Delaware School Disability Discrimination: Filing an OCR Complaint

When a Delaware school denies a student access to programs, activities, or services because of their disability — or when a charter school tells a family their child's needs are "too complex" for enrollment — that may be disability discrimination, and it is separately actionable from an IEP dispute. The federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Delaware's own anti-discrimination law provide enforcement pathways that many parents don't know exist.

The Legal Basis: Section 504, Title II, and Delaware Law

Three overlapping legal frameworks prohibit disability discrimination in Delaware public schools.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance — which includes every Delaware public school district and charter school — from discriminating against individuals on the basis of disability. Section 504 covers both students with IEPs and students with 504 plans, and it extends to extracurricular activities, facilities, and school programs.

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) independently prohibits disability discrimination by state and local governments, including public schools. Title II is essentially co-extensive with Section 504 for most school-based situations.

Delaware Senate Bill 198 (2026) was a landmark piece of legislation that adopted the protections of Section 504 directly into Delaware state law (Title 6 of the Delaware Code). Prior to this bill's passage, federal civil rights protections existed through federal enforcement only. Now Delaware has a state-law pathway for disability discrimination claims in education, expanding the enforcement options available to families.

When Does a School Situation Rise to Disability Discrimination?

Not every IEP disagreement is discrimination. The distinction matters because OCR complaints and state discrimination claims operate differently from IDEA state complaints and due process hearings.

Situations that are typically IEP disputes (use DDOE state complaint or due process):

• Failure to implement a written IEP service
• Missing evaluation timelines
• Inappropriate placement decisions
• Failure to provide compensatory education

Situations that may be disability discrimination (use OCR complaint or state law enforcement):

• A charter school discourages enrollment or suggests a family find "a better fit" because of a child's disability
• A school excludes a student with a disability from field trips, extracurriculars, or school programs available to non-disabled peers
• A district systematically denies appropriate services to students of a particular disability category
• A school retaliates against a parent for asserting their child's disability rights
• A school fails to provide reasonable modifications that would allow a student with a disability to access school programs

The ACLU of Delaware has previously filed OCR complaints challenging Delaware charter schools for disproportionately excluding students with disabilities while admitting higher proportions of non-disabled students. Charter schools that "counsel out" families of students with IEPs are in territory that can trigger OCR review.

How to File an OCR Complaint in Delaware

Delaware falls under OCR Region III, based in Philadelphia. Complaints can be filed online at the Department of Education's OCR complaint portal (ed.gov/ocr) or in writing to the Philadelphia office.

Who can file. Any individual who believes they or their child has been subjected to disability discrimination by a school or district can file. You do not need an attorney.

Timeframe. OCR complaints must be filed within 180 calendar days of the discriminatory act. This is significantly shorter than the DDOE's one-year state complaint window. If you are considering an OCR complaint, do not wait.

What the complaint must include:

• Your name and contact information (or child's, if filing on behalf of a minor)
• The name and address of the school or district you are filing against
• A description of the discriminatory act and when it occurred
• Your signature and the date

OCR will contact both you and the school after receiving the complaint. They may investigate the allegations, request documents from the district, and conduct interviews. OCR can resolve complaints through agreements with schools — including corrective action plans — or by finding no violation. OCR does not award damages.

What OCR cannot do. OCR cannot represent you in an IEP meeting, compel a district to provide a specific service, or order compensatory education for past service failures. For those outcomes, the DDOE state complaint process and due process hearings are the appropriate tools. OCR handles the discrimination framework, not the individual service provision dispute.

Delaware's State Law Pathway Under SB 198

With the passage of Senate Bill 198 in 2026, Delaware parents now have a state-law claim for disability discrimination in addition to federal protections. The practical implications are still developing — the law was recently enacted — but it creates the possibility of pursuing disability discrimination claims through Delaware courts under state law, potentially alongside or independently of federal OCR enforcement.

For families with the most severe discrimination situations, consulting with CLASI's Disabilities Law Program about available remedies under both federal and state law is worth doing before deciding which pathway to pursue first.

Charter School Accountability Under OCR

Charter schools in Delaware are particularly relevant to OCR enforcement because they enroll roughly 14,700 students and have documented patterns of disability-related exclusion. Delaware charter schools are independent LEAs under IDEA — meaning they bear full FAPE responsibility — but they are also covered by Section 504 and Title II because they receive federal funding.

If a Delaware charter school:

• Refused to enroll your child after learning about their disability or IEP needs
• Encouraged you to withdraw your child by suggesting the school "can't meet" intensive needs
• Reduced or eliminated your child's services after enrollment without an IEP team decision
• Excluded your child from a program or activity available to non-disabled students

...any of these situations potentially supports an OCR complaint filed within 180 days of the act.

Combining OCR Complaints with DDOE State Complaints

Nothing prevents you from filing both an OCR complaint and a DDOE state complaint simultaneously if the facts support both. IDEA state complaints address IDEA procedural violations. OCR complaints address discrimination under Section 504, Title II, and now Delaware SB 198. A charter school that both failed to implement a written IEP and discouraged re-enrollment after a parent complained is potentially subject to both enforcement processes.

In practice, pursuing parallel complaints increases administrative pressure on the district or charter and forces the allocation of staff time and documentation resources to multiple responding agencies simultaneously. For families in the most severe situations — particularly those facing systemic exclusion patterns — this can accelerate resolution.

The Delaware IEP and 504 Advocacy Playbook covers the full range of Delaware's dispute resolution and enforcement mechanisms, including when OCR complaints, state complaints, and due process hearings work in combination — and how to build the documented record that makes any of these pathways viable.

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