Conflict Resolution

Title I Program Conflict Resolution

While the role of the PAC is an advisory one, parents and educators may not always agree on all aspects of the Title I Program. It is anticipated that any differences will be resolved at the school, district, or state level where they occur. Solutions to most problems can be found when the parties concerned:

  • make an honest effort to find solutions;

  • seek out sufficient, objective information to make effective decisions; and

  • hear each other openly.

Parents, teachers, or other concerned organizations or individuals who have a complaint about the operation of Title I which cannot be resolved on a person-to-person level may file a written complaint with the Title I office of the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Education. The following procedure will be followed in the event of a written complaint:

  • Within 10 days of receipt of a written complaint from an individual or an appeal from a school division agency regarding the operation of Title I, the State Title I office will acknowledge the complaint in writing. All written complaints must include the signature and address of the complaint.

  • Within 15 working days of the acknowledgment of the complaint, the complainant will be afforded an opportunity for an informal hearing with representatives of the State Title I office, at which time oral and written testimony may be taken. Failure to resolve the complaint in an informal setting will necessitate a formal hearing on the matter. The complainant will be advised of the right to request, in writing, a formal hearing. The complainant will have 15 days from the date of the informal hearing to make a written request for a formal hearing. Upon receipt of the request for a formal hearing, the state educational agency shall make, when necessary, an on-site investigation of the complaint.

  • The formal hearing will be conducted by the state educational agency composed of a panel of two members from the Superintendent’s Advisory Council, two members from the State Title I Coordinator’s Office, two members from the state educational agency, and two parents of children in Title I Programs. The panel will provide an opportunity for the complainant or the complainant’s representative, or both, and the local school division involved, to submit evidence, including the opportunity to question parties to the dispute and any of their witnesses.

·        The entire procedure, from receipt of the complaint to a satisfactory resolution, shall be completed within a period of not more than 60 days.