Last week I shared comments from a Virginia Department of Education staff member, which appear in a Letter of Findings (LOF) to which she contributed. (See: “Dear VDOE: Is it Okay for Compliance Specialist to Judge, Joke at the Expense of Parent Advocating for Her Child?” and “Dear VDOE: How Can a Prior Written Notice Be Both “Skimpy” and “Compliant”?“)

Here’s another curious comment that appears in the same document: “I’m winging it here”.

These are the words of a compliance specialist writing a Letter of Findings in response to a state complaint investigation.

They also are the words that no parent wants to see written by a compliance specialist.

Parents submit state complaints for a reason. They have the right to a thorough, unbiased investigation, and an “independent determination”. “I’m winging it” is not part of that expectation.

Perhaps VDOE can explain?