Home | Washington State Governor's Office of the Education Ombuds

What Is OEO?

Get Our Help with K-12 Public Education Questions

Due to the large volume of calls, emails, and temporary staff shortages, it is currently taking up to one week to respond to calls. We will respond to all inquiries as soon as possible. We are hoping normal service levels will resume shortly. Please submit an online intake or schedule an intake appointment to speak to someone. Thank you for your patience.

Online – We encourage you to use our new Online Intake Process. You will need to create an account with your name and a valid email address. After you create an account and complete the online intake process, someone will follow up with you as soon as possible to either provide information or schedule an appointment. Our online intake is available at all times, but someone will follow up during normal business hours.

Business Hours

Monday: 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Friday 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Schedule an Intake Appointment - Schedule a time for an intake specialist to call you, collect necessary information, and consult with you about your question or situation. Alternatively, you can complete the required information at your convenience by using the Online Intake Process.

By Phone – If you prefer to talk to someone in person, or need assistance completing the online intake process, please call us toll free at 1-866-297-2597 during our business hours. Our staff can access phone interpretation for more than 150 languages.

By Fax or Mail – Download a Request for Ombuds Services form and submit the completed form by fax, mail or email (contact information is printed on the forms) to OEO. Fax: 1-844-886-5196.

News and Events

Education Ombuds Awareness Bill SB 5376 Materials for Schools

As you begin to prepare for the 2022-2023 school year, OEO would like to provide you with some possible content and contact information which you can use in your back-to-school and/or new student information packets related to the Education Ombuds Awareness Senate Bill 5376*.

The Washington State Governor’s Office of the Education Ombuds (OEO) is an independent state agency that helps to reduce educational opportunity gaps by supporting families, students, educators, and other stakeholders in communities across WA in understanding the K-12 school system and resolving concerns collaboratively. OEO services are free and confidential. Anyone can contact OEO with a question or concern about school.

OEO listens, shares information and referrals, and works informally with families, communities, and schools to address concerns so that every student can fully participate and thrive in our state’s public schools. OEO provides support in multiple languages and has telephone interpretation available. To get help or learn more about what OEO does, please visit our website: https://www.oeo.wa.gov/en; email oeoinfo@gov.wa.gov, or call: 1-866-297-2597 (interpretation available). (English)

La Oficina de Educación y Resolución de Quejas(OEO, por sus siglas en inglés) es una agencia estatal independiente que ayuda a reducir las brechas de oportunidades educativas al apoyar a familias, estudiantes, educadores y otras partes interesadas en las comunidades de WA para comprender el sistema escolar K-12 y resolver inquietudes colaborativamente. Los servicios de OEO son gratuitos y confidenciales. Cualquiera puede comunicarse con la OEO si tiene alguna pregunta o inquietud acerca de la escuela.

La OEO escucha, comparte información y referencias, y trabaja de manera informal con las familias, las comunidades y las escuelas para abordar las inquietudes para que todos los estudiantes puedan participar plenamente y prosperar en las escuelas públicas de nuestro estado. OEO brinda apoyo en varios idiomas y tiene interpretación telefónica disponible. Para obtener ayuda u obtener más información sobre lo que hace la OEO, visite nuestro sitio web: https://www.oeo.wa.gov/es; envíe un correo electrónico a oeoinfo@gov.wa.gov, o llame al: 1-866-297-2597 (interpretación disponible). (Spanish)

OEO will also have flyers and translations in 20 languages available by the end of August, 2022 which you can download and print from the bottom of the OEO web page "Publications and Resources for Families:" https://www.oeo.wa.gov/en/about-us/publications-and-resources-families. Please feel free to reach out after September 1, 2022 if you need assistance accessing the content from the OEO website.

*(1) Beginning August 1, 2023, public schools must: 17 (a) Provide students and their parents or guardians with a description of the services available through the office of the education ombuds and the contact information for the office of the education ombuds at the time of initial enrollment or admission; and (b) Either: (i) Include on their website a description of the services available through the office of the education ombuds and a link to the website of the office of the education ombuds; or (ii) provide a description of the services available through the office of the education ombuds and the contact information for the office of the education ombuds in existing materials that are shared annually with families, students, and school employees, such as welcome packets, orientation guides, and newsletters.

Interpretation Tips translated into: