After a special education student in Seymour Public Schools was restrained and secluded 53 times in seven months, the child’s parents filed an official state complaint.

The state determined that in two of the 53 occasions, it was “unclear” if physical restraints were necessary, according to documents obtained by the CT Mirror. As a result of the complaint, the district was required to provide a training for staff who interact with the student.

That was one of 267 complaints filed in Connecticut last year and a part of a growing trend: More parents of special education students in Connecticut and across the nation are engaging in the formal dispute resolution process in special education.

Experts say it could point to a heightened understanding of special education law — and some say parents’ use of artificial intelligence could play a role.

State complaints, mediations and due process complaints are the three main types of dispute resolution. State complaints elicit a formal investigation and written report, mediations use a third party mediator to resolve disputes, and due process filings are legal proceedings that, when fully escalated, result in an administrative hearing. (Often, due process filings result in mediations and do not escalate to an administrative hearing).

In Connecticut, complaints and due process filings increased by 29.6% and 12% respectively 2024-2025 compared to the 2023-2024 filing period. Mediations increased by 9.4%. The dispute resolution processes are standardized across all states and are free for parents to file.

Bryan Klimkiewicz, the division director for special education in Connecticut, predicts filings will be higher for the 2025-2026 filing period.

“We’re approaching our last year numbers now, and so we do anticipate, if the pace continues where it’s at the same trend trajectory, we could hit the 300 mark,” Klimkiewicz told the Connecticut Mirror on April 17. “That would be just about a 20% increase from the previous year, which is a 20% increase from the year prior to that.”

The increase — and issues — are national trends

Connecticut received the sixth-most dispute resolution filings per 10,000 students out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the 2023-2024 school year. While the increase is a national trend, Connecticut and the rest of the Northeast lead the nation, according to data from CADRE, the Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education.

“In some of the rural districts, we’re seeing a rise, but not like what we’re seeing in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts or Pennsylvania,” David Bateman, a former mediator in seven states and a former Pennsylvania due process hearing investigator, said.

Bateman said most states face similar issues — weak IEPs, weak progress data and a lack of individualized education — all of which are exacerbated by staff and funding shortages familiar to Connecticut.

Many of the Connecticut complaints address issues similar to what Bateman is seeing nationally.

Andrew Feinstein, a special education attorney and advocate in Connecticut, believes communication is at the root of these filings.

“So many of these are cases where the two sides just aren’t talking to one another,” Feinstein said. “The parents don’t trust the board, the board doesn’t trust the parents, and it’s just communication issue. Those are things that should be settled.”

But Bateman thinks the increase is an indicator of heightened parent understanding, not an indicator of increased violations.

Feinstein is unsure.

“The fact that there’s a huge increase in complaints, is that indication that things are getting worse, or is it indication that people are more aware of their rights?” Feinstein said. “I don’t know the answer to that … things are tough. Things have always been tough, and the pressure on money doesn’t make things easier.”

The increase in filings might not be ‘a negative’

The national increase in filings means more parents are “challenging the system,” said Bateman. In Connecticut, Klimkiewicz agrees.

“Our job is to ensure we have a process to deal with these complaints that we receive,” Klimkiewicz said. “We want to make sure parents are aware of their rights in the processes, so when we see heavy activity, that’s not a negative thing in the sense of parents are aware that they have this dispute resolution right.”

Special education law has evolved over the past 60 years. But now, the rights of most students are outlined under federal law — the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Free Appropriate Education law.

The majority of complaints filed in Connecticut allege IDEA or FAPE violations.

But this law is complicated, and when a child is brought into the special education system at their school, the amount of legal information given to families can be overwhelming.

Melanie Reese, the director of CADRE, said she is hearing 2026 filings are going to outpace 2024-2025 filings. And she said there could be a reason for this increase, along with a heightened understanding of special education law.

“We are hearing that use of AI may be a contributing factor,” Reese said. “That there are more complaints that are being written by AI.”

Artificial intelligence at work?

When an individualized education plan is created for a child, the parent receives a procedural safeguards notice, a document detailing a child’s rights under IDEA. In Connecticut, the notice is 41 pages long with 21 sections.

Bateman said many parents don’t read the entire document.

“What I’m hearing from parents, anecdotally, is that they’re sending it through ChatGPT and getting summaries, not bad summaries, but it’s the first time they’ve ever looked at these things,” Bateman said. “Now, parents are understanding what’s going on, and they’re putting it through ChatGPT and sharing it on Facebook.”

Nationally, Reese said in some cases, filings include incorrect statute numbers or law names, potentially as a result of AI hallucinations. And in Connecticut, Klimkiewicz said, filings are generally longer and reference more statutes.

Michele McKinley is the chief of special education for Bridgeport public schools. She believes some filings against Bridgeport are written or researched using AI.

“AI provides a different perspective sometimes,” McKinley said. “Parents use that information to then come to the district wanting more or wanting something different, and we don’t always agree.”

While McKinley wishes parents would communicate with the district rather than consult AI, she understands why it is used as a tool.

“I also understand that you have some parents that feel intimidated by the district, and so they seek the support from AI because they haven’t sought an advocate or an attorney,” McKinley said. “AI helps them to draft a letter or a request that they may not be able to articulate as eloquently themselves.”

Experts believe there are other factors contributing to the increase. Last fall, most of the staff at the Federal Office for Civil Rights, which heard special education complaints federally, were fired.

While both Bateman and Feinstein said effective gutting of the office could play a role in the increase in complaints, Feinstein there are other factors at play as well.

“The number of complaints [federally] was nowhere near the number we’re seeing in Connecticut,” Feinstein said.

Bateman also believes the pandemic, when many parents were homeschooling their children, and a 2017 Supreme Court case that upped the expectation for school districts and spread awareness among parents are pushing numbers higher.

Implications of increases in Connecticut

As filings continue to increase in Connecticut, districts and state employees are still required to abide by federally set timelines. For complaints, the state has a 60-day window to issue a findings letter after a complaint is filed. So far this year, 96% of findings letters were issued within this timeline.

However, each complaint requires an investigation that takes time away from districts and the state. And since most filings allege violation of federal law, lawyers are often involved.

“[Some districts’] legal team or board attorney responds to complaints. [In] others, the director or the team responds to complaints. But that’s a cost to the district,” Klimkiewicz said. “You’d rather pour those resources into direct supports and services for students versus responding to a complaint.”

Bridgeport has a budget line item for legal fees, but as filings increase, the amount allocated for legal fees increases.

“There’s a financial impact. A lot of times, you have to seek legal guidance as as well,” McKinley said. “You have to pull the money from somewhere to pay for those additional costs.”

The state is hiring a position in the legal office‚ a role that will deal primarily with complaint and dispute resolutions. Klimkiewicz also said a retired complaint investigator was hired back in March to assist with the volume of filings.

Salaries for much of the staff at the state level are funded under the federal IDEA grant, according to Klimkiewicz. But districts, many of which already struggle to fund special education, may also have to invest in additional staff.

“If this trend continues, districts are going to definitely have to look at specified staff, just like at the state level,” McKinley said. “Especially a district as large as Bridgeport, you’re likely going to need one person [whose] sole job is to work on complaints and mediations and due process.”