Ombudsman or Not

School Administrator, Dec, 1995

Convinced that the public needed a place to get straight answers about their public schools, Idaho's conservative state superintendent of public instruction, Anne Fox, established an ombudsman's position and a toll-free phone number to hear complaints shortly after she assumed office in January.

The ombudsman now fields an average of 17 calls a day with the state's new dual enrollment law topping the list of queries. The law allows students attending non-public schools to enroll in courses and participate in after-school activities, including sports, at their local public schools. The legal requirements for home schooling also have been high on callers' minds.

Fox's office, though, has stopped describing the office as the ombudsman, referring instead to the position as research analyst, after receiving complaints from the state board of education and the state legislature, according to Rhonda Edmiston, Fox's spokesperson.