The Ombuds Blog: Fairfax County Schools Weighing Ombuds Program

October 17, 2012

Fairfax County Schools Weighing Ombuds Program

According to Sandy Evans, an FCPS Board Member, the public school district in Virginia is considering an Ombuds program. The district is the largest in the DC area and enrolls about 180,000 students.

In a recent blog posting, Evans said:

Ombudsman Proposal: I continue to advocate for an Ombudsman for the school system to help parents and others navigate our very large system and have a clear place to go when they have concerns to deal with. The Board set aside funds for this position and has supported the concept, but at our last work session Board members asked that we look for ways to pull this position together from current resources. I will keep you posted.

The district's FY 2013 budget includes a placeholder for an Ombuds program, but no other details have been made public. (Evans School Board Blog; FCPS Bottom Line.)

Related post: DC Council Pulls Plug on Schools Ombuds After Less Than Two Years.

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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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October 17, 2012

Fairfax County Schools Weighing Ombuds Program

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