Children with eligible disabilities have a right to special education and related services if (1) the disability adversely affects educational performance and (2) the student needs a specially designed instructional program, known as an individualized education program or IEP, to address his or her unique educational needs (20 USC § 1400 et seq; CGS §§ 10-76a-10-76i).
Connecticut parents who have a complaint about their child's IEP or its implementation by a school district have more than one path to resolve it. One is the complaint resolution process, in which an employee of the State Department of Education's (SDE) Bureau of Special Education investigates the complaint and issues a decision. The other is a formal due process hearing in which parents and the school district present evidence on the dispute to an impartial hearing officer. Unlike the complaint resolution process, school districts as well as parents can request a special education due process hearing; parties to the hearing commonly have legal representatives present; and an aggrieved party may appeal the independent hearing officer's decision to state or federal court.
https://www.cga.ct.gov/2011/rpt/2011-R-0010.htm