensatory services that must be provided to the student as part of the corrective actions, or does your state leave it up to the IEP team to determine 1) whether compensatory services are needed and/or 2) the type, location, duration, and frequency of the compensatory services? If your state specifies the compensatory services that must be provided to the student, have you encountered instances in which the parent and/

When a special education complaint decision orders compensatory education for “real time” services such as paraprofessional and transportation, how do other states word that in the decision?  It is apparent that these services may not be able to be made up under compensatory services.

What do you think of the practice of calling complainants to “clarify” the contents of a written complaint prior to the allegations being drafted and delivered to the complaintant and LEA?

We recently received a complaint from an individual out of state who sent an email to one of our districts, which stated: Can an 18 year old adult ed GED student be referred by adult ed staff/parent for a special education eval for a possible IEP? The District responded that they do not provide IEPs for students in GED programs—only accommodations.

Have any states received a complaint on a charter school that no longer exists, and if so, how was this addressed?  Also, does your state have any policies or laws that speak to this type of situation?

Would a determination that a child is no longer eligible for special education be constituted as a change in placement? What documentation would support your answer?

Has anyone not been able to mail out a complaint report due to SEA building closure?  And if so, did you count the report as a late report?

Does your state have a process for appealing complaint findings?

Do you offer an appeal or reconsideration process for special education complaint decisions?  If you do, what is your process? Also if you don’t have an official reconsideration or appeal process, do you ever issue a “corrected” decision if the complainant or school district allege that there are “errors” in the decision (factual or substantive)?

Do any states allow complainants to remain anonymous? This issue has arisen on several occasions for Colorado, particularly where complainants may be former or current employees of the school district. Our state’s procedures do not specifically allow for anonymous complaints. If your state allows anonymous complaints, is that based on your state procedures or federal guidance?