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How to View, Access, and Respond to State Complaints

For Districts
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View, Access, and Respond to State Complaints

This how-to is intended for districts and will explain how to view, access, and respond to state complaints through Catamaran.

Access Complaint

Note: The district’s Catamaran Coordinator and the intermediate school district (ISD) will receive a notification via email when a state complaint has been filed against the district.
  1. Log into Catamaran.
  2. From the home page, select the Policy tile to view the Policy Tasks Overview. These tasks can also be accessed by selecting the Policy tab located at the top-right of any page in Catamaran.
  3. Select the Submitted or All filter to show all activities, or those that have been submitted.
  4. Select Complaint as the type of activity then select Apply to generate a task list.
  5. Select the Complaint link in the Activity column (e.g. Complaint- 24-000X) to access the complaint.
Policy Tasks Overview shown with Type as Complaint and Activity name shown.
Note: If MDE needs additional information regarding the complaint during the investigation, then the district and the ISD will receive an email notification notifying them. Please ensure that the contact email address is correct to make sure the correct personnel receive these notifications.

View Complaint

  1. Once the activity menu has been accessed, select the Complaint Information to District link to view the original complaint submitted to MDE.
Complaints Module Menu shown with Complaint Information to District link circled.
  1. Download and view the original complaint in PDF format by selecting the Original Complaint link on the Complaint Information to District page.
Complaint Information to District screenshot shown with link to Original Complaint.
  1. View and download any letters regarding the complaint by selecting document below the PDF Link for Complaint Letters heading.
Complaint Information to District activity shown with arrow pointing towards Introduction Letter link.

Respond to Complaint

  1. Any district responses to the complaint may be uploaded to the District Response page. Select the Complaint District Response link on the Forms menu to access this page.
Complaints Module Menu showed with Complaint District Response link highlighted.
  1. On the Complaint District Response page, upload any needed documentation for the complaint’s investigation using the Browse button. Enter the document title and any additional comments as needed.
  2. Select the Save button after uploading any documentation. Uploaded documents will populate into the Uploaded Documents table.
Complaint District Response activity page shown, with emphasis on the Document Title box and Browse buttons.

What Happens Now?

  1. First, the state complaint investigator will review the complaint filed against the district and determine if there is enough information to continue. During this process, the state complaint investigator may request additional information from the district.
  2. When there is enough information to proceed, the investigator will gather additional information by examining the issues outlined in the complaint, reviewing documents, interviewing staff, etc. After completing the investigation, the Office of Special Education (OSE) Program Accountability Unit will determine whether to issue a CAP and/or SLCAP to address the issues. When a CAP and/or SLCAP is issued, this will show on the task list as a Complaint CAP or a Complaint SLCAP.
  3. For more information on how to address a Complaint CAP, please access the How to Complete a Due Process Complaint Corrective Action Plan resource.
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