A DPI Complaint is a formal written complaint that a parent may file with the NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI). It is your written statement, signed by you, that the school system is not following a particular law. A DPI Complaint can be brought by any agency, organization, or person.

Your DPI Complaint must be about a violation of IDEA or state law and procedure. You cannot use this process to challenge official IEP Team decisions, such as a decision about placement or a decision to exit your child from special education. (If you receive a DEC 5 or Prior Written Notice about the IEP Team’s actions, this is probably an official IEP Team decision.) You may use a DPI Complaint to address something that the school system did that is against the law. Examples include:

• Improper identification or evaluation procedures
• Failure to provide related services
• Failure to give you access to your child’s records
• Failure to provide the services in your child’s IEP
• Failure to follow IDEA disciplinary procedures

Writing a DPI Complaint is as simple as writing a letter. Your complaint must include:

• The name of the student involved (if there is a particular student)
• The name of the local school system and the specific school
• A description of how you believe the law has been violated
• The facts that form the basis for your opinion (what, when, where, etc.)
• What you would like the NC Department of Public Instruction to do to resolve the problem
• Your signature

You can also attach documents, such as your child’s evaluations or letters from school personnel, to help explain your complaint. You may send your complaint by FedEx to:

Director, Exceptional Children Division
Department of Public Instruction
6356 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-3656

You may also deliver the complaint by hand to:

Director, Exceptional Children Division
Department of Public Instruction
301 N. Wilmington Street
Raleigh, NC 27601-2825

It is important to know that there is a time limit on when you can file a DPI Complaint. You must file a complaint within one year of the violation of the law. If you ask for compensatory education (or for the school to provide the services that it did not provide because of the violation of the law), DPI may consider violations of the law that have happened in the past three years. This is a very rare situation; to be safe, file your complaint within one year of the violation.

If your complaint is incomplete, or is about something that you cannot file a DPI Complaint for, someone from the Division of Exceptional Children at DPI will contact you. That person will explain what you need to do to make the complaint acceptable.

If your complaint is or becomes official, the Division of Exceptional Children will give a copy of the complaint to the school system involved. The school system has 30 days to investigate your complaint and report back to the state. The school system may provide additional evidence to DPI about your complaint.

Once the 30 days of investigation are over, the Director of the Division of Exceptional Children has an additional 30 days to investigate and review all the evidence, and to write a final report on your complaint. The Director will send a copy of this report to you and the school system. The report will outline the facts that DPI has discovered and whether those facts show that the school violated the law. If a violation is found, the report will also contain a Corrective Action Plan (what the school must do to fix the violation).

You should have an answer to your complaint within 60 days after DPI receives it. If you do not receive a decision in a timely manner, contact the investigator assigned to your complaint at the Division of Exceptional Children. The decision of DPI is final. If you disagree with the decision, you might consider filing for a Due Process hearing.