Filing a Complaint with the NH Department of Education (NHDOE)

If you believe that a student’s education rights have been violated, you can submit a written complaint to the NH Department of Education (NHDOE) asking for an investigation.  The NHDOE has provided an online fillable Model Complaint Form to assist you in filing a complaint but you can also submit the required information on regular paper.

What must be included in a complaint?

If you want to file a complaint without using the DOE’s form, you need to include the following information:

• A statement of the problem: Explain that the school or public agency did not follow special education law.
• Facts about what happened: Describe what happened and why you believe the law was not followed.
• Your contact information: Include your name, signature, address, phone number, or email so the DOE can contact you.
• Information about the child (if the complaint is about a specific child): Child’s name and home address, Name of the school the child attends. If the child is homeless, include any available contact information and the name of the school.
• Any possible solutions: What would you like the school to do to fix the issue?

Timeline: The complaint must be about something that happened within the last 1 year.

Mail your complaint to: New Hampshire Department of Education, Attention: Special Education Complaint Office, 25 Hall Street, Concord, NH 03301. You must also provide a copy of the complaint to the school district.

For information about the timeline and process including the investigation, decision making, and possible reconsideration of the decision, download the NHDOE Bureau of Special Education’s Special Education Complaint Procedures Manual.

The difference between a Special Education Complaint and a Due Process Complaint*

The main difference between the two complaint types is that a special education complaint asks for an investigation and a due process complaint asks for hearing. Additionally, the two types of complaints go to different places within the New Hampshire Department of Education.

Special Education Complaint

• A special education complaint goes to the Special Education Complaint Office.
• When a special education complaint is submitted a person who works in that office investigates that complaint. An investigation might include reviewing paperwork and talking to people involved. Once that is complete the person determines whether the school complied with the law.
• The special education complaint is the less formal of the two types of complaints.

Due Process Complaint

• A due process complaint goes to the Governance Unit.
• By making a due process complaint, you are requesting a formal hearing that will be held before a hearing officer who does not work for the New Hampshire Department of Education.
• At a hearing, you have the chance to present your side to the hearing officer, which includes having witnesses testify and submitting evidence like pictures or documents. If you or other witnesses testify, you will be under oath, which means you must tell the truth. The hearing officer will then decide in a written order whether the school followed the law.
• If you do not agree with the written order, you are able to appeal that order in court.

*Although we have shifted our language away from the term ‘special education’ whenever the term is not legally required, it is required in the above context. For more information and to join us in the effort to Stop Special, please visit stopspecial.org.