At the federal level, students have options depending on what the complaint is about:
1. The Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education (OCR) enforces many different federal laws that protect students. One of those laws is Title VI (Six) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If the complaint or grievance against a school police officer (or a school district) involves discrimination by the school officer on the basis of race, color or national origin, then the student may be protected under Title VI. The OCR also enforces Title IX (Nine) of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. Other laws that the OCR enforces can give students a way to complain about many different situations, including discrimination on the basis of age or on the basis of disability. Click here for more information about filing an OCR complaint.
2. If the complaint involves a violation of a student’s privacy, the student may be protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal privacy law that protects certain information, including academic & disciplinary records. The U.S. Department of Education handles complaints filed under FERPA and an individual can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education. For more information about filing a FERPA complaint, check out these Frequently Asked Questions.
Check out the Students with Disabilities guide in this toolkit for more information about filing complaints on behalf of students with disabilities. If you have more questions or feel that your rights have been violated, contact a lawyer!