Vermont
- Dispute routes stated in the sources
- Three, all through the Vermont Agency of Education. The notice's own resource page states it "provides information regarding mediation, due process or administrative complaint, and other subjects pertaining to the rights of parents of students with disabilities." What Vermont calls an administrative complaint is what most states call a state complaint: "any individual or organization may file an administrative complaint alleging a violation of any Part B and Vermont Special Education Rules requirement by a school district or supervisory union, the Vermont Agency of Education, or any other public agency. Only you or a school district or supervisory union may file a due process complaint on any matter relating to a proposal or a refusal to initiate or change the identification, evaluation or educational placement of a child with a disability, or the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to the child." Complaints are decided by the Secretary of Education on an investigator's report, not by a hearing officer.
- Offices in these sources
- The notice prints one filing route for all forms. "Email address for filing forms electronically:" AOE.MediationDPinfo@vermont.gov. "Mailing address for filing forms by mail:" — "Agency of Education" — "Special Education Mediation Service" — "1 National Life Drive, Davis 5" — "Montpelier, VT 05620-2501".
The forms it lists: "Mediation form", "Due process complaint: for parents", "Due process complaint: for school districts", "Administrative complaint form". An administrative complaint "must be filed with the Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Education and a copy forwarded to the school district or supervisory union or public agency serving the child."
A Part C complaint goes elsewhere: "A written complaint should be sent to the Children’s Integrated Services, Child Development Division, 280 State Drive, NOB 1 North, Waterbury, Vermont 05671-1040."
The notice also directs parents to "Your School District's Special Education Administrator" — "Contact your superintendent's office to find out the name and telephone number of this individual." - Parent centers in these sources
- Two, printed under the notice's "Other regional resources" heading. "Vermont Family Network" — "600 Blair Park, Rd Ste. 240" — "Williston, Vermont 05495" — "Phone: (802) 876-5315". "Vermont Disability Law Project" — "264 North Winooski Avenue" — "Burlington, VT 05401" — "Phone: (800) 889-2047".
- Sources last checked
- Aug 25, 2026
Reproduced from the state's own pages and documents quoted below: potentially relevant official sources, not a determination of which one governs any situation.
This page assembles what Vermont publishes about resolving special education disputes: the routes, what the published procedures state, and where the original documents live. The single source of substance is the Notice of Procedural Safeguards: Rights of Parents of Students with Disabilities, whose cover reads "Effective Date: October 19, 2022" and whose running headers read "(Revised: October 19, 2022)". Vermont's vocabulary differs from most states': the state-level complaint is an administrative complaint, decided by the Secretary of Education after an investigator's inquiry that may include "a document review, meeting, hearing, on-site investigation, or any combination thereof"; and the responsible local body is the "school district or supervisory union". All three routes are filed to one address, the Agency's Special Education Mediation Service. District-level practice may add procedural detail this page does not carry. Confirm applicability with the agency itself. All dates on this page are quoted from the sources, not a deadline calculation performed for you.
The routes, as the state describes them
Mediation. "The school district or supervisory union must make mediation available to allow you and the school district or supervisory union to resolve disagreements involving any matter under Part B of the IDEA, including matters arising prior to the filing of a due process complaint." (Notice, Rule 2365.1.4; 34 CFR §300.506) The stated requirements: the process "Is voluntary on your part and your school district or supervisory union's part;", "Is not used to deny or delay your right to a due process hearing, or to deny any other rights you have under IDEA and Vermont Special Education Rules; and:", "Is conducted by a qualified and impartial mediator who is trained in effective mediation techniques." On cost: "The Vermont Agency of Education is responsible for the cost of the mediation process, including the costs of meetings." On how to ask: "Written requests for mediation shall be submitted using the Dispute Resolution Request for Mediation Form, to the Vermont Agency of Education, Special Education Mediation Service, 1 National Life Drive, Davis 5, Montpelier, VT 05620-2501." Vermont also provides for a request that cannot be written: "If the request cannot be in writing due to special circumstances, such as an inability to communicate in writing, the request may be made" otherwise, as that section continues.
