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.
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
Filipino
Hakka
Hindi
Kurdi
Swedish
Bosnian
Gujarati
Pashto
Laomong
Polish
Greek
Dutch
Italian
Sennheiser hearing assistance devices
Marshallese
Fujianese
Bhutanese
Samoan
Fijian
Lao
Amharic
Gikuyu
Tigrigna
Spanish
Bicol
Serbian
Hungarian
Burmese
Tamil
Urdu
Kannada
Hawaiian
Serbo-Croatian
Afghan
French
Multi-lingual materials
Bengali
Bulgarian
Czech
Cambodian
Tongan
Dari
Mien
Pangasinan
Vietnamese
Braille
Farsi
Punjabi
Toishanese
Large-print materials
Ilocano
Hebrew
Cantonese
Waray
Taiwanese
Arabic
Malay
Mongolian
Mandarin
Hmong
Cham
Swahili
Khmu
Telugu
Savji
Khmer
Moldavian
Thai
Russian
Latvian
Asian languages
Audio materials
Shanghainese
Xhosa
Native American languages
Croatian
Japanese
Somali
Nepali
Korean
Romanian
Laotian
Teochew
Turkish
American Sign Language
Zomi
Portuguese
Indonesian
Wolof
Eritrean
Tagalog
Ukrainian
German
Oromiffa
Cebuano
Mon
Interpreter services
Dholuo
Armenian
Karenni
Oromo
Marathi
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