What is the difference between a compliance complaint and a due process hearing?
Although people often confuse compliance complaints and due process hearings, the main difference is: (1) When there is a disagreement about what should go into a child’s IEP, or where to implement the IEP, then a due process hearing is appropriate; but (2) When the education agency has not followed special education laws or procedures or has not implemented what is already specifically written into a student’s IEP, then a compliance complaint is appropriate. In other words a due process hearing involves a disagreement over what a child’s program should include, while a compliance complaint involves a failure by the educational agency to follow the rules or to do what has already been agreed to in writing in the IEP.
