Sample CDE Complaint Regarding COVID-19 School Closures
[Date]
[Parent/Guardian Name]
[Street Address]
[City, State, Zip]
California Department of Education
Special Education Division
Complaint Resolution Unit
1430 N Street, Suite 2401
Sacramento, CA 95814-5901
Fax: 916-327-3704
Email: speceducationa@cde.ca.gov
RE: Complaint against [School District Name]
To whom it may concern:
I am writing to file a complaint against the [school district name]. My child, [student’s name], was a student at [school name] during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years, including the time in the spring of 2020 when schools were ordered closed to in-person education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [Name of student] is ____ years old and qualifies for special education services as a student with [student’s diagnosis].
[Name of student] has a condition that [explain student’s disability and how it impacts education].
I feel that [school district name] did not comply with federal and state special education laws and regulations. The school has failed to: [choose however many are applicable]
☐	 Provide [identify the number of minutes or hours] [minutes or  hours] of special education instruction from [date to date].
☐ 	Provide related services from [date to date]. [For each related service not provided, then state:]
Specifically, the school has failed to provide [identify the number of minutes or hours] [minutes or hours] of [identify the related services, such as speech and language, occupational therapy, etc.] from [date to date].
☐ 	Timely evaluate [student’s name].
[Add a description of the specific problems with technology access, instruction, accommodations, modifications, timelines that further explain the three choices above.
For example, if your child did not receive any special education instruction in the spring of 2020: “From March 2020 to June 2020, the school district did not provide my child with any individual special education instruction from my child’s IEP. Instead, the school district only provided packets of worksheets once a week. My child also did not receive any of the agreed upon modifications from my child’s IEP. The lack of individual special education instruction and lack of modifications has led to a loss of progress in Math, Reading and Science as evidenced by my child’s failing grades in all three subjects.”
For example, if your child was not timely assessed: “Right before my child’s school closed due to COVID-19 in March 2020, I signed and returned an assessment plan to my child’s school. The assessment plan said that the school was going to conduct assessments of my child for speech and language and occupational therapy. In April 2020, I contacted the school to see if they would move forward with these assessments. But, the school told me that it wasn’t conducting any assessments because schools were closed due to COVID-19. Now, almost a year later, my child’s school is still in distance learning. The school still has not conducted any of these assessments and I’m not sure when they will conduct them. Without these assessments, my child’s speech and language and motor skills have worsened.”]
Because of the [school district name]’s violations, [name of student] has lost progress during [2019-2020 and/or 2020-2021] school year. I want CDE to order the [name of school district] to provide [student’s name] with compensatory education that will mitigate the impact of the loss of critical skills and learning that has occurred as a result of special education and related services that could not be provided during the pandemic. [If the school district failed to complete special education assessments, then include this statement: I also want CDE to order the [name of school district] to complete outstanding assessments for [student’s name].]
I am enclosing a copy of my child’s IEP and a letter to the District asking for [whatever you have written to the school district about and asked them to address before you filed this Complaint].
If you have any questions, please call me at my daytime phone number [enter the best phone number to reach you]. Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
[Parent/Guardian Name]
[Phone Number]
[Email Address]
CC: Superintendent of [school district name] [by fax or email]