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DIY Due Process Diary – Part 1 – The Plan for the Plan

Is it possible to do Due Process effectively and cheaply (free-ish)?

Due Process is the mechanism to challenge the actions of a school district related to an Individualized Education Program (IEP) under the US Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The whole premise of Due Process was, allegedly, to make things easier and quicker to protect special education students instead of forcing parents to hire a lawyer and go to court, but in practice seems to be slow and expensive… and still seems to require a lawyer.

But, maybe that isn’t actually correct.

My goal is to try to figure out how to do “Due Process” myself so that I don’t have to hire a lawyer to address my family’s issues, but also as a tool to push for change to local (and maybe state-level) education for Disabled Learners.

This is going to be quite specific to California, but hopefully can be helpful for folks elsewhere.

There are two types of complaints that parents can file in California:

  • 1. Due Process – to address problems with the procedures related to your child’s IEP and the creation of the IEP.
  • 2. Compliance Complaint – to address problems with the compliance with the content of the IEP itself and compliance by the school district with special education law.

(see Information on Due Process/Compliance Procedures)

NOTE – it is possible for school districts to take parents to Due Process.

These are, of course, handled by two completely different systems and organizations.

Due Process

Office of Administrative Hearings – Special Education Division is responsible for the Due Process process in California and they have a Self-Help guide that walks you through the process step-by-step. Their full downloadable handbook goes through the process in great detail. There is also a Special Education Summary of Educational Rights.

IDEA’s Due Process Complaint is specified by Sec. 300.508 Due process complaint and resolution by Sec. 300.510 Resolution process. The full procedural safeguards are specified Subpart E Procedural Safeguards Due Process Procedures for Parents and Children… interestingly, the Compliance Complaint process seems to be a California “thing” (more research needed – is this still covered by Federal Due Process regulations?).

Previous California Due Process decisions are public records and can be reviewed online.

All of the California Due Process Forms are available online.

A list of low-cost or free Special Education Attorneys and Advocates is also available.

You can actually subscribe to receive a copy of decisions by email:(mailto:SEListServe@dgs.ca.gov)

… of course, the Compliance Complaint process works completely differently.

Several law firms and other groups have resources.. Lozano Smith has a nice Due Process checklist as does Disability Rights California with their Information on Due Process and Compliance Procedures.

Compliance Complaints

There are two types of compliance complaints:

  • ** Individual** – affecting a single child/student.
  • ** Systemic ** – how an LEA (Local Education Authority, school district typically) is operating.

The complaint must be sent to both the LEA and the California Department of Education. There is a model complaint form, but it does not seem to be required.

There is a one year window from incident until the complaint is filed.

Details of the California Compliance Complaint Process.

The Guidance Regarding Regulations for Special Education Compliance Complaints should also be checked as well as the referenced regulations….

The Request for Compliance Complaint Investigation from

Unlike for Due Process cases, there is currently no public database of Compliance Complaints, though there is one coming … in 2030 (don’t want to hurry!) (AB 1861 in 2026).

(Maybe we should talk to the California Assembly Education Committee?

What could happen if the complaint succeeds (don’t get too excited):

  • Conduct further assessments
  • Submit plans outlining proposals to correct violations and prevent future ones
  • Initiate personnel training in the areas of violations
  • Provide compensatory education or reimbursement
  • Review and/or revise procedures and practices
  • Participate in monitoring and reporting activities
  • Convene an IEP meeting

(The weakeness of these measures may be one of the reasons California is not in full compliance with IDEA :( ).

Dispute Resolution Services

California supports a number of Dispute Resolution service options beyond Due Process and Compliance Complaints. It is somewhat ironic that the whole premise of Due Process for IDEA was to make things easier and faster and cheaper… which it isn’t, so now there is yet another layer of “support”.

Personally, I am dubious.

For school districts, time is their friend, for parents trying to get their kids the educational supports they need, time is their enemy… and these additional “tools” look like they buy school districts more time if things have gone wrong.

The biggest problem is that they are not truly independent.

“Alternative Dispute Resolution” is a run through the SELPAs (Special Educational Local Planning Authorities)… the bureaucratic middle layer between the state and the school districts for special education. They are run by school system professionals, they are typically overseen by school district superintendents, and they have previously opposed services that favored parents and students such as providing IEPs in the native language of the parents.

.. but, a tool is a tool, and you should know what you can access.

As far as I can tell, there is no public data out of these programs.

(I’ll dig into this more later)

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