Administrative complaint. "A written and signed Administrative Complaint must be filed with the Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Education and a copy forwarded to the school district or supervisory union or public agency serving the child." (Notice, 34 CFR §300.151) On what follows: "Upon receipt of an Administrative Complaint, the Vermont Secretary of Education shall appoint a complaint investigator to conduct an investigation. The complaint investigator shall examine evidence presented on behalf of the complainant and on behalf of the school district, supervisory union, or other public agency. At the discretion of the complaint investigator, the complaint may be investigated by way of a document review, meeting, hearing, on-site investigation, or any combination thereof." Where the investigation finds a violation, "the investigation report shall address how to remediate the violation, including any resulting denial of services, including, as appropriate, corrective action appropriate to the needs of the child, as well as appropriate future provision of services for all children with disabilities." A Part C complaint is handled jointly: "Investigation of a Part C complaint shall be completed in coordination with the Agency of Human Services, Department of Children and Families, Child Development Division."
Due process complaint. "You or the school district or supervisory union may file a due process complaint on any matter relating to a proposal or a refusal to initiate or change the identification, evaluation or" educational placement of the child or the provision of FAPE, as the notice states (34 CFR §300.507).
The published process
- Placement during a dispute
- "Except as provided below under the heading Procedures When Disciplining Children With Disabilities, 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 the school district or supervisory union agree otherwise, your child must remain in his or her current educational placement." On initial admission: "If the due process complaint involves an application for initial admission to public school, your child, with your consent, must be placed in the regular public school program until the completion of all such proceedings." And where the hearing officer agrees with the family: "If the decision of a hearing officer in a due process hearing agrees with the child’s parents that a change of placement is appropriate, that placement shall be treated as an agreement between the school district or supervisory union and you." — Notice, retrieved Aug 25, 2026
- Independent evaluation at public expense
- "You have the right to an independent educational evaluation of your child at public expense if" you disagree with the district's evaluation, subject to the conditions the notice lists. The first: "If you request an independent educational evaluation of your child at public expense," the district must without unnecessary delay either file a due process complaint to show its evaluation "child is appropriate; or (b) Provide an independent educational evaluation at public" expense unless it demonstrates in a hearing that the parent's evaluation did not meet its criteria. If the district prevails at that hearing, "you still have the right to an independent educational evaluation, but not at public" expense. On explanations, where the parent requests an IEE the district may ask why, but may not unreasonably delay "either providing the independent educational evaluation of your child at public expense" or filing for a hearing. And: "You are entitled to only one independent educational evaluation of your child at public expense" each time the district evaluates and the parent disagrees. — Notice, retrieved Aug 25, 2026
- Who may be present, and what record is made
- "Any party to a due process hearing (including a hearing relating to disciplinary procedures) has the right to:" — "Be accompanied and advised by a lawyer and/or persons with special knowledge or training regarding the problems of children with disabilities;", "Present evidence and confront, cross-examine, and require the attendance of witnesses;", "Prohibit the introduction of any evidence at the hearing that has not been disclosed to that party at least five business days before the hearing;", "Obtain a written, or, at your option, electronic, word-for-word record of the hearing; and:", "Obtain written, or, at your option, electronic findings of fact and decisions." Parents additionally have the right to "Have your child present;" and "Open the hearing to the public; and:" the record and decisions as that list continues. — Notice, retrieved Aug 25, 2026. Recording of IEP meetings, as distinct from hearings: not stated in the sources reviewed (the October 2022 notice was searched); district or supervisory union policies may address it.
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 (effective October 19, 2022).
On filing an administrative complaint: "Except for due process complaints covered under Rule 2365.1.6, the complaint must allege a violation that occurred not more than one (1) year prior to the date that the complaint is received as described above under the heading Administrative Complaint Procedures."
On the complaint decision: "No later than 60 days after receipt of the complaint, the Vermont Secretary of Education shall issue a written decision." On extension: "The sixty-calendar-day time limit may be extended only if exceptional circumstances exist with respect to a particular complaint, or if the parties agree to extend the time to engage in mediation."
On the difference in clocks: "While the Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Education generally must resolve an Administrative Complaint within a 60-calendar-day timeline, unless the timeline is properly extended, an impartial due process hearing officer must hear a due process complaint (if not resolved through a resolution meeting or through mediation) and issue a written decision within 45-calendar-days after the end of the resolution period".
