Conflict Resolution offered by Office of the Education Ombuds
Helps resolve disputes, complaints and conflict between families and schools through facilitation. Acts as a confidential, neutral third party not associated with the public school system. Promotes school-family partnerships and provides information about the education system and referrals to education-related resources. Helps parents concerned about a child being bullied at school. Provides workshops and presentations and publishes materials designed to help families understand and navigate the K-12 education system. Publications can be downloaded from the website or mailed. Publications are translated into several languages. The Education Ombudsman does not help with issues regarding: - Elected officials (such as school board members) - Private schools - Private organizations or businesses - Preschools, colleges and universities Does not have the authority to force a school or school district to take a specific course of action and cannot discipline or terminate school or school district employees. Does not provide legal advice or services.
Physical Address
Hours
M Th, 9:30am-5:30pm Tu W, 8am-6pm.
Voice
Website
Application process
Call for information or to schedule an appointment with an ombudsman for consultation. Visit the website for more information and free publications.
Fee
None.
Eligibility
Parents, legal guardians, family members or students enrolled or eligible to be enrolled in the K-12 public school system in Washington state.
Languages
Korean
Mongolian
Dutch
Mien
Laotian
Toishanese
German
Karenni
Swahili
Cantonese
Hebrew
Fujianese
Filipino
Cebuano
Serbian
Shanghainese
Russian
Romanian
Bengali
Telugu
Audio materials
Latvian
Native American languages
Gujarati
Serbo-Croatian
Amharic
Japanese
Italian
Khmu
Bhutanese
Nepali
Pashto
Hindi
Turkish
Interpreter services
American Sign Language
Hakka
Greek
Czech
Oromiffa
Farsi
Hmong
Afghan
Punjabi
Cambodian
Multi-lingual materials
Dholuo
Tigrigna
Gikuyu
Laomong
Hungarian
Taiwanese
Ilocano
Cham
Tongan
Eritrean
Sennheiser hearing assistance devices
Khmer
Vietnamese
Burmese
Mon
Lao
Arabic
Kurdi
Teochew
Polish
Savji
Samoan
Tagalog
Mandarin
French
Bulgarian
Waray
Tamil
Urdu
Moldavian
Swedish
Oromo
Portuguese
Bosnian
Spanish
Malay
Braille
Bicol
Large-print materials
Somali
Asian languages
Hawaiian
Fijian
Marshallese
Marathi
Pangasinan
Indonesian
Thai
Ukrainian
Armenian
Croatian
Wolof
Kannada
Xhosa
Dari
Zomi
Service area
WA
Agency info
Office of the Education Ombuds
Listens to concerns and address questions about the K-12 public education system; Uses informal conflict resolution tools to support collaborative problem-solving and promote education justice; Provides coaching, facilitation, and training about family and community engagement and systems advocacy; Collects data and identifies trends to guide our education policy recommendations. OEO assists anyone with questions or concerns about Washington’s K-12 public schools by providing information, referrals, toolkits, and other resources. OEO’s legislative mission is to reduce opportunity gaps. OEO's strategic plan priorities concentrate on education justice, especially for communities most affected by COVID-19. OEO is focusing its limited conflict resolution resources, such as informal mediation and coaching, on K-12 students who are: • Out of school, including students with disabilities receiving partial school days • People of color, Black, or indigenous • Experiencing homelessness • In kinship or foster care • Involved with the juvenile justice or juvenile rehabilitation systems • Immigrant, refugee, asylee, or migrant, or students or families whose primary language(s) is not English, or • Receiving Wraparound with Intensive Services (WISe) or Children’s Long Term Inpatient Programs (CLIP) supports