Written State Complaints

Do any of you contract with or otherwise utilize your Attorney General’s office to help conduct state complaint investigations?

We have recently received several written state complaints in languages other than English (one in Chinese, one in Korean, and two in Spanish) and are running into challenges with language access and translation. We are trying to create procedures for complaints with different language needs. The question we are running into is whether the district response needs to be translated and who is responsible (SEA or the LEA) for translating that response. Based on our state regulations, we require districts to provide a written response, which generally consists of a narrative response letter and then the supporting documents (IEPs, evaluations, progress reporting, etc.). Then, we send the district response to the parent/complainant and provide them an opportunity to reply. So, our question is whether the SEA needs to translate the district response or whether we have leverage to say the LEA has to translate the response in order for the parent to participate. Or, whether we could provide the response in English, but facilitate a parent reply by doing an interview with an interpreter. Etc. Questions: 1. If you send the district response to the parent/complainant, do you translate it? 2. Do you translate other communications or the decision/report? 3. Do you have a policy or procedure for complaints in other languages? 4. Does your agency have a language access policy?

What policy does your state have regarding interpreting special education complaint documents to parents who have filed a complaint and English is not their primary language? Is there a threshold for interpreting such documents? What are the requirements regarding interpreting forms?

How do other Tier One states that require all due process complaints to be filed with the SEA calculate various timelines? 1. In the case of an expedited due process complaint, do you require LEAs to convene a resolution meeting within 7 days of the SEA’s receipt of the complaint or the LEA’s receipt of the complaint? Is the same true for the resolution period? 2. In the case of a non-expedited due process complaint, do you require LEAs to convene a resolution meeting within 15 days of the SEA’s receipt of the complaint or the LEA’s receipt of the complaint? Is the same true for the resolution period?

We are interested in other states’ practices relative to the requirements of  34 CFR 300.0153(d) specifically: 1) What, if any, practices do states have to verify that a copy of the complaint was forwarded to the LEA? 2) What, if any, timelines do states have in place that determine if the complaint was forwarded “at the same time” and how were those timelines created?

How do other states calculate the final decision date when parties have agreed to extend the 60-day timeline for mediation and mediation results in impasse?

Are there any states who currently use third party vendors to investigate State Administrative Complaints?

What do other states do when a third party complainant names multiple students in the complaint? Do any states have written policies or procedures? Do you provide a notice of filing letter to the parents? What if the third party complainant has not provided a release from the parents, what information do you give the complainant?

What do other states do when a third party complainant names multiple students in the complaint? Do any states have written policies or procedures? Do you provide a notice of filing letter to the parents? What if the third party complainant has not provided a release from the parents, what information do you give the complainant? According to our state Administrative Rule, complainants receive a copy of the district’s response and then have 10 days to provide additional information. However, the complainant would be able to determine who the students are. The same problem arises with a redacted final report. 

If a student with an IEP spends time in another country for some of the school year, what is the district’s responsibility with regard to providing services in the IEP?  There are multiple families leaving the country to visit family. They have a determined residence in our state.