Teacher of the Year Ceremony
Due to inclement weather, the Teacher of the Year Ceremony has been postponed to December 16, 2025 from 5-7pm. Doors will open at 4pm. The Ceremony will take place at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford, and the order of events will remain the same.

Waterbury 25-0504

Complaint Summary

Date Findings Report Sent:

March 28, 2025

Case Number:

25-0504

Grade Level:

Elementary

Person filing complaint:

Parent

School District:

Waterbury Public Schools (single student)

Allegation(s):

  • 34 CFR § 300.321(a)(4) failure to ensure that the PPT meeting for each child with a disability includes a representative of the public agency who (i) is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities; (ii) is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum; and (iii) is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the public agency.
  • 34 CFR § 300.303(a) failure to ensure that a reevaluation of each child with a disability is conducted in accordance with §§300.304 through 300.311 (2) if the child’s parent or teacher requests a reevaluation.
  • 34 CFR § 300.324(b)(1)(ii)(A) failure to ensure revision of the IEP, as appropriate, to address any lack of expected progress toward the annual goals; and 34 CFR § 300.324(b)(2) in conducting a review of the child’s IEP, the IEP Team must consider the special factors described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.
  • 34 CFR § 300.322(b)(1)(i) failure to provide information to the parents to the purpose, time, and location of the meeting and who will be in attendance.

Conclusion(s):

  • The District was in violation of 34 CFR § 300.321(a)(4) because the District administrative designee was unable to respond to the parent’s requests and there was no regular education teacher.
  • The District is not in violation of 34 CFR § 300.303(a) as they have now ensured that a reevaluation of the Student is being conducted.
  • The District is in violation of 34 CFR § 300.324(b)(1)(ii)(A) as they did not ensure that the IEP was revised to address any lack of expected progress toward the annual goals and consider the impact of the student’s behaviors under special factors.
  • The District is in violation of 34 CFR § 300.322(b)(1)(i) because there were PPT attendees that had not been listed on the Notice of Meeting, and there were numerous invitees that did not attend and the District did not complete PPT Attendance Excusal forms.

Corrective Action(s):

  • The District will extend the student’s instructional day from a half day to a full day in order to ensure adequate access to individualized instruction and related services, and to facilitate the generalization of acquired skills in the least restrictive environment (LRE).
  • The District is to provide training on determining LRE, legal requirements of PPT membership and the completion of documentation involving PPT attendance.
  • The District is to convene a PPT prior to the end of the 2024-2025 school year to revise the student’s current IEP to ensure that all present levels of performance, goals, objectives, service hours and supplementary aids address the student’s individual needs based upon progress monitoring data and the completion of the commissioned targeted assessments.