All issues and complaints relating to special education services provided at a charter school must be submitted to Arizona Department of Education’s (ADE) Exceptional Student Services (ESS) Dispute Resolution Unit. For more information about addressing concerns about special education, please visit Dispute Resolution’s website. Submit a complaint online

For issues regarding services to English language learners, contact the Arizona Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition Services at (602)542-0753 or [email protected].

No. A.R.S. §15-184(F) allows a charter school to refuse to admit any pupil who has been expelled from another educational institution or who is in the process of being expelled from another educational institution. However, based on their mission or other factors, some schools will accept students who have been expelled. If the charter school of your choice does not accept expelled students, you may want to consider an alternative school and a distance learning charter school. View a list of alternative schools (please select the “Alternative Schools List” tab).

If a school does have a kindergarten program, a child is eligible for admission if the child reaches five years of age before September 1 of the current year. However, A.R.S. §15-821(C)(link is external) allows a charter school to admit a student, who reaches five years of age by January 1 if it is determined to be in the best interest of the child. Because each situation is unique, parents should contact the charter school of their choice to determine the school’s policy.

The charter holder’s public file is available for public inspection at the Board’s office located at 1616 W. Adams Street, Suite 170 in Phoenix. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for State holidays. No appointment is required.

Per, A.R.S. §15-183(E)(8),“the charter of a charter school shall ensure that it provides for a governing body for a charter school that is responsible for the policy decisions of the charter school.” As provided in this statute, charter schools are responsible for the development, implementation, enforcement and modification(s) of the policies developed by their board, including outlining the daily operations of the charter school such as: dress code, student discipline, personnel practices, grading practices, discipline appeals, etc.

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is responsible for enforcing federal civil rights that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or disability. If you feel your child has been discriminated against, you may file a complaint with OCR. Learn more about the complaint process with OCR.

If the teacher is certificated and you believe that he/she has engaged in unprofessional conduct, you may file a complaint with the State Board of Education Teacher Investigative Unit at (602) 542-2972.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.  FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."

The Attorney General’s Office has established the Open Meeting Law Enforcement Team (OMLET) to handle inquiries and conduct investigations and enforcement proceedings relating to complaints of violations of Open Meeting Law. Learn more about the complaint process through OMLET.

Information about the amount of state equalization assistance received by a charter holder and when those monies were received during the fiscal year may be reviewed on the Arizona Department of Education(link is external)’s website. Once on this website, select the charter holder of your choice from the dropdown and press “Go”. Then click on “Reports/Data” (gray box). If you change the “Fiscal Year” to “All Fiscal Years” and change the “System” to “CHAR”, you will be able to review reports for several years. The report you want to review is the “Charter Payments Report (CHAR64-1). 

Grants Management at the Arizona Department of Education provides public access to information for certain federal grants, including budgets and details for each grant. To access this information, please select the “Fiscal Year” and “Entity” and then click on “Show Projects”. Please note that this site does not include monies a charter school may receive through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program.