Know Your Rights

"The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure."

Albert Einstein

How to file a complaint of unlawful discrimination with a civil rights agency

All students in public schools are protected against unlawful harassment and discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability and age. All students in public schools are protected from unlawful discrimination and retaliation for filing a complaint. This includes student-on-student, staff-on-student, staff-on-parents and third party-on-students.

Any parent/student who wants his or her discrimination complaint to be investigated by either a State or Federal civil rights agency may do so by contacting one or both of the agencies listed below.

The federal agency that investigates parent complaints of unlawful harassment of students is:

The Office for Civil Rights-Boston, U.S. Department of Education (OCR), U.S. Department of Education, 8th Floor, 5 Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02109-3921 (617) 289-0111

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/howto.html

The state agency that investigates parent complaints of unlawful harassment of students is:

The Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO), 450 Columbus Blvd Ste 2, Hartford, CT 06103 (860) 541-3400

https://www.ct.gov/chro/site/default.asp

The OCR and CHRO apply a statute of limitations of one hundred and eighty (180) days to such complaint, so your complaint must be filed with one or both of these agencies within 180 days of the unlawful discrimination/harassment incident. There is no cost to you to file a complaint and you do not need an attorney.

How to Escalate Reports of Unresolved School Bullying, Harassment, Violence and Special Education to the Connecticut Department of Education

Please contact the following CT Department of Education employees to share your unresolved school bullying, harassment, violence and special education experiences. Since you are reporting directly to the State of Connecticut Department of Education, there is no need to fear retaliation from the Region 14 administration. Your complaint must be in writing so please use the email addresses below to send your unresolved complaints directly to the CT Department of Education, as soon as possible.

For Bullying, Harassment and Violence complaints:

Dr. Adrian Wood, Title IX Coordinator

Connecticut State Department of Education

Please share your experience with him via email: Adrian.wood@ct.gov

For Special Education Complaints:

Bryan Klimkiewicz, Chief, Bureau of Special Education

Connecticut State Department of Education

Please share your experience with him via email: bryan.klimkiewicz@ct.gov