When a parent believes a district or an AEA has violated state rules and wants the State to investigate, a formal written complaint needs to be filed with the Iowa Department of Education.

Procedures

The following materials explain the complaint process in more detail:

 Complaint Procedures

State Rules

This section of the Iowa Administrative Rules of Special Education explains the complaint process according to state law:

IDEA State Complaint Rules

Model Request Format

Since the law clearly states what criteria needs to be present in a written complaint, the material below provides rules for submitting a complaint and a model form that can be completed and submitted by the parent:

 Model Form - IDEA State Complaint