(The Center Square) – The Washington Parents Network on Friday called for a national investigation into the Seattle Office of Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Education.
WPN Executive Director David Spring told The Center Square the Seattle OCR is refusing to respond as required to a complaint filed by WPN on Feb. 28.
“The 99-page Title IX complaint is filed with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) against the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) for violating the Title IX rights of over 500,000 biological girls here in Washington state,” Spring said in a Friday news release.
As reported by The Center Square, the complaint focuses on alleged violations of Title IX, implemented to protect women and girls in athletics and educational opportunities.
“Our complaint details numerous violations of Title IX that have occurred and continue to occur in Washington state on a daily basis,” Spring said.
The complaint was filed amid President Donald Trump’s executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.
Two weeks after filing the initial complaint and receiving no response to repeated emails and phone messages left with the Seattle OCR office, Spring went there in person on March 13.
Spring said the office door was locked, and it appeared no one was inside.
Sprig said a woman eventually responded but told him there was no one in the office. The woman said he could leave a note about the complaint inquiry, and she would forward that to a supervisor.
The following Monday, The Center Square accompanied Spring back to the Seattle OCR to again inquire about the lack of response to WPN’s complaint.
A man who identified himself as Alan Johnson, who works in the office, came to the front door but refused entry.
He said he would follow up with a supervisor, whose last name he gave as Kauffman, but refused to provide a first name, email address, or phone number for the supervisor. Johnson also refused to answer questions about how many people work in the office. He said the internet and phone line access had been sporadic and that he was using a hotspot from his phone to conduct business. He eventually went back inside and came out with a case number for Spring’s complaint.
Spring then received a follow-up email from David Kauffman, the supervisor in charge of the complaint.
“We are in receipt of your complaint,” the email said. “We are currently evaluating it consistent with the requirements of OCR’s Case Processing Manual. We will be in touch as needed moving forward. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me via email at my phone number below.”
According to Spring, the minimal email response 17 days after the complaint was first filed is in violation of OCR’s Complaint Process manual, which states, “OCR will promptly acknowledge in writing receipt of the complaint and provide a Consent Form to the complainant.”
Spring responded to Kauffman’s email with one of his own saying he expected WPN to be provided with a timeline of dates by which the office would take actions to achieve compliance with Title IX in Washington state. Sprig gave a 5 p.m. Thursday deadline.
Spring said he received no response by the deadline, prompting him to send in his complaint again and request an immediate investigation.
The Center Square emailed Kauffman at the Seattle OCR office to inquire about the complaint but received no response.
