Request for Special Education Complaint Investigation Form

If you believe that a public education agency has not followed special education requirements, you may file a special education complaint with the Texas Education Agency (TEA). “Public education agency” includes the State Education Agency, a local education agency (LEA), an educational service agency (ESA), a nonprofit public charter school that is not otherwise included as an LEA or ESA and is not a school of an LEA or an ESA, and any other political subdivision of the state that is responsible for providing education to students with disabilities.

TEA has designed this online model form and a hardcopy model form for you to use to request a special education complaint investigation. You can find additional information about special education dispute resolution at Special Education Complaints Process | Texas Education Agency.

You may choose not to use this online form or the hardcopy model form to request a special education complaint investigation. However, if you create your own form or submit your complaint in letter format, you must ensure that it meets all federal and state requirements, and you must sign your request for a special education complaint investigation. You must provide a copy of your signed complaint to the public education agency against which the complaint is filed.

If you request a complaint investigation and a due process hearing on the same issues, the issues in the complaint that are also raised in the due process hearing request will remain on hold until the due process hearing has ended.

The fields below marked with an asterisk (*) are required.

If you are filing a special education complaint against more than one public education agency, you must file each complaint separately. You cannot use this form to file against more than one public education agency at a time.

1. Student's Information

In the space below, provide the student’s complete name and address. Also, provide the name of the school where the student attends. In the case of a homeless child or youth (within the meaning of section 752 (2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C 11434a(2)), provide available contact information for the student and the name of the school the student is attending.

Are you filing on behalf of multiple students? (If yes, skip to section 2.)

Are you filing on behalf of a student experiencing homelessness?

First Name

Middle Name

Last Name

Date of Birth

MonthDayYear

Address

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState

Zip Code

Name of the School Student Attends and the Name of the School District

If you are not finding the campus in the drop-down menu, please try variations of the campus spelling such as H S instead of high school.

Campus

2. Complainant’s Information

The complainant is the individual or organization filing the complaint. The complainant may file on behalf of a student or group of students. If the complainant is not the parent of the student or an adult student filing on his/her own behalf, the complainant is referred to as a third party. The complainant’s full name and contact information must be provided. For address and email, you must provide at least one of the two.

First Name

Middle Initial

Last Name

Relationship to Student

Address

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState

Zip Code

Phone

Area CodePhone Number

Alternate Phone

Area CodePhone Number

Email

Confirmation Emailexample@example.com

Additional Complainant

First Name

Middle Initial

Last Name

Relationship to Student

Address

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState

Zip Code

Phone

Area CodePhone Number

Alternate Phone

Area CodePhone Number

Email

Confirmation Emailexample@example.com

3. Complaint Information

Your complaint must allege a violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), its implementing regulations, Texas Education Code (TEC), and/or Texas Administrative Code (TAC). The alleged violation must have occurred not more than one calendar year prior to the date the complaint is received at the Texas Education Agency (TEA). If the complaint is received by TEA on a non-business day, the 60-day complaint timeline will begin the next business day. Please describe, in detail, each act that you allege violates IDEA, TEC, and/or TAC, including when the act occurred and other events that are relevant to the allegation(s). You must also provide a proposal for resolving the allegation(s). While the boxes below are fillable and expandable, if you need more space, use the additional boxes at the end of this form.

a. Is the complaint against a public education agency other than an school district or charter school? If so, please name the agency here

b. What violation(s) are you alleging occurred? Describe the nature of the allegation(s) in as much detail as possible.

c. What facts support the allegation(s)? What significant dates and events are relevant to and support the allegation(s)?

d. What documents should be reviewed by TEA during the investigation of the allegation(s)?

e. Please describe your proposal for resolving the allegation(s).

4. Complainant’s Signature

By federal regulation, you must sign the request for complaint investigation.

Signature of person filing the complaint

Signature of additional complainant

By signing the form, you agree that you are the individual whose name appears on the form and that your electronic signature serves as your signature for the purpose of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Date

MonthDayYear

Additional Assistance

Technical Assistance for the Dispute Resolution Processes:

Questions regarding this form or the special education complaint process may be addressed to:

Texas Education Agency

Division of Review and Support

1701 North Congress Avenue

Austin, Texas 78701

Telephone: (512) 463-9414

spedcomplaints@tea.texas.gov

Questions regarding requesting mediation services or due process hearings may be addressed to:

Texas Education Agency

Office of General Counsel

1701 North Congress Avenue

Austin, Texas 78701

Telephone: (512) 463-9720

SE-Legal@tea.texas.gov

SPEDTex:

https://www.spedtex.org/

1-855-773-3839

inquire@spedtex.org

The Special Education Information Center (SPEDTex) works collaboratively with stakeholders to provide resources and facilitate collaboration that supports the development and delivery of services to children with disabilities in Texas.

Toll Free Parent Information Line: 1-800-252-9668

This toll-free message line is reserved for parents and other family members who have questions about special education.

For Individuals who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

TTY Number: (512) 475-3540 | Relay Texas 7-1-1

Additional Complaint Information

Use the boxes below if you need additional room to write your complaint.

a

b

c

d

e

By hitting the “Submit” button below, you acknowledge that your special education complaint will be sent to the Texas Education Agency and to the public education agency against which your complaint is filed.

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