The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 34 CFR §300.151 through §300.153, require the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to adopt written procedures for the investigation and resolution of any complaint alleging that a public agency or a Part C private service provider has violated a requirement of the IDEA. The OSSE investigates and resolves complaints that allege a violation of IDEA or the District of Columbia’s laws and policies regarding special education.

Any individual or organization may submit a written complaint that claims that any District of Columbia public agency has failed to comply with a requirement of Part B or Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or the District’s laws and regulations regarding special education, including the identification, evaluation, educational placement of the child or the provision of a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to such child.

The OSSE state complaint form has been developed to assist you in filing a state complaint. You do not need to use this form to request a complaint investigation; however, unless indicated otherwise, all of the information on the form must be included in a written request for a complaint investigation. Failure to provide all required information may delay the complaint investigation.  Requests for complaint investigations MUST be signed and dated and filed with the OSSE and, for IDEA Part B, a copy must be forwarded to the public agency at the same time the complaint is filed.

 

All questions regarding the OSSE State Complaint Policy and Procedures should be directed to the OSSE by mail or fax as indicated below.

 

Office of the State Superintendent of Education
Department of Special Education
Attn: William Knudsen
Deputy Assistant Superintendent, Monitoring and Compliance
51 N Street, NE – 7th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
202-727-2824 (phone)
202-330-5539 (fax)
www.osse.dc.gov