Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) In accordance
with 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), §300.151, the Texas Education
Agency (TEA) has established a complaint resolution process that provides for
the investigation and issuance of findings regarding alleged violations of Part
B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or a state special
education statute or administrative rule.
(b) A complaint may be filed with the TEA by
any individual or organization and must:
(1)
be in writing;
(2) include the
signature and contact information for the complainant;
(3) contain a statement that a public
education agency has violated Part B of the IDEA;
34 CFR, §
300.1 et seq.; or a state special education
statute or administrative rule;
(4)
include the facts upon which the complaint is based;
(5) if alleging violations with respect to a
specific student, include:
(A) the name and
address of the residence of the student;
(B) the name of the school the student is
attending;
(C) in the case of a
homeless child or youth (within the meaning of §725(2) of the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Act (42 United States Code, §
11434a(2)), available
contact information for the student and the name of the school the student is
attending;
(D) a description of the
nature of the problem of the student, including facts relating to the problem;
and
(E) a proposed resolution of
the problem to the extent known and available to the party at the time the
complaint is filed;
(6)
allege a violation that occurred not more than one calendar year prior to the
date the complaint is received; and
(7) be forwarded to the public education
agency that is the subject of the complaint at the same time that the complaint
is filed with the TEA.
(c) A complaint must be filed with the TEA by
electronic mail, mail, hand-delivery, or facsimile. The TEA has developed a
form that may be used by persons or organizations filing a complaint. The form
is available on request from the TEA and is also available on the TEA website.
The complaint timeline will commence on the business day that TEA receives the
complaint. If a complaint is received on a day other than a business day, the
complaint timeline will commence on the first business day after the day on
which the TEA receives the complaint. The one-calendar-year statute of
limitations for a complaint will be determined based on the day that the
complaint timeline commences.
(d)
If a complaint does not meet the requirements outlined in subsection (b) of
this section, the TEA must notify the complainant of the deficiencies in the
complaint.
(e) Upon receipt of a
complaint that meets the requirements of this section, the TEA must initiate an
investigation to determine whether the public education agency is in compliance
with applicable law and regulations in accordance with the following
procedures.
(1) The TEA must send written
notification to the parties acknowledging receipt of a complaint.
(A) The notification must include:
(i) the alleged violations that will be
investigated;
(ii) alternative
procedures available to address allegations in the complaint that are outside
of the scope of Part B of the IDEA;
34 CFR,
§300.1, et seq.; or a state special
education statute or administrative rule;
(iii) a statement that the public education
agency may, at its discretion, investigate the alleged violations and propose a
resolution of the complaint;
(iv) a
statement that the parties have the opportunity to resolve the complaint
through mediation in accordance with the procedures in §
89.1193 of this title (relating to
Special Education Mediation);
(v) a
timeline for the public education agency to submit:
(I) documentation demonstrating that the
complaint has been resolved; or
(II) a written response to the complaint and
all documentation and information requested by the TEA;
(vi) a statement that the complainant may
submit additional information about the allegations in the complaint, either
orally or in writing within a timeline specified by the TEA, and may provide a
copy of any additional information to the public education agency to assist the
parties in resolving the dispute at the local level; and
(vii) a statement that the TEA may grant
extensions of the timeline for a party to submit information under clause (v)
or (vi) of this subparagraph at the request of either party.
(B) In accordance with
34 CFR, §
300.504, upon receipt of the first special
education complaint filed by a parent during a school year, TEA will provide an
electronic copy of the Notice of Procedural Safeguards to the parent, and the
public education agency against which the complaint is filed must provide the
parent with a hard copy of the Notice of Procedural Safeguards unless that
parent has elected, in accordance with
34 CFR, §
300.505, to receive the required notice by
electronic mail, if the public education agency makes that option
available.
(C) The public education
agency must provide the TEA with a written response to the complaint and all
documentation and information requested by the TEA. The public education agency
must forward its response to the parent who filed the complaint at the same
time that the response is provided to the TEA. The public education agency may
also provide the parent with a copy of the documentation and information
requested by the TEA. If the complaint was filed by an individual other than
the student's parent, the public education agency must forward a copy of the
response to that individual only if written parental consent has been provided
to the public education agency.
(2) If the complaint is also the subject of a
due process hearing or if it contains multiple issues of which one or more are
part of that due process hearing, the TEA must:
(A) set aside any part of the complaint that
is being addressed in the due process hearing until the conclusion of the
hearing; and
(B) resolve any issue
in the complaint that is not a part of the due process hearing.
(3) If an issue raised in the
complaint has previously been decided in a due process hearing involving the
same parties, the TEA must inform the complainant that the due process hearing
decision is binding.
