Get Our Help:
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: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Tuesday: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Wednesday: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Thursday: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Friday: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 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.
Permission Forms:
Permission to Contact the School - If you work with an Ombuds, and want to give OEO permission to discuss the student's situation directly with school and district staff, as appropriate, please download, complete and return the Permission to Contact the School form.
Permission to Release Student Records - If you work with an Ombuds, we might need to view your student's records to better understand the concerns. If we need to do that, we will ask you then to give us your permission for the school to release the records. We use this form for our records release: Permission to Release Student Records.
- You can submit these forms through the Online Intake Process, or by fax, mail or email.
Help with Your Question or Concern:
Please reach out to us online, or by phone, fax, or mail. Please note that OEO has a limited staff and funding and prioritizes its work according to its strategic plan criteria.
Informal Conflict Resolution
OEO assists anyone with questions or concerns about Washington’s K-12 public schools. We can provide you with information, referrals, toolkits, and other resources.
OEO’s legislative mission is to reduce opportunity gaps. Our strategic plan priorities concentrate on education justice, especially for communities most affected by COVID-19. We are focusing our limited conflict resolution resources, such as informal mediation and coaching, on K-12 students who are:
- Out of school, including students with disabilities receiving partial school days
- People of color, Black, or indigenous
- Experiencing homelessness
- In kinship or foster care
- Involved with the juvenile justice or juvenile rehabilitation systems
- Immigrant, refugee, asylee, or migrant, or students or families whose primary language(s) is not English, or
- Receiving Wraparound with Intensive Services (WISe) or Children’s Long Term Inpatient Programs (CLIP) supports
We can also coach educators and community advocates on supporting students and resolving conflicts.
Please email oeoinfo@gov.wa.gov or call 1-866-297-2597 for this assistance. One of our team members can often answer a question by email or with a short call. We welcome contact from families, students, educators, and other community stakeholders with concerns or questions. Our office works collaboratively, informally, and confidentially to help families and schools resolve conflicts.
What should you know about us?
This short document explains how we are Working With Families (Trabajando con familias en español). We encourage you to read it to understand what we can and cannot do to help.
These documents explain how we can support educators and community professionals.
- For educators (with examples): Working With Educators – With Examples
- For community partners: Working With Community Partners