June 16, 2025
Shante’ Brown, Deputy Secretary
Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning
Pennsylvania Department of Education
607 South Drive, 3rd Floor-East Wing
Harrisburg, PA 17120
sbrown@pa.gov
RE: Public Comment – Announcement EI-25 #2, Early Intervention Complaint Procedures
Dear Deputy Secretary Brown,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (“OCDEL”) Bureau of Early Intervention Services and Family Supports’ (“BEISFS”) Announcement regarding Early Intervention Complaint Procedures (“Announcement”). The Education Law Center – PA (“ELC”) and the undersigned organizations appreciate the efforts of BEISFS to ensure that a strong administrative complaint system for Early Intervention (“EI”) under both Part B and Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) is accessible, effective, and consistent with federal and state law. A robust complaint system is essential to ensuring that Pennsylvania’s young children receive the early intervention to which they are entitled and that the state is fulfilling its legal obligations under federal and state law. We recommend that the BEISFS: 1) widely disseminate its EI complaint procedures; 2) ensure that organizations that work with families, including grassroots organizations, are provided with the complaint procedures; 3) develop and widely disseminate comprehensive, parent-friendly materials that reflect the procedures to ensure transparency; 4) develop and widely disseminate comprehensive and accessible materials for stakeholders, such as early learning and child welfare staff; and 5) ensure that the complaint form is translated into multiple languages so that all families of young children in EI can access it.