The Ombuds Blog: Texas School Officials Debate Need for Ombuds

June 05, 2008

Texas School Officials Debate Need for Ombuds

An article in the Dallas Morning News surveys the debate among local school district administrators over the value of organizational Ombuds. Counting the number of school ombudsmen in Texas is difficult. But Beverly Reeves, an Austin school ombudsman, says there are about a half-dozen, including Arlington, Austin and Fort Bend school districts. Greg Gibson, superintendent of the Crowley Independent School District, says the number of formal grievances filed with his district has "significantly declined" since an Ombuds was hired. A sidebar to the article explains what a school ombudsman does and does not. (Dallas Morning News.)

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Organizational Ombuds

Organizational Ombuds serve as a confidential, independent, neutral and informal dispute resolution resource for a specific entity. They are accessible to a defined population and can advocate for fairness. These unique characteristics distinguish Organizational Ombuds from Classical Ombuds, mediators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution professionals. The term "Ombuds" is shorthand for "Ombudsman," "Ombudsperson" and "Ombuds Officer," which also are used widely.

Some other variants include:

Austria -- Ombudsstelle

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany -- Ombudspersonen

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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June 05, 2008

Texas School Officials Debate Need for Ombuds

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