VIA EMAIL and OVERNIGHT MAIL July 17, 2013 Emily Frangos, Esq.

Compliance Team Leader United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights 32 Old Slip 26th Floor New York, NY 10005 Re: Case No. 02 -13-1227 New York City Department of Education

Dear Ms. Frangos: On July 8, 2013, you sent me a letter dismissing the above-referenced complaint on the ground that the allegation in the complaint is unsupported and speculative. Pursuant to the OCR Case Processing Manual, this dismissal falls under Section 108 (c), which reads: The allegation is so speculative, conclusory, or incoherent that it is not sufficiently grounded in fact for OCR to infer that discrimination or retaliation may have occurred or is occurring. Section 108 mandates the following procedure for dismissals under subsection (c): Before dismissing a complaint allegation under (b) or (c) above, OCR will contact the complainant and explain in writing (by letter or via electronic mail) the information necessary for OCR to proceed to investigation of the complaint allegation, ask the complainant to provide this information to OCR within 20 calendar days of the date of the written request and advise the complainant that the complaint allegation will be dismissed if the information is not received by that date. OCR will dismiss the complaint allegation if the requested information is not received within 20 calendar days of the date of the written request.

I never received any letter or email explaining the information necessary for OCR to proceed, nor any request for such information. Nor was I ever advised that the complaint would be dismissed in 20 days if such information was not received. The only communication I received was the letter dated July 8, dismissing our complaint. I respectfully request that you follow OCR procedure, rescind the dismissal, and provide me with a letter detailing the information you need to proceed with the investigation. Once we receive the letter regarding the deficiencies you found in our complaint, we would then request a meeting to discuss those deficiencies. As Ms. Kim is in Boston, we would welcome a meeting via telephone conference call.

Thank you very much. Sincerely,

Wendy Lecker, Esq. Senior Attorney CFE Project Education Law Center WLecker@edlawcenter.org www.edlawcenter.org 203-536-7567

Cc:

David Sciarra, Esq. Emma Kim, Esq. Timothy C.J. Blanchard, Esq.