The Chief Integrity Officer (CIO) works with staff, students, parents, and the greater community to ensure the integrity and strong practices of DC Public Schools by addressing stakeholder concerns for mediation or resolution. DCPS is committed to serving every student with equity, excellence, transparency, and accountability. The CIO:

• serves as a one-stop shop for questions from students, families, staff, and community members;
• addresses constituent concerns through conducting reviews of pertinent information pertaining to matters/concerns for dispute resolution, provides recommendations for internal audits, reviews;
• Informs development of DCPS policy and ensures adherence to school policies and regulations.

Contact the CIO with a concern

• Complete the Online Referral Form
• Rellene el formulario de remisión en línea (Español)
• Send your concern via email to [email protected].
• Call the Office of Integrity at (202) 939-4913.
• Read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the Office of Integrity

The Office of Integrity (OI) is a one-stop shop available to support parent and student complaints, grievances and matters of concern expressed by DCPS stakeholders in achieving effective and timely resolution of issues to better serve our DCPS students and families. The below Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) provides general information, expectations as well as recommendations regarding how OI can assist you.

Q: When should I contact the Office of Integrity?
A: The Office of Integrity (OI) is available for general, school or student-specific inquiries and concerns from parents, students, school staff and community stakeholders. These issues can vary, including measures around safety and security for students, interactions or disputes with school staff, and coordinating academic supports to improve academic outcomes. Ideally, if an attempt to address a concern has proved unsuccessful at the school level or with Central Office administrators, stakeholders can contact OI to review the concern, complaint or allegation made. OI will investigate the concern and/or inquiry and will issue a response upon assessing the information.

Q: If I submit a complaint or concern to OI, how long will it take before I get a response?
A: OI will follow-up with you to acknowledge receipt of your concern within 48 hours of your submission. If the matter is being addressed by the OI Team, a response to your complaint will be issued within 3-5 business days. In the case of another office being assigned your concern, a member of the OI team or relative office addressing your complaint will communicate with you to inform you of the outcome or resolution in addressing the matter.

Q: What if my concern and/or complaint doesn’t have a definitive outcome or is an ongoing matter?
A: The office seeks to attentively address constituent concerns and communicate to stakeholders any outcomes or findings from investigating these issues. In achieving a resolution for a particular matter, the case may remain active and ongoing to ensure continuity of measures by school staff, administrators and relevant parties to achieve a satisfactory resolution. In these instances, OI will reach out to notify you of the measures being taken to monitor an issue and steps being taken to bring the matter to closure.

Q: Does OI have walk-in hours?
A: The Office of Integrity is available for walk-ins. In these instances, OI will be available to speak with you, intake your complaint or concern, and follow-up with a response in 3-5 business days. If your concern is disseminated to another office to address your concerns, the identified office will reach out to discuss any associated actions and outcomes. It is generally suggested that concerns are submitted in writing through the OI webpage submission form so information is documented in comprehensive detail. Complainants are also encouraged to contact the OI phone line to speak with a team member and explain the nature of their concern or complaint.

Q: If I currently have a submitted school-level complaint with the Grievance Team or Labor Management and Employee Relations (LMER) team, can the Office of Integrity support my concerns?
A: If you have a complaint being processed in another office, the identified office will be primarily responsible for the investigative processes as it relates to your concern. The OI team supports constituents in areas of ensuring timely updates and/or outcomes regarding concerns are communicated to the complainant. In an event an office is non-responsive in their investigative inquiry, OI will work with the office to ensure appropriate follow-up and communication of measures taken by the office to address your concern.

Q: If I want to remain anonymous, can I still submit a complaint?
A: Yes. The Integrity team encourages submission of concerns or complaints from parents, staff or constituents who prefer to remain discrete or anonymous. The team observes strict confidentiality for all school and/or staff level concerns to which anonymity is requested, as no information pertaining to the identity of complainant is disclosed without authorization. Anonymous concerns should be as detailed as possible, including description of the occurrence, including date, time, witnesses, and context as available. If an allegation involves a repeated offense, any tangible evidence that corroborates the allegation is needed. In some instances, actionable follow-up may be contingent on availability of sufficient information to warrant a full investigation. To submit an anonymous complaint, please email [email protected] or contact an Integrity Specialist via phone for a formal intake.