Facing problems at a school can be difficult, if you don’t know who to talk to, to get things resolved fast. There are ways that anyone (student, parent, teacher, employee, etc.) can use to be heard and treated fairly put together by the government to assist us when times get rough and we feel a need to file a formal complaint.

Follow these steps to complete this process.

Instructions
1. Step 1
Contact the school administration office for information regarding the school district policy for filing a complaint. Be sure to do this as soon as possible after the incident occurs if it was a discriminatory act, as you will be facing Office of Civil Rights deadlines, which are normally six months from the date the incident happened.
2. Step 2
Follow the schools rules for filing a complaint and go through their process first on your local level before going to a state or national agency for help. The school will most likely want to fix the problem before it escalates to a higher level.
3. Step 3
Be sure to make notes of how your complaint was handled, especially if you are not pleased with the end results. Solid, detailed notes will help you should you need to move your complaint up a level to a state or national office.
4. Step 4
Write a letter to the Office for Civil Rights or fill out the complaint form provided after you contact them this office if this was a discriminatory incident. Write your reliable personal contact information in the letter so someone will be able to reach you for additional information.
5. Step 5
Write an overall description of events and the people involved in the incident on all sides. No names are required. Write down exactly where the incident took place including the mailing address.
6. Step 6
Put in detail the alleged discriminatory act so that the Office for Civil Rights can easily understand it. You want them to know exactly what happened and your basis for the allegation.