Final Decision and Order Case #26-0361

March 31, 2026

Student v. Middletown Board of Education

Final Decision and Order Granting Board's Motion to Dismiss

The Due Process Complaint was brought by the self-represented parents on February 25, 2026.  The Hearing Officer was appointed on February 26, 2026.   The mother and Board attorney participated in a prehearing conference on March 6, 2026, wherein the Hearing Officer identified issues in the Complaint.

The Complaint alleges that on February 24, 2026, the Connecticut Bureau of Education issued a Letter of Findings pursuant to Complaint #26-0361 wherein the State found a violation of the student’s right to a free and appropriate public education (“FAPE”) due to failures in safety oversight.  The Complaint alleges that “[d]espite the State’s formal finding of violation, the District has demonstrated a refusal to remedy the situation.”

During the prehearing conference, the Hearing Officer confirmed with the mother that the Complaint was being filed to enforce the Connecticut Bureau of Special Educations Letter of Findings.  The Hearing Officer indicated that she had no authority under statute to enforce any orders through the state complaint process and that the mother should return to the state investigator with her concerns.  On March 12, 2026, the Board filed a motion to dismiss the Complaint on the grounds that the Hearing Officer does not have jurisdiction to enforce the Connecticut Bureau of Education’s Letter of Findings.  The mother objected.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) delegates to state educational agencies the responsibility to supervise local school districts in their compliance with obligations to provide students with free and appropriate public education to disabled students.  IDEA regulations at 34 CFR §300.151-153 set forth minimum requirements for state educational agencies to investigate complaints filed by parents.  34 CFR §300.153 provides for the minimum requirements for the state complaint process.  IDEA regulations §300.152(c) explicitly distinguishes the state complaint process from the process of due process hearings.  Subsection (c)(1) states that when a state complaint is also the subject of due process hearing under 34 CFR§300.507, 34 CFR §300.530 or 34 CFR §300.532, the state must set aside investigating the state complaint until the conclusion of the due process hearing.  Subsection (c)(2) states that the due process hearing decision is binding on the state agency and that further, the state agency has the obligation to enforce the due process hearing decision.  

Connecticut General Statutes §10-76b (c) delegates to the Connecticut State Department of Education the supervisory authority over local and regional school districts in their IDEA obligation to provide disabled students with free and appropriate public education.  The Connecticut State Department of Education has published to the public to the state complaint process and procedures in an easy to understand question-and-answer format on the department’s website page about state complaints.  The relevant question and answer on the department’s website is quoted below:

Q: "What if the investigation finds the public education agency in noncompliance with IDEA or state requirements?”

A: “If the BSE identifies noncompliance, the Findings Letter will specify steps, which the public education agency must take to bring it into compliance.  The BSE will order specific corrective action to remediate the denial of services or procedural violations which may include, but is not limited to, compensatory education, monetary reimbursement, staff training and professional development and appropriate future provision of services for children with disabilities. The Findings Letter will include explicit timelines by which the public education agency is required to implement corrective action. The BSE may direct the school district or public education agency to develop a corrective action plan. The plan shall specify timelines and sufficient detail to describe how the violations will be corrected, and it must be approved by the BSE. The BSE is responsible for tracking and ensuring the implementation of corrective action ordered through the complaint process.  The BSE will verify that the corrective actions are implemented as soon as 4 possible within the timelines specified in the Findings Letter, and, in most cases, no later than one (1) year from the BSE’s identification of noncompliance. When the public education agency submits satisfactory evidence that all actions in the corrective action plan have been completed and correction of noncompliance is verified, the BSE will notify the public education agency and the complainant and close the complaint."

The due process hearing is not the proper way to enforce a Findings Letter.   Due Process Hearing Officers have decision making authority to confirm, modify or reject the identification, evaluation or educational placement or the provision of a free appropriate public education to a disabled student when a hearing request is brought under due process complaint procedures.  See Conn. Gen. Stat. §10-76h(3).  The State Department of Education has also included the description of the due process hearing process on its website.   In either case of state or due process complaint, parents may reach the Bureau of Special Education for information about each process to obtain clarifications of procedures and process. 

Order

The Complaint is DISMISSED.