Jim Bradshaw, a spokesman for the US Department of Education, confirmed the probe was opened on Feb. 15 and said, “The complaint is currently under investigation.”

The complaint, dated Dec. 19, was submitted with a letter of support signed by 111 Winchester residents, 95 of whom are foreign-born. Their countries of origin, listed next to their names on the letter, include Bulgaria, China, India, Russia, South Korea, Pakistan, Taiwan, Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, the Philippines, and Brazil.

The complaint alleges that the district’s plan for new school assignments “targets and disproportionately adversely affects foreign-born families, English language learners, and students and families of color,” moving them “from schools that are high-performing to the district’s only elementary school that is not making adequate yearly progress under the [federal] No Child Left Behind Act.”

The redistricting plan sparked a public outcry, with some parents contending it would pit the haves against the have-nots, moving children of modest means to the Lynch — built 53 years ago and Winchester’s oldest elementary school — while shifting the children of some of the town’s most affluent families to the new Vinson-Owen, which is scheduled to open in September.

The redistricting plan, the complaint alleges, will “result in inequity and will close the doors for diversity.”

The Office for Civil Rights is investigating two legal issues: whether the redistricting plan violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits institutions that receive federal funding from discriminating based on race and national origin; and whether the district treated students and their families who are not fully proficient in English differently, on the basis of national origin, by failing to provide effective communication concerning the redistricting of its elementary schools.

District officials, who were notified of the federal investigation Feb. 20, were given 15 days to provide information on the redistricting process. In a letter dated Feb. 15, the Office for Civil Rights requested a list of all students affected by the redistricting plan “broken down by race, color, national origin, primary home language other than English, and English language learner [ELL] or limited English proficiency [LEP] status.” Investigators asked the district to indicate which school each student currently attends and which school each student would be moved to under the new redistricting plan.

In addition, the Office for Civil Rights is seeking a “narrative description of whether, and if so, how, the district considered the impact of its redistricting plan on students or families of different races, colors, national origins, and/or ELL/LEP statuses” and has requested “a copy of all information concerning the redistricting plan provided to the public, including copies of notices of the plan or of relevant public meetings, that was sent in languages other than English.”

If notification was provided only in English, school officials must “indicate how the District ensured that families who do not read or understand English were afforded adequate notice of the information concerning the redistricting, and an adequate opportunity to participate in any public meetings or discussions of the plan.”

Winchester school officials said they are confident the investigation will not change the school system’s redistricting plans.

“There’s no impact,” said Christopher Linskey, chairman of the School Committee. “My understanding is that they’re notifying us that someone has opened a complaint. They are investigating that complaint and fact-finding. No determination has been made as to the merits of the complaint.”

The Office for Civil Rights is responsible for determining whether recipients of funding from the US Department of Education are complying with federal law. Winchester is receiving about $1 million in federal financial assistance this year.

If the Office for Civil Rights does find evidence of discrimination, the next step would be to negotiate a solution.