Office for Civil Rights Requires Washington County Public Schools (VA) to Reinvestigate Disability-Harassment Complaint
OCR did not find enough evidence that the student was cut from a school team because of disability. It did identify concerns with how the division handled the family’s disability-harassment complaint.
April 28, 2026, U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a letter to Washington County Public Schools (WCPS) in Virginia, after investigating a complaint filed by a parent on behalf of his daughter.
The student had a Section 504 Plan and had tried out for a school team for the 2024–2025 school year. OCR investigated two allegations:
“[T]he Division discriminated against the Student on the basis of disability by not affording her an equal opportunity to participate on the [redacted content] Team for the 2024-2025 school year. . .”
The division “fail[ed] to respond appropriately to a complaint of disability-based harassment the Complainant made on April 26, 2024.”
OCR found insufficient evidence to support the first allegation—but did identify concerns with the second allegation.
April 24, 2026, WCPS entered into a resolution agreement requiring a reinvestigation, staff training, and a memorandum reminding staff to route possible disability-discrimination complaints to the Section 504 coordinator.
