Disclaimer

1. We Are Independent

boardofeducations.org/ is an editorial reference site run independently. We are not commissioned by, endorsed by, partnered with, or accountable to any state Board of Education, state Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), the National School Boards Association (NSBA), or any school district or school. The information we publish is gathered from public sources — primarily the official portals run by those agencies — and presented in a consistent, practical, step-by-step format.

2. What We Are Not

• The U.S. Department of Education or any of its offices (OCR, OSEP, FPCO/SPPO, etc.)
• Any state Board of Education or state Department of Education
• Any local school district, school board, school, or charter school authorizer
• A Title IX coordinator, Section 504 coordinator, or any complaint resolution body
• A licensed attorney, law firm, or special-education advocate
• An Individualized Education Program (IEP) team, IDEA hearing officer, or due-process facilitator
• A teacher certification body, professional standards commission, or educator-licensing investigator
• An accreditation body (Cognia, regional accreditors, etc.)
• A repository of student records, school records, IEPs, transcripts, or any FERPA-protected information

For anything that requires action by an official body, you must use the official channel. Every state page on this site links straight to those official channels.

3. Not Legal, Educational, or Special-Education Advice

Content on this site is general information about U.S. K-12 education governance and procedures. It is not legal advice, educational advice, or special-education advice. In particular:

• If you are dealing with a school discipline matter, expulsion, or due-process hearing, contact a licensed attorney or your state’s school-law-focused legal aid
• If you have an IDEA / IEP / 504 dispute, the procedural safeguards are spelled out in 34 C.F.R. Part 300 (IDEA Part B) — consult a special-education attorney or advocate. The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) maintains a directory at copaa.org
• If you have a Title IX complaint, follow the school’s published Title IX procedure first; OCR is the federal escalation path
• If you have a FERPA dispute, the Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) at the U.S. Department of Education handles complaints — studentprivacy.ed.gov
• If you have a teacher-misconduct or educator-licensing complaint, contact the relevant state’s professional standards commission or department of education’s educator-licensing division

4. FERPA — Student Records Are Not on This Site

5. Information Timeliness

Education governance changes constantly:

• State boards’ membership rotates with elections and gubernatorial appointments
• Commissioners and state superintendents change with state administrations
• State academic standards are reviewed on regular cycles (often 5–7 years)
• School board members are elected annually or biennially in most districts
• State open-meetings and public-records statutes are amended in nearly every legislative session
• Federal regulations (Title IX, IDEA, ESSA accountability) update under successive administrations

We review pages quarterly and at every legislative session, but the official agency’s own page is always the source of truth for the current state. Click through to the agency’s portal from any state page to confirm.

6. Civil Rights Complaints — Routing

7. IDEA and Special Education

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq., guarantees a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for eligible children with disabilities through Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Procedural safeguards are at 34 C.F.R. Part 300. Disputes have multiple paths:

• Informal resolution — IEP team meeting, then district-level escalation
• State complaint — file with the state Department of Education’s IDEA office; resolved within 60 days under 34 C.F.R. §300.152
• Mediation — voluntary, free, conducted by a state-trained neutral mediator under 34 C.F.R. §300.506
• Due process complaint — formal hearing under 34 C.F.R. §300.507; can be appealed to federal court

This site provides general framework information only — it is not legal advice. For specific IDEA disputes, consult a special-education attorney or advocate.

8. Title IX

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §1681 et seq., prohibits sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Implementing regulations are at 34 C.F.R. Part 106. Schools must publish their Title IX policies and the contact information for their Title IX Coordinator.

Title IX procedures have evolved through successive federal regulations — readers should consult the current text on ed.gov or with a licensed attorney before relying on any specific procedural step.

9. Open Meetings and Public Records

School board meetings are public under state open-meetings acts in every U.S. state, with limited exceptions for closed sessions on personnel, litigation, and student-confidentiality matters. Examples:

Public records statutes (Texas Public Information Act, California Public Records Act, F.S. Ch. 119, NY FOIL, etc.) apply to school district records, with FERPA carve-outs for student-identifying records. Meeting agendas, board policies, budgets, and contracts are typically public; student records are typically not.

10. External Links

We link extensively to state Boards of Education, state Departments of Education, school districts, the U.S. Department of Education, OCR, OSEP, NASBE, CCSSO, NSBA, and other authoritative sources. We have no control over those sites and cannot guarantee:

• That they will remain online or at the same URL
• That their content is current at the moment you click through
• That their security and privacy practices match ours
• That their accessibility meets the standard we apply to our own pages

11. Advertising Disclosure

boardofeducations.org/ is funded by display advertising. Advertisements are served by recognized ad networks and labeled where required. We do not allow advertisers to dictate editorial content; verified state Board of Education and state Department of Education portals always come first on every state page. Where any commercial relationship exists with a service relevant to our audience, it is disclosed in context per the FTC's Endorsement Guides at 16 C.F.R. Part 255.

12. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

• The site and all content on it are provided “as is” and “as available.” We make no warranty that content is complete, accurate, current, fit for any particular purpose, or free from error.
• We are not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or special loss or damage arising from your use of, or reliance on, this site — including school-discipline, IDEA, Title IX, FERPA, or other educational-decision outcomes.
• Nothing in this disclaimer excludes or limits liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law.

The full liability framework is set out in our Terms of Service.

13. Prohibited Uses

14. Agency Names and Trademarks

State names, agency names (“California State Board of Education,” “Texas Education Agency,” “New York State Education Department,” “U.S. Department of Education”), seals, and logos belong to the relevant body. We use those names to identify the agency each page covers. We do not claim sponsorship, endorsement, or affiliation, and we do not reproduce official seals or logos.

If a state agency, federal body, or other organization believes our use of its name on a page is misleading or improper, please contact us and we will respond promptly.

15. If Something on This Site Is Wrong

We treat reader corrections as a priority. If you find an error — a wrong portal URL, an outdated procedure, an outdated commissioner’s name, a wrong meeting day — please email us with the page URL and what you believe is incorrect. Where possible, include the link from the agency’s official site that supports the correction.