(4) The TEA
has 60 calendar days after a valid written complaint is received to carry out
the investigation and to resolve the complaint. The TEA may extend the time
limit beyond 60 calendar days if exceptional circumstances, as determined by
the TEA, exist with respect to a particular complaint. The parties will be
notified in writing by the TEA of the exceptional circumstances, if applicable,
and the extended time limit. The time limit may also be extended if the parties
agree to extend it in order to engage in mediation pursuant to §
89.1193 of this title or other
alternative means of dispute resolution. In accordance with the Texas Education
Code, §
29.010(e),
the TEA must expedite a complaint alleging that a public education agency has
refused to enroll a student eligible for special education and related services
or that otherwise indicates a need for expedited resolution, as determined by
the TEA.
(5) During the course of
the investigation, the TEA must:
(A) conduct
an investigation of the complaint that must include a complete review of all
relevant documentation and that may include interviews with appropriate
individuals and an independent on-site investigation, if necessary;
(B) consider all facts and issues presented
and the applicable requirements specified in law, regulations, or
standards;
(C) make a determination
of compliance or noncompliance on each issue in the complaint based upon the
facts and applicable law, regulations, or standards and issue a written report
of findings of fact and conclusions, including reasons for the decision, and
any corrective actions that are required, including the time period within
which each action must be taken;
(D) review any evidence that the public
education agency has corrected noncompliance on its own initiative;
(E) ensure that the TEA's final decision is
effectively implemented, if needed, through technical assistance activities,
negotiations, and corrective actions to achieve compliance; and
(F) in the case of a complaint filed by an
individual other than the student's parent, provide a copy of the written
report only if written parental consent has been provided to the TEA.
(6) In resolving a complaint in
which a failure to provide appropriate services is found, the TEA must address:
(A) the failure to provide appropriate
services, including corrective action appropriate to address the needs of the
student, including compensatory services, monetary reimbursement, or other
corrective action appropriate to the needs of the student; and
(B) appropriate future provision of services
for all students with disabilities.
(7) In accordance with
34 CFR, §
300.600(e), the public
education agency must complete all required corrective actions as soon as
possible, and in no case later than one year after the TEA's identification of
the noncompliance. A public education agency's failure to correct the
identified noncompliance within the one-year timeline will result in an
additional finding of noncompliance under
34 CFR, §
300.600(e), and may result
in sanctions against the public education agency in accordance with §
89.1076 of this title (relating to
Interventions and Sanctions).
(f) If a party to a complaint believes that
the TEA's written report includes an error that is material to the
determination in the report, the party may submit a signed, written request for
reconsideration to the TEA by electronic mail, mail, hand-delivery, or
facsimile within 15 calendar days of the date of the report. The party's
reconsideration request must identify the asserted error and include any
documentation to support the claim. The party filing a reconsideration request
must forward a copy of the request to the other party at the same time that the
request is filed with the TEA. The other party may respond to the
reconsideration request within five calendar days of the date on which the TEA
received the request. The TEA will consider the reconsideration request and
provide a written response to the parties within 45 calendar days of receipt of
the request. The filing of a reconsideration request must not delay a public
education agency's implementation of any corrective actions required by the
TEA.
(g) In accordance with
34 CFR, §
300.1 51, the TEA's complaint resolution
procedures must be widely disseminated to parents and other interested
individuals, including parent training and information centers, protection and
advocacy agencies, independent living centers, and other appropriate
entities.
(h) In exercising its
general supervisory authority under
34 CFR, §
300.149 and §
300.600, the TEA may resolve any
other credibly alleged violation of IDEA or a state special education statute
or administrative rule that it receives even if a sufficient complaint is not
filed with the TEA in accordance with
34 CFR, §§
300.151-300.153, and this
section. In doing so, the TEA may take one or more of the following actions:
(1) requesting a response and supporting
documentation from a public education agency against which a credible violation
of IDEA or a state special education statute or administrative rule has been
alleged;
(2) conducting a desk or
on-site investigation of a public education agency;
(3) making a determination regarding the
allegation(s); and
(4) requiring a
public education agency to implement corrective actions to address any
identified noncompliance.
(i) For the purposes of subsection (h) of
this section, anonymous complaints, complaints that are received outside the
one-calendar-year statute of limitations for a special education complaint, and
complaints that do not include sufficient information or detail for the TEA to
determine that an alleged violation of special education requirements may have
occurred will not be considered to be credible complaints.
(j) If the public education agency against
which a complaint is received under subsection (h) of this section believes
that TEA made an incorrect determination of noncompliance, the public education
agency may submit a written request for reconsideration to the TEA within 15
calendar days of the date that TEA issued its findings. The reconsideration
request must identify the asserted error and include any documentation to
support the claim. The TEA will consider the reconsideration request and
provide a written response to the public education agency within 45 calendar
days of receipt of the request. The filing of a reconsideration request must
not delay a public education agency's implementation of any corrective actions
required by the TEA.
