General Education Complaints
Parents, students, staff members or organizations with a concern about a violation of students' rights or actions taken in a Texas public school are encouraged to file an online complaint with TEA.
If you are a superintendent reporting staff misconduct, do not use the general education complaint form. Reports under TEC §§22A.051 and 22A.052 must be submitted through the Misconduct Reporting Portal. Contact the to request access to the portal.
Filing a Complaint with TEA
To Submit a Complaint: .
Each complaint received is promptly and thoroughly reviewed to determine appropriate next steps.
For additional assistance, use the . This resource guides you through a few multiple-choice questions to help point you in the right direction.
The Parent Complaint Navigator offers important tips, resources, and guidance that can help resolve your issue more quickly and ensure your submission is complete and directed to the right place.
If TEA can legally address your complaint
The Parent Complaint Navigator will provide instructions for filing and other additional resources.
- After you submit your complaint, you'll receive a confirmation email from TEA.
- In some instances, TEA may connect you with your school district’s superintendent and formally request that the district work with you to resolve the issue through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). You may be asked to provide additional or more specific information within 15 calendar days. If the requested information is not received within that timeframe, the complaint will be closed with no further action.
- Please note that investigations may take time. Learn more about the process on our Special Investigations Unit Investigative Procedures page.
If TEA cannot legally address your complaint
The will refer you to the appropriate agency or resource.
Complaints TEA Can Investigate
- Violations of federally funded or required programs (e.g., English language/bilingual education, Title 1, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief)
- Misuse of federal or state funds by a public education agency (e.g., funding related to school safety, McKinney Vento, the Texas Migrant Education Program)
- Conditions in a public school that violate statute protecting the health, safety, or wellbeing of students and staff
- Violations of legal obligations regarding school district boards of trustees, governing bodies of public charter schools, or superintendents or chief operating officers of school districts and public charter schools
- Violations of state assessment instrument security procedures
- Manipulation of records, reports, data, or other inaccurate information submitted to TEA by a school district through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)
- Educator misconduct
- about educator preparation programs
Not seeing your issue listed? Some topics fall outside of TEA's authority. Learn more about complaints addressed by other agencies.
Special Education Complaints
If you believe your child’s school has violated state or federal law regarding the education of students with disabilities who receive (or may be eligible for) special education and related services, you have several options for dispute resolution that are separate and distinct from general education complaints. The state offers state-administered IEP facilitation, mediation services, due process hearings, and complaint investigations specifically related to alleged violations of special education requirements.
To find out more about your rights, check out the and the .
For information about the state complaint processes that may be available to you, the TEA can help direct you to the appropriate complaint process – whether general education or special education. You can also contact our special education information center, , to receive assistance with navigating special education.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Recommended: Complete and submit the General Education .
- Mail a hard copy of the form to the following address:
ºÚÁÏÉç - Complaints Management
1701 N. Congress Ave.
Austin, TX 78701-1494
IMPORTANT: Information sent by email may not be secure. Please avoid sending confidential or sensitive information (e.g., social security numbers) to TEA by email. Complaints and correspondence received by email will receive an automated email response with general information about the complaints and local grievance processes within 24 hours. You may find this email in your inbox or your spam folder. TEA removes confidential or sensitive information when replying by email and maintains confidentiality of information as the law allows.
Required Information
Please make sure your complaint includes all of the following information:
- Full name and contact information of the person filing the complaint (Students under the age of 18 will also need to provide contact information for a parent/guardian)
- Name of the school district
- Detailed description of the actions or decisions that violate a school law
- Evidence of a school law violation
- Name of the school staff members notified of the complaint and their responses
- Indication of whether the complaint was filed with other agencies and their responses
- The resolution requested
- Full and accurate names of involved educators (NOTE: You can use the certification lookup tool to check if an individual is a certified educator in Texas)
Filing for a Parent or a Student Over 18
If you are filing a complaint on behalf of a parent or a student over 18 years old, you must complete a Release Form. Under the , also known as FERPA, we must have a completed form signed by the parent or adult student to release information to you.
Examples of documentation that may be helpful include bullying investigation reports, local grievance decisions, and emails or messages from the school.
No, we do not accept complaints by phone.
Please call Complaints Management at (512) 463-3544 for support with your complaint.
TEA accepts anonymous complaints except for special education and educator investigations. However, we strongly encourage you to share your contact information with us to ensure we can follow up with questions if needed.
Information can only be kept confidential to the extent allowed by law. TEA follows the for releasing information. TEA must maintain the confidentiality of all student information protected by the . If a member of the public requests preliminary or audit working papers, the TEA may ask the Texas Office of Attorney General to exclude specific information from public disclosure.
No, TEA does not respond to courtesy copies of correspondence. We classify communications and documents received via courtesy copy as transitory information and maintain it only as long as needed.
Questions regarding the general education complaint process may be addressed to:
ºÚÁÏÉç - Complaints Management
1701 N. Congress Ave.
Austin, TX 78701-1494
Telephone: (512) 463-3544
For general information about TEA or public schools, visit the General Inquiries page or contact:
ºÚÁÏÉç - General Inquiry
Telephone: (512) 463-9290
generalinquiry@tea.texas.gov
No, TEA does not have the authority to investigate a school district to overturn an outcome you received from the local grievance process. Instead, you may have grounds to appeal the outcome of a school district decision.
Division Resources
The following webinars provide the most current information regarding general education complaints in Texas:
Our Parent Complaint Navigator will ask you a short series of multiple-choice questions and, based on your responses, provide you with the information and resources you need to address your specific question or concern.
Complaints Management
Phone: (512) 463-3544
When leaving a voicemail or sending an email, please include your first and last name, your phone number, your question, and any other relevant information.