Mandatory School Uniforms - NOT! home pageEmail: your comments or questions
There is no legal advice on this page, just experiences and opinions. See the obligatory disclaimer.
NOTE! The T.E.A. may send your complaint, exactly as you wrote it, to the ISD you are complaining about, so don't say anything you can't prove, or that you wouldn't say in person!
State law requires some detailed information be provided when a
complaint is made to the Commissioner of Education via the T.E.A.
This is an attempt at a summary of the process, but be
sure to visit the links below to view the actual law - don't just
take our word for it!!!
It appears the T.E.A. can only enforce state school law - any
violations of locally-passed policies are out of their jurisdiction.
(who DOES have jurisdiction? good question! if anyone
knows the answer, please write!)
So, to file a complaint, you must allege that the school
board or administration violated some state school law.
You must file your appeal within 45 calendar days of the alleged
infraction, so don't delay!
You need to provide a statement of what was done wrong, the date that
the wrong was executed, a statement that you're entitled to have the
commissioner act on your behalf, and what you want the commissioner to
do, along with your address, telephone number, etc.
Read the actual law here.
What constitutes being entitled to have the commissioner act on
your behalf? We don't know, but we've assumed that being
a tax-paying resident of the ISD and/or state of Texas is
sufficient. If you know the answer to this, enlighten us!
Another section of the law states that the commissioner may intervene
only if the board of trustees made a decision that was arbitrary,
capricious, unlawful, or not supported by substantial evidence.
Read the actual law here.
If you feel you have been denied due process, be sure to mention
that also.
Do be sure you sign your complaint!
REMEMBER, a photo-copy of your complaint may be sent to the
party you are complaining about! Keep it "clean"
and refrain from making personal comments, or anything else you wouldn't
want to say in a court of law.
When you have written your complaint, you may FAX it to the T.E.A.
complaints dept. at (512) 463-8254, or mail it to
1701 N. Congress Ave., Austin,
TX 78701-1494. You may call them at (512) 463-9290.
Here is that statute.
At this point, the party about who you are complaining will have
30 days to respond. You will be sent a copy of this
response. Now the rules change just a little bit.
For any futher correspondence you have with the T.E.A.
you must send an exact copy, in the same manner, to the
respondent (which will usually(?) be an attorney).
You may send further documents to the same postal address, or
FAX to (512) 463-9383, or the number listed on the letterhead.
Here is that statute.
When we find out what happens next, we'll post it!
We hope this information will be helpful to anyone having to file a complaint. If you find something that should be on this page and isn't, be sure to let us know.
Mandatory School Uniforms - NOT! home page
Email: your comments or questions