On sufficiency: the receiving party may notify "the hearing officer and the other party in writing, within 15 calendar days of" receiving the due process complaint that it does not meet the content requirements.
On the resolution process: "Within 15 calendar days of receiving notice of your due process complaint, and before the due" process hearing begins, the district or supervisory union must convene the resolution meeting; the hearing may occur where the complaint is not resolved to your "satisfaction within 30 calendar days of the receipt of the due process complaint (during the time" period for resolution. Where the complaint is amended, "the timelines for the resolution meeting (within 15 calendar days of receiving the complaint) and the time period for resolution (within 30 calendar days of" receiving it start again. And: "If the school district or supervisory union fails to hold the resolution meeting within 15 calendar" days of receiving notice, the notice states what follows.
On the hearing decision: "The Vermont Agency of Education must ensure that not later than 45 calendar days after the expiration of the 30-calendar-day period for resolution meetings or, as described under the" sub-heading "Adjustments to the 30-calendar-day resolution period, not later than 45 calendar days after" the expiration of the adjusted time period, a final decision is reached (the quotation is split where the source's text layer runs "subheading" together across a line break).
On disclosure of evidence: "At least five business days prior to a due process hearing, you and the school district or supervisory union must disclose to each other all evaluations completed by that date and recommendations based on those evaluations that you or the school district or supervisory union intend to use at the hearing."
On civil action: "The party (you or the school district or supervisory union) bringing the action shall have 90 calendar days from the date of the decision of the hearing officer to file a civil action."
On records access: the notice states records must be provided without unnecessary delay and before any IEP meeting, hearing, or "resolution meeting or a hearing regarding discipline), and in no case more than 45 calendar" days after the request.
What any of this means for a particular situation is for the agency and its processes to determine.
Source map
| Document | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of Procedural Safeguards: Rights of Parents of Students with Disabilities (PDF) | education.vermont.gov | Effective Date October 19, 2022; retrieved Aug 25, 2026 |
| Notice of Procedural Safeguards (document landing page) | education.vermont.gov | located in this review; capture pending |
| Special Education Dispute Resolution: Mediation, Due Process and Administrative Complaints (AOE) | education.vermont.gov | located in this review; capture pending |
| Summary of the administrative complaint process (PDF) | education.vermont.gov | located in this review; capture pending |
| Mediation, due process, and administrative complaint forms | listed on the notice's resource page | capture pending |
| Vermont Special Education Rules; State Board of Education Rule 1236.1 | cited throughout the notice | capture pending |
| Special Education Laws and Regulations (AOE) | education.vermont.gov | located in this review; capture pending |
| Non-English versions of the notice | listed by the Agency | capture pending |
| Vermont Family Network | contact as printed in the notice | Effective October 19, 2022 |
| Vermont Disability Law Project | contact as printed in the notice | Effective October 19, 2022 |
Change log
Aug 25, 2026 · Page created. Captured first-party: the full text layer of the Notice of Procedural Safeguards: Rights of Parents of Students with Disabilities (effective October 19, 2022), appended mechanically and captured Aug 25, 2026. Findings recorded rather than smoothed: (1) Vermont calls the state-level complaint an administrative complaint and has it decided by the Secretary of Education on an investigator's report, with the investigator free to proceed "by way of a document review, meeting, hearing, on-site investigation, or any combination thereof"; (2) all three routes are filed to a single address and a single email, the Agency's Special Education Mediation Service; (3) a Part C complaint is investigated in coordination with the Department for Children and Families and is sent to a different address entirely; (4) the notice provides for a mediation request that cannot be made in writing "due to special circumstances, such as an inability to communicate in writing"; (5) the responsible local body is the "school district or supervisory union" throughout, reflecting Vermont's governance structure; (6) recording of IEP meetings is not addressed in the source reviewed, and that absence is recorded rather than filled; (7) the page rests on a single captured source — the Agency's dispute-resolution page, the complaint-process summary, and the forms are listed as capture pending; (8) running page headers interrupt sentences in the PDF text layer and the word "subheading" runs together across a line break, so quotations are split at those points rather than bridged. Capture pending: the AOE dispute resolution page, the administrative complaint summary, the four forms, the Vermont Special Education Rules and Rule 1236.1, and the non-English versions of the notice. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-08-25. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.