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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    The .gov means its official.

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    What is a publicly placed student?

    “Publicly placed student” means a school-aged student placed by a court or child welfare agency in a Private Residential Rehabilitative Institution (PRRI), detention center, state correctional facility, or child residential facility as defined in 55 Pa. Code § 3800.5.

    What is the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s responsibility?

    The Pennsylvania Department of Education is dedicated to equality, so all students in the Commonwealth have access to a high-quality, safe, and appropriate education, regardless of location. The Department will review and, to the extent permitted by law, investigate complaints regarding the education of publicly placed students.

    Non-Educational Complaints

    Non-Educational Complaints for publicly placed students must be filed with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.

    ChildLine

    Call ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313.

    ChildLine | Department of Human Services

    Existing Educational Complaint Processes

    Special Education

    All complaints containing special education allegations must be filed through the existing complaint process for Special Education.

    Special Education Dispute Resolution

    To ensure that the complaint is known to be for a publicly placed student, please add the facility name to ‘Other (Facility)’ and answer ‘Yes’ to the question ‘Is your student placed in the educational program by a Judge or Child Welfare Agency?’

    Help for families and advocates of children with special needs can be obtained by calling the ConsultLine. ConsultLine can be reached by calling 1-800-879-2301, emailing consultline@odr-pa.org, or by submitting the Consultline online request form.

    Educator Misconduct

    The filing of an educator misconduct complaint initiates the Department’s review and investigation of an educator.

    Educator Misconduct

    To ensure that the complaint is known to be for a publicly placed student, please answer ‘Yes’ to the question ‘Is the involved child publicly placed in an educational program by a Judge or Child Welfare Agency?’

    Allegations of Curriculum Deficiency

    Examples of curricular allegations may include a school entity’s failure to provide required instruction in any of the content areas listed in 22 Pa. Code Ch. 4, including, but not limited to: science and technology; environment and ecology; social studies; arts and humanities; career education and work; health, safety and physical education; family and consumer science; mathematics; language arts; and foreign languages. Examples of non-curricular allegations may relate to a school entity’s staffing, such as guidance counselors and nurses, and facilities, such as building capacity and conditions. 

    Allegations of Curriculum Deficiencies

    To ensure that the complaint is known to be for a publicly placed student, please answer ‘Yes’ to the question ‘If yes: Is your student placed in the educational program by a Judge or Child Welfare Agency?’

    Publicly Placed Educational Complaint

    For complaints regarding the education of publicly placed students that do not fall within the existing complaint processes, please submit your complaint at the website below.

    Publicly Placed Education Complaint Form

    If you need assistance for a Publicly Placed Educational Complaint, please contact the Monitoring and Accountability Office at RA-EDPubPlacedCompl@pa.gov.