§ 300.508 Due process complaint.

Plain English summary

This section establishes the procedures and content requirements for filing a due process complaint under IDEA. It specifies what information must be included in the complaint, sets timelines for sufficiency determinations, LEA responses, and amendment procedures, and requires that a complaint meeting these requirements be filed before any due process hearing can occur.

Key requirements

• The public agency must have procedures that require either party, or the attorney representing a party, to provide to the other party a due process complaint (which must remain confidential).
• The party filing a due process complaint must forward a copy of the due process complaint to the SEA.
• The due process complaint must include: the name of the child; the address of the residence of the child; the name of the school the child is attending; in the case of a homeless child or youth, available contact information and the name of the school the child is attending; a description of the nature of the problem including facts relating to the problem; and a proposed resolution of the problem to the extent known and available to the party at the time.
• A party may not have a hearing on a due process complaint until the party, or the attorney representing the party, files a due process complaint that meets the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section.
• The due process complaint must be deemed sufficient unless the party receiving the due process complaint notifies the hearing officer and the other party in writing, within 15 days of receipt of the due process complaint, that the receiving party believes the due process complaint does not meet the requirements in paragraph (b) of this section.
• Within five days of receipt of notification under paragraph (d)(1) of this section, the hearing officer must make a determination on the face of the due process complaint of whether the due process complaint meets the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section, and must immediately notify the parties in writing of that determination.
• A party may amend its due process complaint only if the other party consents in writing to the amendment and is given the opportunity to resolve the due process complaint through a meeting held pursuant to § 300.510, or the hearing officer grants permission not later than five days before the due process hearing begins.
• If a party files an amended due process complaint, the timelines for the resolution meeting in § 300.510(a) and the time period to resolve in § 300.510(b) begin again with the filing of the amended due process complaint.
• If the LEA has not sent a prior written notice under § 300.503 to the parent regarding the subject matter contained in the parent's due process complaint, the LEA must, within 10 days of receiving the due process complaint, send to the parent a response that includes an explanation of why the agency proposed or refused to take the action raised; a description of other options the IEP Team considered and why those options were rejected; a description of each evaluation procedure, assessment, record, or report the agency used as the basis for the proposed or refused action; and a description of other relevant factors.
• Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, the party receiving a due process complaint must, within 10 days of receiving the due process complaint, send to the other party a response that specifically addresses the issues raised in the due process complaint.

Affected parties

• public agencies
• local educational agencies (LEAs)
• state educational agencies (SEAs)
• parents
• attorneys representing parties
• hearing officers
• children with disabilities
• homeless children and youth

Official source

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/part-300/section-300.508