Addressing Complaints & Concerns

Contact School Leadership/Governing Body

Charter schools are independent public schools and most operational decisions are made on-site. If you have an issue or complaint with a charter school, try to resolve it at the school site or with the operator of the school. To ensure the right people are present and sufficient time has been set aside to consider your concerns, you may want to schedule an appointment.

If school leadership is unresponsive, find out when the governing body of the school meets and bring your concern before the governing body for consideration. Pursuant to state law and the charter contract, the governing body is responsible for the policy decisions of the charter school and is subject to Open Meeting Law. You should be able to obtain upcoming meeting information either through the school’s website or by contacting the school office.

Issues Addressed by Other Entities

If your complaint involves one of the issues identified below, you should contact the entity specified which has authority to provide guidance and resolution on that issue.

Student Safety

If you believe the safety of a student or students is at risk, contact your local law enforcement agency immediately.

Special Education

If your complaint or concern relates to special education services provided at a charter school, To learn more about submitting a complaint visit Exceptional Student Services at the Arizona Department of Education.

504 Plans

Federal law and regulations require a “free appropriate public education” (“FAPE”) to each qualified student with a disability, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability. According to the website for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, “Under Section 504, FAPE consists of the provision of regular or special education and related aids and services designed to meet the student’s individual educational needs as adequately as the needs of nondisabled students are met.” To learn more about submitting a complaint visit the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.

Wages

If your complaint or concern relates to a charter school not paying you all of the wages owed to you, To learn more about submitting a complaint visit the Labor Department of the Industrial Commission of Arizona.

Discrimination

If your complaint or concern relates to possible discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age, learn more about submitting a complaint by visiting the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.

Open Meeting Law

If your complaint or concern relates to a charter school’s adherence to Open Meeting Law, contact either the Attorney General’s Office or the Arizona Ombudsman – Citizens’ Aide. The Attorney General’s Office is authorized by statute to investigate and resolve allegations involving violations of Open Meeting Law. To submit a complaint to the Attorney General’s Open Meeting Law Enforcement Team or view frequently asked questions about Open Meeting Law on the Arizona Ombudsman – Citizens’ Aide website.

English Language Learners

If your complaint or concern relates to services provided at a charter school to English language learners, contact the Arizona Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition Services.

Submitting a Complaint to the Board

All formal complaints submitted to this office are reviewed and processed in accordance with the oversight responsibilities and jurisdiction of the Board. If the school has been unresponsive to your inquiries and the complaint or concern does not involve an issue addressed in the “Issues Outside of the Board’s Jurisdiction” section above, you may submit your complaint or concern to the Board. Before submitting a formal complaint to our office, you may want to review the Parent FAQ or School Employee FAQ tabs to see if they provide additional information regarding your issue.

All complaints submitted to the Board will need to be submitted through our online system, ASBCS Online.

It is the Board’s policy to forward all information included in the complaints/concerns to the charter holder for a response. The charter holder will be provided with a 10-day timeframe to respond to your complaint. After a complaint has been reviewed and closed out, all documents pertaining to the complaint become part of the charter holder's permanent public file.

The documents below provides information and directions on how to submit a complaint through ASBCS Online.