34 C.F.R. § 98.7 – Filing a complaint.

(a) Only a student or a parent or guardian of a student directly affected by a violation under Section 439 of the Act may file a complaint under this part. The complaint must be submitted in writing to the Office.
(b) The complaint filed under paragraph (a) of this section must—
1. (1) Contain specific allegations of fact giving reasonable cause to believe that a violation of either § 98.3 or § 98.4 exists; and
2. (2) Include evidence of attempted resolution of the complaint at the local level (and at the State level if a State complaint resolution process exists), including the names of local and State officials contacted and significant dates in the attempted resolution process.
(c) The Office investigates each complaint which the Office receives that meets the requirements of this section to determine whether the recipient or contractor failed to comply with the provisions of section 439 of the Act.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1880-0507)
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3(a)(1), 1232h)