On January 28, 2025, the Department of Public Instruction (department) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from #### (complainant) against the #### (district). This is the department’s decision regarding that complaint. The issue is whether the district, beginning the 2024-25 school year, properly responded to allegations of bullying regarding a student with a disability.
Districts have an obligation to ensure a student with a disability who is the target of bullying behavior continues to receive a free appropriate public education in accordance with their individualized education program (IEP). The school should, as part of its appropriate response to the bullying, convene the student's IEP team to determine whether, as a result of the effects of the bullying, the student's needs have changed such that the IEP is no longer designed to provide meaningful educational benefit. OSEP Dear Colleague Letter on Bullying, August 20, 2013; 34 CFR § 300.323; Wis. Stat. §§ 115.787 and 115.78(2)(c).
The student’s parent alleges that the student who is the subject of this complaint has been verbally bullied by their peers over the course of the 2024-25 school year. The parent did not notify school staff of their concerns until the submission of this complaint. The district submitted written documentation from 12 different staff members, including all IEP team members from the meetings on October 22, 2024, and March 7, 2025, indicating that they have never seen or heard of the student being bullied and that the student’s parent had never reported any instances of bullying to them. Since receiving the complaint, district staff have had regular conversations with the parent to address their concerns and no specific instances of bullying have been reported. The district has communicated to the complainant that they stand ready to investigate any instances of bullying should the complainant notify them of any concerns. The district appropriately responded to allegations of bullying.
This concludes our review of this complaint. This decision is final for the IDEA State Complaint process. These issues may be addressed through other dispute resolutions, including mediation and due process hearings. For more information, visit the department’s website at http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/dispute-resolution or contact the special education team at (608) 266-1781.
For questions about this information, contact dpispeddata@dpi.wi.gov (608) 266-1781