As an Oregon parent, you have the right to:

 

 

• Request TAG assessment for your child.

 

• Consent to individualized testing.[3]

 

• Be notified of the decision about whether your child qualifies for TAG and the programs and services available (OAR 581-022-2330 sect. 1)

 

·         Withdraw your child from TAG services at any time and be notified of this right. (OAR 581-022-2330, sect. 3)

 

• Provide input concerning the services to be given to your child. (OAR 581-022-2500, sect. 1(e))

 

• Receive a timely reply to any complaint you make to your district superintendent regarding a violation of the State TAG standards after you have exhausted your options at the building level. (ORS 327.102, OAR 581-002-0040)   

 

• Be informed of your right to file a complaint with the Deputy State Superintendent under the Administrative Rules concerning complaints. (OAR 581-022-2330, sect. 4)

 

• Review and correct all school files concerning your child including test results and teacher notes. This includes “confidential” or TAG files as well as “cumulative files,” unless it would violate attorney-client privilege. This is stated by Federal law and confirmed by Oregon State Law.[4]

 

• File an appeal with the Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction within one year of the student's graduation or two years after the alleged violation if you believe that these rights have been violated.  The Oregon Department of Education has an obligation to investigate your complaints and issue a report.  If it finds that the complaint is justified and the district fails to submit a plan of correction, the Department may withhold all state funding to the district. (ORS 327.103; OAR 581-002-0040) 

 

 

 

Oregon School Districts must:

 

• Submit a written plan of instruction for TAG students to the Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction. The plan shall include, but not be limited to: a statement of school district policy; An assessment of current special programs and services, A statement of district goals for comprehensive special programs and services including a timeline for implementation, a description of the programs and services that will be provided to accomplish the goals; and a plan for evaluating progress on the district plan (ORS 343.397 and OAR 581-022-2500 sect.1)

 

• Have research-based procedures to identify students who are in ethnic minorities, are disabled, are culturally different, or come from low-income families. (OAR 581-022-2325, sect.2)

 

• Provide appropriate instruction at each TAG-identified child’s assessed level of learning and accelerated rate of learning. (OAR 581-022-2500,  sect. 2 and 3)

• Provide a process for the prompt resolution of complaints. (ORS 327.102 sect. 1, OAR 581-002-0040, OAR 581-022-2370)

• Provide copies of the district plan to the Department of Education,and post it on the district's website and make it available in schools nd the district office. (OAR 581-022-2500, sect. 2)  

 

• Post the name/contact information for the district's TAG coordinator annually and provide it to the Department of Education (OAR 581-022-2500, sect. 2)  

 

 

 

 

Complaint Procedure

 

• Work with your local school district to resolve the difficulty.  Before a complaint is appealed to the state you must:

 

• exhaust the local district complaint procedure OR
• experience a delay of greater than 30 days for any new step in the complaint OR
• have been unable to resolve the complaint within 90 days of first filing at the bottom level of the complaint procedure

 

 

• If ANY of these events occurs, and the complaint is still unresolved, the complaint is deemed to have been denied by the district.  IF your complaint alleges a violation of a Division 22 Education Standard (for example, a violation of the TAG mandate) THEN you may appeal to the State Superintendent at the time your complaint is denied.

 

• Appeal to the Deputy State Superintendent of Public Instruction by providing:
  • Your name, address, and district of residence
  • The name and address of your school district
  • A brief statement explaining how the district failed to implement the Oregon TAG mandate or other education standards created by state laws or administrative rules (including the complaint timeline).

 

• The Deputy State Superintendent decides whether the violation is addressed in the mandate or other state education laws and rules.  If the complaint does not describe violations of the mandate or other state standards it is not accepted.  If the complaint does describe violations of the mandate it is accepted.  It may be accepted in part if not all the activities described are part of the mandate or state laws and standards.  The complainant(s) and the school district are notified of this decision.

 

• If the appeal is accepted the district submits (within 30 days) a written report to the state concerning the allegations in the complaint.

 

 

• The Oregon Department of Education investigates the complaint to the extent necessary for fact-finding.  The Department investigates only the areas described by the complaint.  For example, if a complaint concerns a problem with instruction, the Department will not investigate identification procedures unless that topic was also included in the complaint.

 

• The Deputy State Superintendent issues a written decision within 60 days of receiving the district report, noting any deficiency found by the investigation UNLESS the complaint alleges a comprehensive or widespread deficiency, in which case the State prepares a plan for investigation within two weeks of receiving the district reply.   If a deficiency is found, the decision will include the steps that must be taken to correct the problem and the evidence the district must provide to show that it has made the corrections.  The district must submit a plan to correct the problem within 90 days.  If a district does not submit a plan of correction within 90 days, it will lose all its State School funding until it does submit a satisfactory plan. (ORS 327.103)

 

• Districts must complete the correction plan by the beginning of the next school year unless they receive an extension.  The Deputy Superintendent may allow up to one additional year for a district to complete the plan.  Extensions may not be greater than a year unless the Deputy State Superintendent finds that financial hardship caused the deficiency. (ORS 327.103; OAR 581-002-0040, sect. 8)  If the plan of correction is not implemented within the time specified by the Deputy State Superintendent, the Deputy State Superintendent may withhold some of the district’s State School Fund money until the deficiencies are corrected unless doing so would create undue hardship.  (ORS 327.103 sect. 2; OAR 581-002-0040, sect. 8-9)

 

 

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NOTES: