District of Columbia

The published process

Placement during a dispute

"once a due process complaint is sent to the other party, during the resolution process time period, and while waiting for the decision of any impartial due process hearing or court proceeding, unless you and OSSE or LEA agree otherwise, your child must remain in his or her current educational placement." — Notice, The Child's Placement While the Due Process Complaint and Hearing are Pending, retrieved Aug 25, 2026

Independent evaluation at public expense

"You have the right to an IEE of your child at public expense if you disagree with an evaluation of your child obtained by the LEA involved, subject to the following conditions:" the LEA must, without unnecessary delay, either file a due process complaint to defend its evaluation or "provide an independent educational evaluation at public expense, unless the LEA demonstrates in a hearing that the evaluation of your child that you obtained did not meet the LEA’s criteria." "You are entitled to only one IEE of your child at public expense each time the LEA conducts an evaluation of your child with which you disagree." — Notice, Independent Educational Evaluations

Who may be present, and what record is made

"You have the right to represent yourself at a due process hearing. In addition, any party to a due process hearing (including a hearing relating to disciplinary procedures) has the right to:" "Be accompanied and advised by an attorney and/or persons with special knowledge or training regarding the problems of children with disabilities;" be represented by an attorney; present and cross-examine evidence and witnesses; and "Obtain a written, or, at your option, electronic, word-for-word record of the hearing; and" obtain written findings of fact and decisions. Parents additionally have the right to have the child present, open the hearing to the public, and "Have the record of the hearing, the findings of fact and decisions provided at no cost." — Notice, Hearing Rights. Recording of IEP Team meetings, as distinct from due process hearings, is not stated in the sources reviewed (the notice and the five OSSE overview pages captured were searched).

The three rows above answer the questions an experienced adviser raises first, from the state’s own published documents, or record that a question is not answered in them.

Timelines, as stated in the sources

All quoted; none calculated. From the Notice of Procedural Safeguards except where noted.

On mediation: "Each meeting in the mediation process must be scheduled in a timely manner and held at a place that is convenient for you and the LEA." No specific numeric mediation timeline is stated in the sources reviewed, unlike the 30-day figures some other states publish.

On state complaints: "OSSE must include in its State complaint procedures a time limit of sixty (60) calendar days after a complaint is filed to:" complete its investigation and issue a written decision. Extension is permitted: "Permit an extension of the sixty (60) calendar day time limit only if:" "Exceptional circumstances exist with respect to a particular State complaint; or" the parties voluntarily agree to extend the time to pursue mediation or another means of dispute resolution. (Adoption of State Complaint Procedures; Minimum State Complaint Procedures)

On requesting a due process hearing: "The due process complaint must allege a violation that happened not more than two (2) years before you or the LEA knew or should have known about the alleged action that forms the basis of the due process complaint." (Filing a Due Process Complaint)

On the resolution process: "Within fifteen (15) calendar days of receiving notice of your due process complaint, and before the due process hearing begins, the LEA involved must convene a meeting with you and the relevant member or members of the IEP team who have specific knowledge of the facts identified in your due process complaint." "If the LEA has not resolved the due process complaint to your satisfaction within thirty (30) calendar days of the receipt of the due process complaint (during the time period for the resolution process), the due process hearing may occur." (Resolution Process)

On the hearing decision: "OSSE must ensure that not later than forty five (45) calendar days after the expiration of the thirty (30) calendar day period for resolution meetings" or the adjusted resolution period, "A final decision is reached in the hearing; and" a copy is mailed or transmitted to the parties. A hearing officer may, for good cause, grant specific extensions at either party's request. (Timelines and Convenience of Hearings)

On appeal: "The party (you or the LEA) bringing the action has 90 calendar days from the date of the decision of the hearing officer to file a civil action." — matching the federal default recorded for Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, and Delaware. (Civil Actions, Including the Time Period in Which to File Those Actions)

On discipline: "school personnel may, for not more than ten (10) school days in a row, remove a child with a disability who violates a code of student conduct from his or her current placement to an appropriate interim alternative educational setting, another setting, or suspension." "Within ten (10) school days of any decision to change the placement of a child with a disability because of a violation of a code of student conduct" (except a removal of ten school days or fewer that is not a change of placement), the LEA and IEP Team must hold a manifestation determination. "Whether or not the behavior was a manifestation of your child’s disability, school personnel may remove a student to an interim alternative educational setting (determined by the child’s IEP Team) for not more than forty five (45) school days, if your child" carries a weapon, knowingly possesses or uses illegal drugs, or has inflicted serious bodily injury. For an appeal of a disciplinary placement, "The State Educational Agency or LEA must arrange for an expedited due process hearing, which must occur within twenty (20) school days of the date the hearing is requested and must result in a determination within ten (10) school days after the hearing." Unless waived or resolved through mediation, "a resolution meeting must occur within seven (7) calendar days of receiving notice of the due process complaint. The hearing may proceed unless the matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties within fifteen (15) calendar days of receipt of the due process complaint." A note in the notice flags a carve-out: "[NOTE: THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS (DCPS) HAVE ADOPTED DIFFERENT PROCEDURES REGARDING THE DISCIPLINE OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES." (Authority of School Personnel; Manifestation Determination; Special Circumstances; Appeal)

What any of this means for a particular situation is for the agency and its processes to determine.

Change log

Aug 25, 2026 · Page created (pilot). Captured first-party: the full text of the District of Columbia IDEA Part B Notice of Procedural Safeguards (Revised August 2018), the Alternative Dispute Resolution Services overview page, the Office of Dispute Resolution (ODR) service page, the Specialized Education State Complaints service page, the ODR Special Education Due Process Hearing page, and the ODR Special Education Mediation page. Findings recorded rather than smoothed: (1) DC splits dispute resolution across two OSSE units — the Office of Dispute Resolution (ODR) runs due process hearings, mediation, and facilitation, while a separate State Complaint Office within OSSE's Office of Special Education, Division of Systems and Supports, K-12, runs state complaints, each with its own contact page; (2) the notice's own publication page carries a post date of September 18, 2018, older than most other states' current notices captured so far, with no more recent version linked; (3) the notice does not name a parent center or supply contact details for one, only referencing generically the "Parent Training and Information Center established under IDEA"; OSSE's Alternative Dispute Resolution Services page separately lists Advocates for Justice in Education (AJE) as a resource, not explicitly labeled the District's PTI; (4) the notice flags that DCPS (District of Columbia Public Schools) applies different discipline procedures from the ones this notice describes, for any child enrolled at a DCPS school or a charter that has elected DCPS as its LEA; (5) the State Complaint Office's own page names a service contact (Victoria Glick) but publishes no direct phone number or street address distinct from OSSE's general contact information; (6) no specific numeric mediation timeline is stated in the sources reviewed, unlike the 30-day figures some other states publish; (7) recording of IEP Team meetings, as distinct from due process hearings, is not addressed in the sources reviewed. Capture pending: the Due Process Complaint Form, the Specialized Education State Complaint Form, the State Complaint Fact Sheet, the Mediation Request Form, the mediation and ODR FAQs, the Cadre of Hearing Officers and Mediators list, DCPS' own discipline-specific procedural safeguards, translated versions of the notice, and the Advocates for Justice in Education site. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-08-25. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.