On this page: How to talk to school personnel | What if the teacher is the problem? | How to file a complaint

How to talk to school personnel

First, make friends before you need them. Establish a relationship with your child's teacher at the beginning of the school year. Be sure to go to parent-teacher conferences in the fall and in the spring. Go on field trips. Volunteer in the library, if you have time. You want to be perceived as a helpful parent. Teachers are bound to look favorably on a child whose parents are involved. Moreover, if the first time you talk to the principal is when she calls you to complain about your child's playground spats, it's bound to be more awkward than if you've had a working relationship beforehand.

When talking to your child's teacher, keep the focus on your concerns and what needs to be done to remedy the situation. Say, "My son is having trouble finishing his homework" rather than "You assign too much homework." Keep the focus on helping your child and avoid the "blame game." Keep your conversation short and to the point, just state the facts. It is always a good idea to follow up with a letter stating what was discussed; keep a copy for your own records.

Set up an appointment Probably the worst time to speak to a teacher is at morning drop-off; teachers are simply too busy getting kids ready for class. Set up an appointment and avoid "dropping by" unannounced. Some teachers, especially in high school, might give you their e-mail addresses. Arrive for your appointment with an attitude that says "We can work this out." Listen to the teacher's version of events. Remember, your child will naturally have his/her own version of what happened.

If you can't solve the problem with the teacher, you may informally ask others in the school for help. You can call the guidance counselor for advice without making a formal complaint to the principal. Schools are supposed to make a number of guidance services available. Indeed, although we commonly associate counselors with high school career and college advice, guidance programs must be available to students at every grade level, including elementary school children. In grades K - 6, state regulation (New York State Commissioner's Regulation Section 100.2 (j)) specifies that guidance programs be designed to help students with, among other things, attendance or behavioral problems; they should also educate students about child sex abuse.

What if the teacher is the problem?

Teacher quality
New York State education regulations (New York State Commissioner's Regulations 100.2 (o)) require that teachers be evaluated yearly to see if they have a number of skills essential to good classroom instruction. Among them: a knack for nurturing "appropriate teacher/student interaction" and developing "meaningful lesson plans resulting in student learning." Schools also have a responsibility to provide regular training, called professional development, to teachers. Furthermore, many New York schools are eligible for teacher-training funding authorized by a section (Title II) of the massive federal education law known as the NCLB or No Child Left Behind Act. NCLB funds go to schools in low-income areas and can be used for recruiting high quality teachers, offering professional development sessions, and devising ways to measure how well the training works.

Teacher is absent often
Teachers are required to be in school regularly, according to Chancellor's Regulation C-603. The number of absences to which they are entitled, however, is vague. Also, because teachers are protected by a powerful union, principals find it difficult to discipline them. Nonetheless, your child is entitled to an education with qualified teachers. Because substitutes do not have to have the same level of certification as full-time teachers, frequent use of substitutes amounts to a lack of qualified teaching. If you feel that the teacher's absences are too frequent, you may make a written complaint to the principal.

Teacher is unresponsive
According to state guidelines, a good teacher should demonstrate an ability to cooperate with parents. You have a right, under the local Parents' Bill of Rights, to participate in parent/teacher conferences and to share concerns regarding your child's "academic, social, and behavioral progress." In addition, State Education Law 2590-h requires that parents be given reasonable access to their child's school and classroom.

Discipline by teachers
Much of New York City public school discipline policy is spelled out in a series of regulations that are posted on the Department of Education's website. Chancellor's Regulation A-443 covers behavior interventions, guidance conferences, teacher removals and suspensions.

Search and Seizure procedures are described in Chancellor's Regulation A-432. Chancellor's Regulation A-420 and A-421 define corporal punishment and verbal abuse, respectively, and outline how those complaints should be handled.

For State regulations on discipline procedures, see Part 100 of the Commissioner's Regulations.

In addition to writing a letter of complaint, you may also want to exercise your right to file an appeal to the state education commissioner. You can find more information on our page about the State complaint process.

How to file a complaint

First, know your child's rights. Often when parents sense there is something wrong at their child's school, it turns out there is a law, regulation, or policy regarding that very issue. If you can bring a print-out of the law, you will find the school will be more willing to listen and work with you. (Some laws and chancellor's regulations are listed throughout The Basics section of our site.)

Going up the chain of command
Once you know the law, go to the person closest to the problem. That usually means the teacher. Then start climbing the chain of command: the assistant principal and the principal, and on up.

There are two reasons you want to go step-by-step. The first: if you go straight to the principal, he or she will most often tell you to first talk to the assistant principal or teacher. The second and perhaps more important reason is any time you go over the head of someone in the school system, you risk making an enemy when you could have had a supporter.

Put your concerns in writing
When you have a serious concern about your child, put it in writing. Repeat: put your concerns in writing. Next, make a copy of the letters. Keep one copy and send the other to the school official certified mail return receipt requested. A letter provides documentation of your efforts to solve a problem. It also prevents confusion about what you said. In other words, school officials can't argue that you never complained or that your complaint was unclear.

Meeting with school officials
Often a letter alone will not suffice. Instead, you need to meet with people in the school to work out a resolution. Request a meeting in writing, state your concerns, explain why you want a meeting, and list the people you would like in attendance. Also, give a deadline for the meeting (e.g. within the next week). If the person you wrote to refuses to schedule a meeting, you will need to send your letter to his or her superior, including a copy of the letter you sent to the first person.

Conducting the meeting
Arrive with an outline of your concerns and with copies of any laws or related regulations. Go with possible solutions to the problem and a willingness to listen to the school's concerns and ideas. Assume the best. Take good notes. Let everyone state their concerns. Once everything is on the table, keep discussion focused on a future plan you and the school can follow to fix the problem. If the discussion gets heated, shift it to what can be done now to work toward a common solution. If all goes well, the meeting will result in a plan describing actions to be taken and clearly defining who is responsible for each action.

If the meeting does not result in a plan, you will need to go to the next level and request a meeting with that office. Send a copy of your first request for a meeting and a note explaining that this effort was unsuccessful.

Thank You notes and persistence
Whenever you have a successful meeting, follow up with a note. It's the polite thing to do and will help you keep allies. Secondly, the note serves as documentation. It is harder for a school official to forget a promise if it is recorded in a note he or she receives.

Keep in mind that schools are overburdened. Often when schools give you the run-around, they are hoping you will run out of energy and stop. By following up regularly and politely, you send the message you are not going away until you get action.

Each school's parent coordinator is also on hand to help parents work out problems in the school. The coordinator is responsible for addressing parent concerns and for getting parents involved in the school. Coordinators also work with the district family advocates to address issues that cannot be resolved at the school level.

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